Reviews with content warning for Blood - Jackal

Reviews tagging 'Blood'

bookscatcoffee's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

This was a good debut, and I’ll be interested in checking out this author’s future works. I appreciated how she brought in her background and talked about the town that she grew up in. However, it was slow-paced and tried to incorporate too much into the story. It left too much just peripherally touched on, rather than focusing in on one or two important points. The writing is strong, so it was an enjoyable read. Just could have used more editing. Worth reading! 3.5 stars

Horror featuring Haitian American and Black characters

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sberry225's review

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

This was a blend of mystery, thriller, and horror, with an eerie setting that made the woods feel like a character of their own. It gave me Get Out vibes with the casual racism, microaggressions, and gaslighting woven throughout, adding to the unsettling atmosphere. The premise—Black girls disappearing every summer while the town conveniently ignores it—was infuriating in the best way, making the tension all the more gripping. While the social commentary was sharp and effective, the sheer frustration of no one but the victims’ families finding it suspicious had me wanting to scream. A haunting, thought-provoking read.

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robin1b's review

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dark mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

4.5✨ - Jackal was a wild ride! Liz Rocher, a Black woman from a small, predominantly white town, returns home for a wedding, expecting just a quick weekend trip. But things quickly spiral into something far more complicated and far worse. The pacing dragged a bit in the middle, and while the ending had plenty of twists, it felt rushed and somewhat disjointed. Despite its flaws, the book offered a lot of depth and complexity. Is it about racism, sexism, classism, or the criminal justice system—or all of the above? As a thriller lover this book kept me on my toes until the very end!
Trigger warning: Child abduction, abuse, some horror (abuse only mentioned but no visual)
Version: Audiobook via Audible
Twists: 🌪️🌪️🌪️/5
Spice: .5🔥/5

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pinkelephant's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

5.0

I LOVED this book. A lot of the reviews I’ve seen said the ending ruined/took away from the book. But I thought it was heavily foreshadowed from the beginning what was happening/going on. Especially if you know folklore, or even just look up the one they bring up multiple times.

I loved the way this book ended. I just think it takes more knowledge/willingness to look up other cultures stories and historical relevance of location to understand the why behind it.

It’s definitely not a no thoughts just vibes book.

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bookmeabreak's review

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dark emotional mysterious 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

3.5

I'm swaying between whether or not I like this book. It's a lot going on and it felt congested and I understand why it was done this way but it really was just jam packed. Racism, whatever is going on with Liz, then Jack and the police. I understood where Erin was going and at the end it all fits properly, but going through made me want to DNF more times than I care to admit. It gave me like black trauma but not so much.

Maybe because I just don't understand if this also about a shape shifter in the end or it isn't? Y'all know how I feel about time jumping and while this wasn't so much time jumping as much as...yes it was. Hah see this got me all over the place and I don't like being this flustered at the end of my book.

Now for the things I like when I break it down. As much as I disliked her all over the place. I liked Liz in setting up boundaries and knowing how to put her foot down. The slow realizations what relationships in her life actually were. Her relationship with Mel. That doesn't mean I liked Mel. I actually loathed Mel because I know people like Mel and that feeling her character brings and Liz understanding where she stands is why I liked their relationship. The realization.

Caroline. I loved that she was a little girl but she represented how much little girls actually understand and take in. She represented how strong little black girls actually have to be starting so young and how if her mom hadn't been her mom she wouldn't have gotten nearly as much attention. That final interview with her explains how much she REALLY understood.

The nursery rhyme... Don't answer. Don't look. My favorite part in the entire book was the scene between Jack and I honestly can't remember which little girl but

Jack: Why don't you look at me?!
Girl: Mommy says face your fears, Daddy says ignore it. I've seen all the people that come in here look at you and run out screaming so I'll do the opposite.

I don't know how I feel about the book, but for me that part was important. I'm going to give it 3.5⭐ and let it simmer for a bit and maybe I'll change my mind for higher or lower.

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jazzieslibrary's review

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dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.25

Book club read:

At first this started pretty intense and I just knew it was gonna be good. It slowed down a bit but started to pick up in the middle and then your trying to piece together the mystery before the book ends. I enjoyed it. I do think the transitions between the main characters and time was a bit confusing but worth it.

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almostqualified's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

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adearajean's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-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

5.0

A tense well written book with poetic passages. Kept me hooked and while I didn't enjoy the narrator's voice I did enjoy the characters and twists.

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rachaelwho's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.25

First of all, this cover blurb:

I read this thriller that is Get Out meets The Vanishing Half in one night." BuzzFeed

is just racist. This book bears nearly no resemblance to either of those except that they were written by Black people and there is a paranormal element. This pissed me tf off when I realized how inaccurate it was, you're just naming two Black things you're aware of. Gross.

Anyway.

I mostly *really* liked this despite not being into thrillers-- until the wheels came off in the last third. The first 2/3 got ~4 stars, and the final 3rd is like a 2. There were so many threads, a few of which felt like they belonged to an earlier draft, and they got yanked together clumsily.

The supernatural elements didn't feel earned, and there was a weird "both sides" tone in the closing that undercut the nuanced work it had been building around racism, the legacy of segregation, and anti-Blackness from within the community and the self. It also didn't quite deal with Liz's dangerous secret alcoholism. Also, I get that they were going for Anubis, but the jackal didn't quite work-- there are no jackals in the US and they're tiny, like fox-sized. And Anubis wasn't evil? It just didn't really work and was explained away by "uhh... It's your imagination!" Also, these mfks are still racist, and the police just suddenly say the jig is up, guess we'll follow up on all this, our b...??? A lot of the book had a deft touch so idk what happened here toward the close.

ETA: The audio performance by Sandra Okuboyejo was fantastic, hope to hear from her again. She really gave it a lot of feeling that even many very good voice actors wouldn't.

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