Reviews tagging 'Gore'

The Merciless by Danielle Vega

11 reviews

bashsbooks's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.75

To be honest, The Merciless was not what I would call a great book. I started it three or four times before I finally committed to finishing it - and the only reason I felt compelled to do that is because I impulse-bought the entire series at Barnes & Noble six or so years ago. This is billed as a teen horror on par with Stephen King, which is a laughable comparison. The plot twists were predictable and boring, and not much actually happened, despite Vega's desperate attempts to make it seem like there was a lot going on. It was just a slog through a nothing burger. Also, gore and grossness alone don't make a piece of media good horror. They have to serve a particular theme or plot in an interesting way. This book had so much potential, too, in its premise - a teen mil brat moves to a new town and gets embroiled with religion? That's a great premise. But it was rushed and it was nothing. Disappointing.

I may eventually read the other three books... but only because they're sitting on my shelf collecting dust.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Religious bigotry, Suicide, Torture, Toxic friendship, Violence, Vomit, Blood, and Death

Moderate: Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Drug use, Terminal illness, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

-Graphic descriptions of insects (specifically cockroaches) -Religious trauma

anfabu_2002's review

dark mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Toxic friendship, Physical abuse, Murder, Gore, Death, Cursing, and Blood

Moderate: Bullying and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Kidnapping, Drug abuse, and Drug use

phoenix2818's review

dark tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Kidnapping, Murder, Torture, Blood, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Animal death and Animal cruelty

tommiedc14's review

dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Murder, Body horror, Death, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, and Blood

aliteraryadventure's review

adventurous dark emotional reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This book went left really quick and I was not ready for it. Jesus Danielle Vega can pull you into a scene and keep you there whether you like it or not.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Grief, Religious bigotry, Bullying, Death, Addiction, Toxic friendship, Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Gore

laura_is_fae's review

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

3.25

It was okay in the sense that it horrified me to my very core, and if you're into horror you'll definitely like it. Was not for me, but I'm not much into this sort of book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, and Violence

camilabdm's review

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Meh. No me mató la historia, alternaba entre ponerse aburrida e interesante. Al final hay un “plot twist”, que medio se veía venir, pero medio no, no sé, siento que debió sentirse más impactante de lo que fue. Me estresaba demasiado la falta de lógica de la protagonista, solo tenía que ir a la policía, pero bueno. No fue la gran cosa. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Gore, and Violence

werewolvesnotswearwolves's review

dark tense

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Alcohol, Murder, Physical abuse, Gore, Blood, Cursing, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Animal death, Body horror, Toxic friendship, and Violence

Moderate: Mental illness, Vomit, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Dementia, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Gaslighting, Religious bigotry, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Self harm

ghouligan's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Torture, Toxic friendship, and Violence

Moderate: Alcohol and Drug use

Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death

mikayyyla's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

Parts of this book made me physically sick to read but I could not put it down. I wish it had been longer and gave more background on the complex characters, but still a good read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Gore, Kidnapping, Torture, and Toxic friendship