Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

Milk Blood Heat by Dantiel W. Moniz

15 reviews

bessadams's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Death of parent

Minor: Cancer, Infidelity, and Cannibalism

savvylit's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

Each of the short stories in Milk Blood Heat are perfectly crafted. The first story, about two teen girls with a strong connection, is an absolute sucker punch and sets the tone for the rest of the collection. Milk Blood Heat is subtle, reflective, and dark. The folks that populate the stories live seemingly conventional lives. However, Moniz ultimately highlights character flaws in each of them to devastating effect. Readers will find themselves contemplating human nature and our most grim impulses. What happens if we say yes to that voice in our head? What if the choices we've made have already set us down a path we don't want? What if the people we trust betray us?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Death, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

littlepagebm's review against another edition

dark funny reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Incest, Infidelity, Rape, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

nialiversuch's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Sexual content

bookswithgeorgia's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense fast-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Grief, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

rachelmink's review

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

So excellent on audio. Incredible stories - particularly the first one. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Infidelity, and Miscarriage

jayisreading's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

4.0

This was a fresh collection of short stories that hones in on the everyday lives of Black women (primarily) in Florida and, often, the way they are viewed by society. The protagonist of each story essentially have to reckon with a traumatic event that occurred at some point in their life (or is dealing with at the moment), and Moniz explores this unflinchingly though also with some grace. She dives into uncomfortable territory when it comes to the topics she covers: infidelity, sexual assault, pregnancy/miscarriage, among others. For the most part, I wouldn’t say that these stories are gruesome, but none of them are particularly easy to digest either as she peels away the layers of these women to reveal something deeply complex.

I found the title of this collection particularly interesting and, very cleverly, Moniz interprets at least one of those three words in some fashion within each story. I think “blood” jumped out at me the most, but that might be because this was more visceral than the others, especially in the final story (which was probably my favorite). Relatedly, Moniz is an excellent writer and really has a way with words to draw a reaction out of you. I think despite feeling lukewarm about some of these stories, I was taken to all of them because of her writing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Grief

Moderate: Cancer, Child abuse, and Sexual assault

Minor: Infidelity and Cannibalism

jmcordero's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Miscarriage, Grief, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Self harm, and Suicide

Minor: Incest, Infidelity, and Blood

wordingitright's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Infidelity, Miscarriage, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, and Pregnancy

Minor: Racism

booksandprosecco's review against another edition

dark emotional fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Rape, and Blood

Moderate: Cancer, Mental illness, Miscarriage, and Grief

Minor: Infidelity and Abortion