Reviews tagging 'Gore'

The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon

23 reviews

mflynn8908's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Perfect story to read during winter. Reading it at night added to the creepy atmosphere and kept me on edge. Several times this story had me turning on the light and closing my closet door. Perfect story telling! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, and Murder

Minor: Animal cruelty, Cancer, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, and Car accident

donicareads's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death

Minor: Gore and Suicide

phantomgecko's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

A novel labeled "horror" that is actually horrifying. Kind of a slow burn horror in a lot of ways. When a story is told nonchronologically, there needs to be delicate unveiling of plot points to build tension well. This book does that well. What happens in the past gently (hauntingly) informs what happens in the future and vice versa.

The spookiness of the story is not a new idea, v Pet Sematary. But the inclusion of

a non-supernatural antagonist

is really delightful. Like, chef kiss. Also a fan of the dual but intertwined mysteries: how did Gertie die? And where's Alice?

Also, although a supernatural evil is heavily implied, I felt like it wasn't the only option. Martin going crazy was a strong possibility in my mind. Definitely one of the most tense bits for me was centered on the barn. I legit thought Martin had accidentally killed and skinned his daughter in a delusional state. Chilling.

Overall, I'd say the ending was frustrating, though. Ruthie deciding not to go to college? Bleh. Destroying the pages? Yeah! A certain someone going ahead and sharing all those pages anyway? C'mon, dude.

Frustrating ending, but it doesn't ruin the book for me. Delicious resolution before the frustrating bits.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Death, Gore, Miscarriage, Suicide, and Blood

julienicole1106's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious slow-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? It's complicated

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

michaelat21's review

dark emotional mysterious 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? No

3.0

The ending of this book sucked. I loved the book and was on the edge of my seat and then it just kinda ended in the most meh way and fell flat. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, and Blood

Minor: Alcoholism, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, and Injury/Injury detail

jjjreads's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Alcohol

waytoomanybooks's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

2.5

A harrowing tale with many twists and turns, which keeps you interested and guessing. I was glued to the story up until the last third. I wasn't thrilled with the ending.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Cancer, Gore, Car accident, and Fire/Fire injury

katsbooks's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

“If snow melts down to water, does it still remember being snow?”

“Madness is always a wonderful excuse, don’t you think? For doing terrible things to other people.”

“How can you dream if you don’t have a soul?”

This was a fun, spooky read. I've had this book on my shelf for literal years but definitely never realized it was a horror. I'm so glad I finally read it, though. I would not call myself a horror reader and this feels like a solid book for those just kind of getting into the horror genre. It was creepy and suspenseful without being overly gross or too "out there." I liked the multiple perspectives. It was easy to tell the difference between each POV and I was equally interested in all of the different characters we were following. I enjoyed the creepy feeling that the book gave me. I read a big chunk of this novel late in the evening and freaked myself out when I had to turn out the lights for bed time. I always find that to be a good sign in terms of general atmosphere. 

I'll try to not be too spoilery with the things I didn't like it but please read ahead with your own risk, especially if you're thinking of reading this book in the near future. My major gripe was that the only BIPOC character ended up being essentially a villain. She was very much the mystical Indian that only serves to further the character development of a white character. My other major question had to do with the teenaged character and how she came to live with her adoptive parents. The whole situation seemed like a major plot hole and didn't make sense to me. Personally, if I had been her aunt in the situation, I would not have let her adoptive parents take her given the traumatic events that led to her adoption. 

Overall, this was a solid mystery horror. It was fun and gave me creepy vibes. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

bethann's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death, Gore, Violence, and Murder

soygirlsupreme's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

2.5

I truly have no idea how this book gets 5 or 4 star reviews. This was simply just okay, at best. The premise was interesting and I nearly devoured the first 200 pages or so, but oh so quickly did a 4 star book become a 2 star book. It is creepy, that is for sure. It’s a spooky read, but it isn’t satiating. It doesn’t give you that horror fix, if that’s what you’re looking for. Candace villain is a joke of a trope, and didn’t quite fit the bill and seemed like an afterthought. Some of the plot lines felt forced, and the ending felt unrealistic and uncharacteristic for Ruthie—who, at the end of day, I didn’t care about. The last 100-160 pages or so felt like sloppy, thrown together writing without the semblance of a good, thrilling punch. I will not reveal any spoilers, but listen here: leave this one on the shelf. I found it for $2.50 at a thrift store and there’s a good reason someone gave it away. Though McMahon starts out strong, with a compelling story and intrigue, it falls very, very flat. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Gore, and Murder

Moderate: Body horror, Forced institutionalization, and Grief

Minor: Miscarriage and Suicide