Reviews tagging 'Gore'

The Burning Girls by C.J. Tudor

12 reviews

nialiversuch's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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? Yes

3.5


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singalana's review against another edition

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

4.0


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tyserena'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? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0


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mysterymom46's review against another edition

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

3.25


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shelbsies's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix

5.0

The Burning Girls is an eerie, dark, tangle of thrills. I did not want to put this book down. The atmosphere was so vivid, I felt like I was watching an A24 film or a show like Bly Manor or Hill House.

Though this story has many twists and turns, it had many threads throughout it that allowed me to slowly weave all the mysterious bits and pieces together. The "plot twist" (if it can even be called that) was executed so well; the truth of the various mysteries was shown in snippets and tangled threads throughout, in a way easing the reader into an understanding of what happened while still keeping me on my toes, which I quite enjoyed. I didn't have to act surprised at a big twist because Tudor really guides the reader into what happened by first giving hints and then verifying what's true.

For a moment I thought the ending was going to disappoint me, but it all came together so gracefully I was immediately able to disregard what bothered me. Despite everything that happened, there was a moment that felt a bit too far fetched and I had to suspend my belief, but upon further reading I realized it did really fit into the nearly unbelievable chaos of this book (and I also accepted that this is fiction and anything is possible).

SpoilerIf you're curious, it was Wrigley's plot that bothered me. I found it hard to believe this town had housed so many twisted teenagers through the years (Jacob being the other and honestly Rosie too), yet I was completely unfazed every time a burning girl apparition was seen... but as the scene in the church passed I got over it. 

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mydearwatsonbooks's review against another edition

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scburhans's review against another edition

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

3.5

 Walked into this book knowing nothing but the title, and boy was it a wild ride. Overall, I thought it was pretty good book, but there were some details that I felt uncomfortable with. I did find some of the elements to be rather predictable, but there were a few twists that surprised me. I thought there were a lot of great complex characters, however, there were still some really stereotypical, 2D characters as well, which was unfortunate.

** Spoilers Below **

The biggest thing I had an issue within this book was Ruby's family. It made me really uncomfortable that the first black and gay characters we get in the book are child abusers and murderers. While I don't think the racism and homophobia from this decision was intentional - I think it was in an attempt to introduce a discussion on unconscious biases - but it still did not read well at all. Having the villain of the story fake a disability also made me incredibly uncomfortable as a disabled person. There was a lot of covert, and I hope unintentional, ableism in the story. I did, however, enjoy the rest of the book, so I did decide to give the story 3.5 stars rather than just three. 

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kathryn_a's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0


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readergirl_87's review

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

3.0


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rachaelbeau's review

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dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-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? Yes

4.0

I have trouble with Tudor's books, mostly with the immediate beginnings and the endings. I still had those issues with this book, but I thought everything else was really well done. 

The cold open beginning was a little confusing, and after having read the entire book I'm still not entirely sure what the author was going for. But the pace the rest of the book was excellent, and definitely kept me fully engaged. I could read page after page after page, I needed to know what happened. 

There's a plot twist featuring a main side character, and I did not see that one coming. I thought that was very smart and thought out, especially as you assume Tudor isn't going there as she's hinted around it so much. I thought it was very clever, and I enjoyed that. I liked that the supernatural element wasn't waved away as something else, I like supernatural elements in stories and I'm always a little sad when it's explained as something else by the end. Flo was an excellent, realistic, flawed character, and I enjoyed reading her perspectives. I also liked that the small village was almost a mood or a character of its own, I thought that was really compelling and it sucked me right in. On top of all that, the writing and dialogue was well done, and I think this one might be Tudor's best. 

However, the ending. The last twist wasn't good. It wasn't explained well, the ties weren't fully tied, and it was confusing and unrealistic. This is a common issue she has with her books, and it's frustrating that on her 3rd (4th?) book it's still happening. It's a twist that you can't see coming or solve yourself with the clues given, and I never like those. I also really struggled with the male alternate chapters, and while I know who he is now, I don't understand him or his motivations. On the topic of the alternating chapters, while I liked the different perspectives, I didn't like not knowing who was starting a chapter and having to scan the page to figure it out. 

This was a compelling thriller, and I did stay up way too late to finish it. I liked it, and maybe you will too.


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