Reviews tagging 'Genocide'

When No One Is Watching by Alyssa Cole

15 reviews

passionatereader78's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

If you liked Ace of Spade by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé you will like this book.  It's an emotional read! Well written and powerful.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Murder, and Classism

Minor: Infidelity, Vomit, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

barefootbetsy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I really liked this. Yes, the pacing could’ve been more even, but the concept was solid and I enjoyed the story!  I, like many other reviewers, could’ve done without the romance subplot; but those issues aside, I thought the story was well done and it certainly drew me in quickly and thoroughly.

The history was fascinating and I have a new appreciation for how difficult (and horrifying) living with the remnants (and current iterations) of slavery and redlining and stolen land must be 😞

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Sexism, Sexual content, and Excrement

jlferrazzo27's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

3.5 Stars — The concept was dark, disturbing, and highlighted the reality of white supremacy. Some parts of the book fell a little flat for me, but overall an enjoyable thriller!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Gun violence, and Racism

shaqydoo's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, and Classism

jojo_'s review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Murder, and Classism

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Infidelity, Slavery, Suicide, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Colonisation

madmantha's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

One of the best books I’ve ever read, if not THE best. 
Thrilling, anxiety-inducing, emotional and yet hilarious at the same time. 

Can’t wait to suggest this read to others, I loaned it from the library but will definitely be purchasing my own copy. This is something that deserves to be remembered and celebrated for years to come. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Body horror, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, Excrement, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Slavery, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, Outing, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

vasha's review against another edition

challenging dark informative mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Were you watching when your neighborhood, or someone else's neighborhood, slipped away? If you get caught up in this tense novel, a thriller of gentrification, you can't look away, seeing through the eyes of Sydney who's losing her home and Theo who's seeing the destruction of what could be the home he's never had. It's a good thing this book is so well written, its characters are so likeable, and it has a happy ending (more or less); or its basis in reality could make it too grim. All the historical racism recounted in it actually happened; and the fictional events have real-world analogues, even the parts that may seem outlandish (

like the medical experimentation: Tuskeegee was long ago but the experimentation by US corporations in Africa was not, see  Unethical human experimentation - Wikipedia

). The one thing I didn't think so highly of was the way it goes from a creepy slow burn, with detailed setting, to the ending being an over-the-top action-movie cleanup of villains.

All the heads of a major corporation meeting in an abandoned hospital? Seriously?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol

Moderate: Physical abuse, Suicide, Blood, and Vomit

Minor: Addiction, Genocide, Slavery, and Cultural appropriation

cheye13's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I have quite a bit of Alyssa Cole on my TBR because I like romance, but for some reason this was the first I picked up. This was masterfully done – there were moments I felt Sydney's anxieties as if they were my own. The "everyday" anxieties – having a creepy uber driver, a local pub suddenly closed – are woven into the extreme so seamlessly that I bought into every second of the story.

I think this genre in general – the horrors of gentrification, the racism and eviction at play – is a deep well of content, and I haven't seen/heard of many other stories like this. It's a great way to bring attention or a perspective shift to a topic while also providing a good story.

From reviews, and knowing Cole is a romance author, I expected a lot more on the romance front. I didn't exactly like the romance scenes, but it didn't take anything away from the story imo. Theo fell a little flat as a character, but I liked them as a pair, and I was very relieved that Sydney wasn't alone/totally isolated through everything.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Racism, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, and Classism

Moderate: Murder

Minor: Confinement, Drug abuse, Terminal illness, and Police brutality

additionally: bugs

persimmons's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Racism, Violence, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol

Minor: Drug abuse, Genocide, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Cultural appropriation, and Gaslighting

kaylamoran's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was a lot.  Wow.
I've seen a lot of white reviewers complain that this book wasn't thrilling, wasn't creepy.  As a white person myself I'd just like to ask if they read the same book.  This book was the definition of unsettling.  The creepiness, the dread, it starts in chapter one and never stops from there.
I loved Sydney and Theo.  I loved how easily I could get into both of their minds, how well fleshed out and how human they both were.  Both were so flawed but had such good intentions, and I was rooting for them both the entire time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Racism, Torture, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Cursing, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Stalking, and Cultural appropriation