Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Burning Girls by C.J. Tudor

54 reviews

sare1125's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Religious bigotry, and Fire/Fire injury

clarkg's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

While the story itself is compelling and well-written, this book has some serious problems with regards to its representations of Black, disabled, and queer people. There is a particularly gruesome depiction of Black, queer, low-income women that leans heavily on violent "welfare queen" stereotypes, made worse by the fact that the book has no positive examples of people of color in its main cast of characters. Additionally, this book contains a disability trope/storyline that I found to be in extremely poor taste. I believe in giving people grace and room to grow, but at least within the confines of this story, I wish that the author had been more mindful of how her choices work to reinforce harmful societal narratives about marginalized communities. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Deadnaming, Misogyny, Sexism, Terminal illness, and Dementia

rubys100's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying and Death

Moderate: Suicide and Murder

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Rape, Dementia, and Alcohol

anna6705's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

It was a page turner in the truest sense; I was gripped from start to finish. Such a fantastic thriller.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Death

Moderate: Child death, Sexual violence, and Violence

Minor: Pedophilia

lindseylosers's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

Minor: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, and Outing

nialiversuch's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Vomit, and Car accident

bankotsedo's review against another edition

dark

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.25

Ok so this was marketed to me as horror. I wouldn't call it horror. Maybe thriller without the supermarket-mom aspect that most thriller books have. My nana wouldn't want to read this. 

I, however, am someone who can only sort of tolerate the supermarket-mom-paperbook vibe. I dip in occcasinally to keep up with super popular books because I have extreme fomo. 

This book is not that! If you want a little creepy (some paranormal, some murrrdaahhhh) then this will do it for ya. And the main character is a woman vicar, which is sick, and her name is Jack, so. I'm immediately in. And she was fairly likeable! This was fun. Read it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Suicide, Vomit, and Murder

pariah101's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Child abuse

lydiavsbooks's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

This was a lot of fun, my second C.J. Tudor book and I'm definitely going to keep an eye out for more of hers.

I really enjoyed all of the overlapping mystery plots that ran throughout this, and the tension maintained throughout. Great characters that were easy to get attached to, but complex and mysterious at the same time. I loved the small town setting, the historical witchy/occult vibes, and some of the wider themes explored.

My only minor criticisms is some unnecessary romance plots that for me felt a little forced in there, but thats a personal preference and they were very minor parts of the story. And secondly, there's the whole main character knows something we don't but won't tell us plot throughout that I normally find quite irritating in thrillers, but tbf I didn't mind it so much in this.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury

booksnbrooches's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

3.0

I greatly enjoyed the opening of this book. It had ghost girls, religious fervor, and a creepy setting, what more did I need? Unfortunately, I found the main story less than appealing. I was hoping for more of the supernatural side of things, and that isn’t what happened. Maybe my own expectations let me down. 

Still, it was a fast paced thriller. I loved the writing style and would be willing to read more of the author’s work in the future. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, and Cursing

Minor: Pedophilia, Torture, Murder, and Pregnancy