Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Guía del club de lectura para matar vampiros by Grady Hendrix

60 reviews

thebookwormclub's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Incredibly violent. If I had known prior to picking this up how violent it was going to be I wouldn't have gotten it. I'm not a squeamish person, but this book made me very uncomfortable 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, and Torture

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Violence

gretchenbell's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

thegillbird's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Gore, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Blood

Moderate: Infidelity, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, and Murder

Minor: Animal cruelty and Vomit

caiterlenbachreads's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

fkshg8465's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Much better than I thought it was going to be, mostly because I found the title so ridiculous. Turns out that the book was a lot of fun to read and that the title is very apropos. It was a little longer than I would’ve liked - I would’ve removed some of the events, maybe even whole chapters, because the first third of the book had me rolling my eyes. But I had enjoyed How to Sell a Haunted House, so I stuck with it, and I’m so glad I did.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

themdash's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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

4.0

Dear god please check the content warnings.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

ashleymwisk's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-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

3.75

I would rate this higher if it weren’t so gruesome, with so many disturbing & triggering scenes. Had someone clued me into those, I would have skipped this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Gaslighting

themelaniewaite's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.5

After reading Horrorstor, I decided Grady Hendrix was an author that I wanted to delve more into and read the rest of his catalogue; it just so happened that this was the next book I found. This book is full of everything I craved in a story - horror, gore and that added level of gaslighting the person that knows too much. The symbolism of the peaches from the cover to the tale that Miss Mary has to share adds a sickly tone to the story, but in such a satisfying context. 

One of the moments in which I knew this was going to be a favourite and well-paced plot was the way it didn’t hesitate with throwing in the drama; it also didn’t waste time with figuring out the bad guy, though in all of the gaslighting of Patricia, the main character, I even found myself questioning if the story would switch direction and the villain wasn’t the villain after all. There is a time jump partway through that kind of threw me for a minute, but it was such a brilliant way of showing James Harris assimilating to the area and gaining the trust of those that lived there - especially the husbands. It is so well executed, how the dynamics changed in the group over time, to the point of the men having even taken over the book club. Once again adding this suffocating undertone that the women cannot have anything without it being run by the men first - including the one thing that the woman had to themselves: their books. It’s almost like the troubles/concerns and accusations of the past have been long forgotten because the men are thriving. So when that starts being questioned again, it’s like a race against the clock to get everyone to believe Patricia again. 

There were a few moments and subplots, I guess, that I feel like could have been taken out, as they felt unnecessary or could have been changed to fit the story better. 

The first is Blue being obsessed with Nazi Germany. I might be missing something here, maybe it was a popular topic to be interested in during that era; maybe a lot of boys in the 90’s did have a large fascination. I was an infant during the time this was set - so I don’t know. 

I didn’t like the inclusion of S/A of one character. It didn’t really add to the plot other than giving all of the women reason to now believe/help Patricia. The character could have been bitten or attacked in some other form that would cause her to potentially “turn”, but it felt distasteful and out of character of James to have S/A’d her just to prove a point. It could have been handled very differently, in my opinion.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I was absolutely hooked and would recommend it to anyone wanting to get into Hendrix’s work. No story is without its flaws, but I think the overall storytelling of this outshines the rest - in my opinion. 

TW: S/A, child abuse/sexualisation, gore, blood, rats, gaslighting, D/V mentions, death, mental health, racist undertones. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Drug use, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

gspear's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Torture, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Child death

lgiery's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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? No

3.5

I've read reviews noting sexism and racism, but I read a horror novel true to its form. Hendrix holds a critical lens up to American society as many have before him, delving into issues of gender, race, wealth and privilege. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gore, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Murder