Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix

830 reviews

sasoif's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? N/A

3.0

Very strange book. At times very disturbing with child deaths, suicides, child sexual abuse, rats and bugs eating people. Five women in a book club start investigating the new man in town after things just don't add up about him. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Sexual assault, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

e3z's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Rape, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Gaslighting

Minor: Infidelity

cravebooks's review against another edition

dark tense fast-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

0.25

i think this might be the worst book i have ever read. the insane irony of hendrix talking about how “men know everything and never shut up” and yet is constantly trying to write stories from an empowered female perspective as if he has any idea what that feels like?? 

this is the second book i’ve read by him and i only forced myself to finish it because, ironically enough, it was for a book club. this book was graphic and gory purely for shock value and had no real explanation for why Harris was the way he was which made all of his inane actions seem cheap, disgusting, and just highly implausible. 

this is obviously supposed to be an allegory for how women feel sucked dry in their mundane housewife lives by their husbands and their wifely duties, but my god you didn’t have to punch me in the face with it. 

also…what the hell is this dude’s obsession with pubic hair???

i have never felt so unsettled and disgusted after finishing a book, and it wasn’t even worth it because it was just all for shock value to get a reaction out of the reader. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Racism

jenny_bean_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.5

While this book is generally well written, I despise when a major plot point pivots on the SA of women. I know this is a horror book, but if we're supposed to suspend belief about vampires, I think we could make the trauma that turns everything around not something that too many women experience every day.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Domestic abuse and Sexual assault

sydneynorman's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Death of parent

Moderate: Misogyny, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Classism

rachellenbecker's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Blood, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

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

xanderkrohnreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.0

Incredible read. Housewives forever!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Violence

alilbmartin's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious slow-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

2.75

Some of it was good and funny. A lot of it was meh. Ending wasn’t too satisfying honestly. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Sexual assault and Kidnapping

krows_ink's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-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? It's complicated

4.75

boy oh boy. I don’t really read horror and this book was way darker than I thought it was going to be. That being said. I really enjoyed it. The commentary is well done and the take on vampires is new and absolutely sickening.

This book had me saying “oh hell no” as I listened and did the dishes. The narrator, Bahni Turpin, did a phenomenal job. Truly made the book come to life.

My only complaints really come from me not reading the content warnings and some minor things.

I read a lot of reviews that spoke of the way Hendrix wrote women in this. I didn’t think it was actually distasteful. He described their bodies, but he also described the James Harris’ body at the end when he was naked as well. It didn’t feel like over specialization to me. I also think men are often critiqued too much in how they write women because I’ve read number plus books written by women where the women are portrayed horribly and worse than a lot of authors who are men.
On the topic of rape and CSA: I think that it did its job at making the reader uncomfortable. I do think the book could have benefitted from a sensitivity reader because a few lines were just off for me and sat wrong. That being said I don’t think it was anything too bad. Books about these topics and featuring these topics shouldn’t be banned by any means nor should we enforce a purity culture around topics that make us uncomfortable.

I do with that Mrs Green has been a more prominent character and that we had seen more of her and from her perspective. I also wish that the ending had a little more context, although it wasn’t bad by any means. Overall this was a great book but due to the content warnings I would advise people to read them before reading.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Terminal illness, Violence, Vomit, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Miscarriage