Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw

20 reviews

christinaanna's review against another edition

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia and Infidelity

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Racism, Terminal illness, and Dementia

Minor: Abortion and Murder

cecereads__'s review against another edition

4.5

This was so, so good. I had to stop myself after each story to savour it rather than just continue on bc it really was a page-turner for me. Really enjoyed the writing, and there was not a word out of place. It was spicy, sexy, direct, confronting, liberating, reflective, sweet and bitter and everything in between.
- I get why Peach Cobbler seems to be a general favourite
(though every story is quality and has a clear purpose)

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Dementia, Murder, Lesbophobia, and Sexual harassment

itsjadenbaby's review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

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

1.5

This was one of my most anticipated reads as I had heard so many great things about it. Unfortunately, I really did not end up liking it. This book literally made me sick to my stomach with some of the things that happened. Maybe I need to rethink my belief that I have no content triggers. As someone who normally loves family dynamics and conversations surrounding relationships, I struggled with this a lot. When I walk away from the book with this feeling, I always struggle to know whether or not the feeling is based in the fact that I listened to the book on audio rather than physically read it. I’ll never know the answer for sure because when I dislike a book so much, I’m not going to spend my time reading it a second time. I’m very happy that so many people really enjoyed this, bummer I couldn’t be one of them.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Dementia, and Lesbophobia

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Pregnancy

lizziaha's review against another edition

5.0

I don’t always love short stories because I’m generally a character reader, and short stories don’t usually have the space to really flesh characters out, but every character in this collection felt so whole and real. Each story was delightful and captured so much with so little. Definitely one to revisit! 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity

Moderate: Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Murder, Lesbophobia, and Fire/Fire injury

clarabooksit's review against another edition

emotional 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? It's complicated

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, and Lesbophobia

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Grief, and Abandonment

Minor: Bullying, Death, Violence, Abortion, Death of parent, and Murder

felishacb's review against another edition

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Miscarriage, Dementia, Abortion, and Alcohol

ksuazo94's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Violence, and Murder

Minor: Addiction and Abandonment

clairew97's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Dementia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol

bek_p87's review against another edition

emotional hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.5

I don't normally read short story collections because I often find that my favourites are too short and I want more, and vice versa. So this was a welcome surprise - I was intrigued and entranced by all of the stories, which (even though some left me wanting more) were all complete in their own right. My favourites were Dear Sister, Snowfall, How to Make Love to a Physicist, and Instructions for Married Christian Husbands.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Racial slurs, and Sexual content

Moderate: Drug abuse and Homophobia

Minor: Murder

cozylifewithabby's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.25

I really don't know how to rate this. Just like any Short Story collection some stories were stronger than others. Also some of the stories were very short with others long, so I wasn't able to get to know those characters as well. I really liked the intergenerational aspect of many of the stories, but wish more of the issues of the church were explored besides sexual lives. I appreciated the Jael story for that reason. But the writing is undoubtedly good and I will check out future weeks from Philyaw

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing and Sexual content

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Abortion and Murder