Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

The Merciless by Danielle Vega

17 reviews

chapters_and_pages's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

5.0

I didn’t really know what to expect going into this book but it had been on my shelf for a long time, and I thought it was finally time to give it a go, and I’m sure glad I did!

When Sofia befriends Riley, Grace and Alexis on her first day at a new school, she never expected to find herself present while the three girls torture Brooklyn Stevens. They said the just wanted to help her, but as time goes on, Sofia realises that the girls genuinely believe Brooklyn is possessed - and will stop at nothing to exorcise the demon inside. 

I bloody (excuse the pun, it was not intentional) loved this book! Don’t get me wrong, it was 50 shades of messed up but oh my god, it was good. 

It’s a little bit of a tricky book to comment on because everything feels like a spoiler, and as it’s such a short book, it definitely feels more story-led, as opposed to a book you’d become attached due because of the characters. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and I can’t wait to get my hands on the rest of the series!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

tytoavalon's review

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Torture, and Murder

macyplier's review

dark medium-paced

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

3.0

I just finished reading so I have alot of scrambled thoughts but I had such high hopes for the ending while reading and it was so disappointing. Don’t think I’ll pick up any of the other books unless I'm really bored and can’t read anything else

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

mcengler716's review

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal death

itsjadenbaby's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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

3.0

If you know anything about my reading preferences, I hate paranormal explanations for the things that happen in books. That’s why this is getting 3 stars. I honestly would’ve have just love it if it was the horror version of Mean Girls, which is exactly what it was giving until the end/point of “explanation”

---

Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, and Emotional abuse

chuibug's review

dark 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Kidnapping, and Fire/Fire injury

agustdefault's review

dark tense fast-paced

3.0

mean girls but make it horror. wayyyyyyy more gory than i was expecting a ya book to be, made me actually queasy

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Violence, and Murder

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.

---

Content Warnings

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

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

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

ilaxaria's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Self harm, and Vomit

Minor: Infidelity and Sexual harassment

dev98's review

dark 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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Blood, and Murder