Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

Black Sheep by Rachel Harrison

23 reviews

karalynaa's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Religious bigotry and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Abandonment

amandalorianxo's review against another edition

challenging dark funny tense medium-paced

4.0

I have read Cackle and Such Sharp Teeth prior and (so far) I think this is close to being my favorite out of the trio of supernatural meets modern ish times that Ms. Harrison is known for. It was a little predictable but I thought the message that was being portrayed still felt the same. I didn't feel the epilogue was fully needed but minus that this was enjoyable albeit a tad bit more dark, body horror/bloody than I originally anticipated. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Blood

Minor: Religious bigotry

madelinequinnee's review against another edition

emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

3.5

This was a fun read, but kind of predictable

I guessed that Satan was Vesper’s father a few chapters before the reveal, and I then again guessed she was going to be sacrificed at the end

However, this was still a fun read, and I think anyone looking into getting into horror, this would be a good start! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

tiddlerrr's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.5

I bought this book on a whim to keep me occupied for an afternoon train journey, which it succeeded in doing. However, I think it struggles to decide whether it is a comedy-horror or not, and personally I didn’t find it particularly scary/horrifying. After going into this blind about anything that happened I do think that’s the best way to experience it, as it is VERY predictable in places. The MC is also not likeable and I don’t think she is meant to be, however all of the progression/development/action seems to happen at the end whereas the first two thirds are largely filler. It was a decent read and kept me occupied for an afternoon, but I don’t think I’d ever read it again.

I do also think the satanic cult “twist” was a bit overdone and would have been scarier if it was a Christian cult or something else entirely. Lucifer being her absent father felt very tropey, and as a someone who is normally lover of tropes, I mean that in a bad way.

I also didn’t really understand the point of the epilogue, the whole thing just kind of…ends.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Blood, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment

Minor: Alcoholism, Eating disorder, and Sexual harassment

rachaelwho's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

3.0

Repetitive. Pacing issues. Didn't quite make sense. Protagonist is characterized as tough and difficult, but there's really no evidence of her being outwardly hostile (though she is often judgy, resentful and sullen internally) or fighting what she's supposed to do at pretty much any turn, other than leaving the faith and

dressing inappropriately at her cousin's wedding to passive-agressively outshine her (but even then, she pulls her punches and brings a cardigan to cover up)

. If this is supposed to be happening (a la being a lamb)... It's not particularly impactful or clear bc it's not consistent; she's constantly described as being a massive bitch who doesn't think about others' feelings or expectations, but she almost never acts out

until the final conflict

. CW for

cults and religious abuse

, which I didn't see available in the section for that.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

alisacress's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Blood, Religious bigotry, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Sexual content

mamareads321's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I'm not sure how I feel about this book. It truly confused me

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Religious bigotry

baileycowen's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.5

Oh my gosh I have a LOT of thoughts about this book. The no spoilers version: just wow. The pacing, the storytelling, the characters, the sub narratives and the way the story offers critique of current culture while keeping you entirely engaged? Amazing. 
I’m not normally a person who is super into cult stuff, and I went into this book completely blind (which k HIGHLY recommend). Every time I thought I knew where it was going it changed direction. So well done.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood

Moderate: Animal death, Death, Religious bigotry, and Gaslighting

mandi_lea's review against another edition

dark funny reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

karen_lo's review against another edition

dark emotional funny tense fast-paced

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

4.5

4.5 stars

Loved the story, the concept, and the protagonist who was so resilient despite all the things she goes through. 
I wish it was a bit longer cause I wanted to know more about certain characters, but overall was the perfect read for this spooky season!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood

Moderate: Animal death, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment

Minor: Sexual harassment