Reviews with content warning for Death - Black Sheep

a GREAT spooky season read!
this is the first audiobook i've listened to for a full length novel i haven't read in print before listening, and it honestly wasn't too bad!! i was able to follow along better than expected.

this book was so creepy!! so spooky!! it was so interesting to "read" about satanism and satanic cults and the ways that those in the religion behave. i was on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen to Vesper next. it was pretty graphic and gory, but i don't mind graphic! i'm also not usually a horror reader, especially if it doesn't have much (or any) romance, but i enjoyed it for the most part!

the reason i gave it 4.5 instead of 5 stars is just because it's not my favorite thing when the horror of a story is cult related. i just don't find cults scary, so i was a little bummed when the scary part of the book was that her family was Actually a satanic cult. but it was spooky and creepy for sure!!

Content Warnings

chainsawheartbooks's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

“I imaged my anxiety as an amphibian, a slick, nimble creature dancing under my ribs. That’s how I felt, this anxiety. Alive. Trickery. Slippery. Quick. Difficulty to catch.”

I loved the first half of this book, I thought Vesper was a wonderful character to follow and I was so interested to find out more about her upbringing.

I needed to know more about her famous mother, wanted to see how she’d interact with the family she left behind when she left the cult (which is truly the only word for them!), and learn more about what Virgil and its residents were hiding from the outside world.

I went into this book with only the blurb as my guide so I was in a state of shock when I found out what the cult was about.

Then it just became predictable and I was mildly disappointed.

I don’t want to give too much away, and going into more detail about my thoughts will do just that, but I just feel let down.

Now, don’t get me wrong, Harrison’s writing was beautiful; so descriptive and each character felt unique from one another, I can’t fault that at all.

I think I was just expecting something different, something that would give the story more than the generic cult premise, and for some people maybe this does just that, but I predicted (and I have the texts to prove it 😂) everything about 40% of the way in and was almost let down by the fact that I had.

Also, probably controversially, it just didn’t need an epilogue. The final chapter, in my opinion, should have been the ending, allowing for the reader to make their own conclusion about what happens.

Ultimately, this just wasn’t for me, and I’m gutted that that’s the case.

Content Warnings

jillaay_h's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

Content Warnings

caidyn's review against another edition

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dark funny tense fast-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

4.25

This was so much fun! The right mix of horror and funny.

Content Warnings

jourdanicus's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

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

3.5

Recommended by my bff 🥰

While there was a lot of good things I took away from this book, it wasn't totally for me. I would, however, definitely recommend it to fans of final girl horror, and anyone who likes dysfunctional family themes.

I might just be a snooty pants but I tend to prefer my horror to be more allegorical. This story was definitely literal: I mean,

Vesper's dad is literally Satan

, lol.

Other pros: quick read, great audio narrator.

Content Warnings

orangewitchling's review against another edition

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dark lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This is the creepiest of all the books I’ve read from this author, but it was comfy horror in my opinion. I found the plot entertaining, even though it was triggering at times.

Content Warnings

j_nell's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Content Warnings

m_moon's review against another edition

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dark funny lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No

2.0

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