Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'

Los peligros de fumar en la cama by Mariana Enríquez

18 reviews

orlabutler's review against another edition

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

2.0

This book really was not for me. I'm sure there are some people out there that would love it but I honestly wanted to give up on it over and over again. I only powered through because it is a book of short stories and I thought I might find one I liked. Every story felt like it was dragging on and then the end felt like a page was missing. There are some serious and disturbing themes explored and not well, I feel like they are more being used for shock factor than anything else. I saw so many people recommend this book and I am very disappointed 

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miaaa_lenaaa's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Favourites were meat and kids who come back
‘She longed for summer to be the last, and she spent more and more time in the lookout tower, where she could b barely hear the whisper of the living, which she knew how to imitate so well, but could not comprehend.’
‘ I have three memories of him, but one of them could be false.‘

SPOILERS-
Kids who come back- kids who’ve disappeared return but not really human
Meat- teen girlies eat their dead idol
The lookout- ghosty wants sad girl in the tower to replace her
Angelita unearthen- lonely ghost baby comes to haunt her relative cause she was left behind
Our lady of the quarry- fuck u smart girl im gonna pray u and ur hot boyfriend get eaten alive by rabid dogs
The cart- neighbourhood chase away homeless man and theyre all cursed but one family isn’t affected
The well-  girl grows up fearless, becomes terrified as her mother and sister delay their fears onto her, she lives on misery, but is too afraid to throw herself down the well
Rambla triste- woman visits friend in barcelona who tells her the streets are full of ghost children who wont let anyone leave
Where are you dear heart- girlypop has a heartbeat irregularity fetish but her boyfriends doesnt mind to much if he dies cause she wants to her his heart beat get more and more problematic
No birthdays or baptisms- guy hired to film things asked to film girl having seizures in which she claims ‘he’ makes her do things
The dangers of smoking in bed- her neighbour was paralysed and smoked in bed till she caught fire and died, girly pokes holes in her sheets with cigarette, the ceiling looks like stars, and smokes out the moths
Back when we talked to the dead- teen girls talking to spirits duh they start to leave mid convo, say they don’t trust one of the girls, one girls brother comes in but it was not her brother

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emimli's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

4.5


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sygritte's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5


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badspringbye's review against another edition

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dark mysterious

2.0

 I stumbled upon this collection that I thought was going to be a dark literary fiction novel but that was totally wrong. not even sure how can I describe this genre... magical realism? search up the trigger warnings and you’ll see. it’s not simply horror.

maybe the best way to explain this thing is to leave my ratings per section. here are the stories described in few words:

  1. angelita unearthed - the rotting baby’s bone ⭐️⭐️⭐️
  2. our lady of the quarry - teenage insecurities & lust ⭐️
  3. the cart - suspected curse from the poor old man ⭐️
  4. the well - nightmares & the woman & the witch & evils & sacrifice & betrayal ⭐️
  5. rambla triste - rotting smell of the ‘police city’; there was a shift. political matters mixed with horror stories based on true events? sick & twisted & I enjoyed this the most ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  6. the lookout - ? ⭐️
  7. where are you, dear heart? - lust again; jane eyre; heartbeat obsession ⭐️⭐️
  8. meat - musician and his album; cannibalism case ⭐️⭐️⭐️
  9. no birthdays or baptisms - furrowed brows while I was reading the whole thing. thought it was just a disgusting porn but the open(?) ending left me confused and wanting to know more who was the ‘he’ ⭐️⭐️
  10. kids who come back - missing kids ⭐️
  11. the dangers of smoking in bed - ? ⭐️
  12. back when we talked to the dead - scanned/mostly skipped because ouija plot wasn’t interesting at all ⭐️

at first I found no values with the stories. boring. then after fifth one, the content started to get better, but narration is still meh at times or maybe it was the translation. idk. this will give you everything you’ll least expect from the title and cover art. the last stories were weak though. overall, I think it’s better than my most recent horror-ish read (the houseguest and other stories). that one had a theme whereas this one’s more diverse, just not as gripping as I would like it to be. 

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looney_moons's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.25

I will read anything Mariana Enriquez has ever written if it makes me feel even as close to feeling like this.


Ratings for the individual stories (rating is the average):
Angelita Unearthed: 4/5
Our Lady of the Quarry: 5/5
The Cart: 3/5
The Well: 5/5
Rambla Triste: 3/5
The Lookout: 3/5
Where Are You, Dear Heart: 4/5
Meat: 4/5
No Birthdays or Baptisms: 4/5
Kids Who Come Back: 5/5
The Dangers of Smoking in Bed: 3/5
Back When We Talked to the Dead: 3/5

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mcribsy13's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

Really good really intense

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avahasstrongopinions's review against another edition

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dark mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.5


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