Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - Latte Sangue Fuoco

A series of really compelling, if often violent and disturbing, short stories. The writing is acerbic and biting, but still conveys a deep sense of character and empathy, even with characters acting in anger or fear.

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natalieba's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective 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

4.5

This. Book. Woah. Milk Blood Heat by Dantiel W. Montiz was the first book chosen for @parkroadbooksclt 2022 Challenge Book Club - the category for this month was an award winner. This short story collection is STRIKING - each story packs a punch and the writing is vivid and evocative and beautiful.

All the stories take place in Florida and the author doesn’t shy away from some tough content - miscarriage, suicidal, cancer, sexual assault… I’m a sensitive reader and for me the payout for living with the characters in their struggles was worth it. This isn’t manipulative emotional content - this is real (well, actually I hope the content in Exotics isn’t real… would love some thoughts on that story if you have some to share!).

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annamorgan27's review against another edition

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challenging 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

3.75

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laurenmcnamara's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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naturemamareads's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-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? No

4.0

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invaderlinz's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny reflective sad tense 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

3.5

3.5

Thank you to Libro.fm for this copy!

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readalongwithnat's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I received a free ALC from Netgalley and HighBridge Audio in exchange for my honest review.

WOW. I have been sleeping on story collections and that was a mistake. This is my second one this month and I really enjoyed it. There are definitely dark topics in this book, but I would have gladly listened to a full length book of each of these stories.

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franklybookish's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

4.25 / 5 stars
CW: suicidal ideation, rape, sexual abuse, miscarriage, abortion, cannibalism, suicide, grief

"What is the nature of hate? What's it useful for? And Zey imagines the townspeople, their whispers, and cruel laws, their narrowed eyes. How they ostracized the women [The Scarlet Letter], conspired to contain her light.
They were scared of her, Zey tells the teacher, realizing it as she speaks, and he jabs a finger in her direction. Yes! Exactly that, he says. Now he's getting excited, pacing before their desks, and Zey tilts forward in her seat, angling closer to his truth. Hate, he continues is almost always a cover for some perceived psychological threat-- our guilt or pain. Our fear. And how do we treat things of which we are afraid?" from 'Tongues'

Review: I found this debut to be a remarkable, authentic, and poignant collection of moments, interactions, relationships, and individuals grounded in common situations, yet hidden in the dark spaces of what we keep out of public eyes. Written in a lyrical, truly raw, and unencumbered way it's impossible to not feel compelled and emotionally linked to these characters. Moniz, in so few pages, draws the reader in and develops foundational relationships, in many ways better and stronger than many 200+ page novels do. Many of these stories, although ambiguous in nature and lacking traditional resolutions, find great success in the emotional transference to readers of what the characters are going through, how they are attempting to navigate life, and the impact of their relationships.

As with most short story collections, some stories were stronger than others. 'Milk Blood Heat' the first story presented and from which the whole collection is named, is one of the stronger pieces. Additionally, 'Tongues' and 'The Hearts of Our Enemies' stood out to me, though none of the stories stood out as a true "week link", the entire collection is strong. I personally loved the darkness of these stories, to me that darkness mimicked true life and meant there was no shying away from the truth of difficult situations and the impact of mental health.

*Thank you to Netgalley and Grove Atlantic for the advanced e-copy in exchange for a fair review*

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