Reviews tagging 'Violence'

On the Savage Side by Tiffany McDaniel

42 reviews

megstravellinglibrary's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Violence, and Murder

snowiceblackfruit77's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

lisaadam's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy

bella_cavicchi's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense slow-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

4.0

I found ON THE SAVAGE SIDE difficult to read, so unflinching in its depiction of poverty and addiction that I read with a clenched stomach, gripped in empathetic pain. But without this level of violence and trauma, this book would be lying to itself, and for that reason, I consider it a winner.

The novel only fell apart for me (and only slightly!) in the repetition of its lyricism. Sometimes I felt like McDaniel was being intentionally opaque, and while it was always beautiful, I occasionally lost interest. But that is just one picky complaint of an otherwise stirring novel. I'm glad I read it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

fredrikamarias's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Cursing, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, and Death of parent

trvshbvt's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I read Betty right before this which was my first introduction to Tiffany McDaniel. I loved Betty so much that I pushed On the Savage Side to the top of my to read list and once again, I am left in awe of Tiffany McDaniel’s storytelling.

This is another book that will stay with me forever. I feel like I know every single character as if I’ve met them in real life. I had no idea addiction played such a large part in this book, which is something that hits close to home. I appreciated the way McDaniel gave these women such detailed and moving backstories, showing that they were so much more than their addictions.

I thought I had a good idea of how the story would end but the actual ending had me audibly say “WHAT” to myself more than once.

An easy 5/5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Violence

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Miscarriage

siriface's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual assault, Violence, and Murder

frmeden's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Child death

ember_is_gay's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

this was hauntingly beautiful and i want to read it all over again. i am stunned and i don’t think i have the words to describe how i feel about this book. i think this is genuinely one of the best books i have read in a while.

the last few chapters had me so thrown and i just was not expecting that twist. and i was so hopeful for the end, i was so hopeful for arc getting out. but i know that’s not what life is like, i was just wishing and hoping it would be different for her, but of course it couldn’t be.

to all the lost women, i will remember you and think of you often. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

onmalsshelf's review against another edition

Thanks to the publisher for this review copy. Obviously this one is working for a lot of people, but it is not for me at this time. I may consider picking it up at a different time. 

DNF @ 60%

When I say I tried, I TRIED. 

I’ve been reading this since June 10th (today is September 10th) and I only got to 60%. 

I don’t mind dark books, but this is DARK and bleak - making for a combination that had me putting down my kindle after each chapter. I tried this on Kindle via eGalley as well as audio from Libby. 

While I know that it’s important for authors to inform readers of things that often get forgotten by using fiction, I get concerned when they started using overly descriptive language that seems like it would fit more in a romance novel.  

I wish that she had used the River aspect more because once that was gone, there was no flow. 

I finally set it down once animal neglect was added in because of course the author just has to pile on more dark things. 

I will say, the narrator for this is fantastic. Without the audio, I’m not sure I would have gotten to 60%. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder