Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

The Lost Girls by Sonia Hartl

6 reviews

elwirax's review

dark slow-paced

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

2.0

The premise was everything, a band of vampire exes teaming up to kill the vampire who turned them then stealing his new girlfriend. What more could you want? Unfortunately, in this case a bit more. I had such high hopes and was rather dissapointed. I also started this book in September 2021, it is now June 2022 sooo...just goes to show how much I was enjoying it. 

The writing was simple enough, though very dialogue heavy which slowed down the pace of the book significantly and for an already short book it says a lot. I also couldn't gel with the fact that all the characters sounded practically the same, surely someone from the 1920s would not speak in the same manner as someone's from the 1980s. The characters as a whole were too contemporary and rather bland and I just didn't really care. 

I was also not convinced by the romance at all, Parker and Holly had no chemistry and it was very insta-lovey. Had the book been longer and developed the relationship I may have enjoyed it more. Then again, I don't think I would have finished the book had it been any longer. 

I also didn't think there were many stakes. The way the author created the vampires in her book meant that even the most severe injuries healed quickly (there was a scene where the main character's arm was torn off and it grew back in seconds). This added to the lack of anticipation and excitement as there was never really anything that made me fear for their well being. 

One thing I did like was the author's more realistic portrayal of vampires. Living forever probably leaves you with many regrets and isn't as fun as it is usually portrayed. This was an aspect that was explored through all the characters and whatever was given of their backstories. I also kinda liked the heirloom idea but that's about as much as I cared for in this book. 

Overall, I was underwhelmed. The premise was great but the execution lacked.
 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Violence, Sexual assault, and Abandonment

amandaquotidianbooks's review against another edition

dark funny reflective 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? Yes

3.75

The vampire lore felt fresh. I really enjoyed the found family and discussion of healthy relationships.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Toxic relationship, Death, and Murder

Minor: Sexual assault

bradleygiselle's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Grief, Blood, Bullying, Death, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Violence

layn_reads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Violence

toofondofbooks_'s review

dark funny lighthearted sad tense medium-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? Yes

I liked the first half of this book enough that I was going to give it 5 stars, but the second half kind of chipped points away for me. As always, I wanna start with the good aspects. The first of these being that this was campy and fun most of the time. I highlighted a ton of parts that made me laugh, there was so much of it that was darkly funny. Another thing I really liked were the two vampire "sidekicks" (but let's face it, they were kind of running shit) Ida and Rose. I thought they were far more interesting than our main character, whose name I kept forgetting 💀

The things that bugged me are as follows: the romance was weak. I felt like it was a little forced and I have an idea for a different route it could've taken that would make it better. I also think the book would've been better from Rose or Ida's point of view, or switching points of view, but I understand why it wasn't. There was also sexual content that made me uncomfortable. It didn't feel like it belonged in what I'm pretty sure is a YA novel, but maybe that's just me. Also, I found the way they disposed of their kills to be a little too convenient and unbelievable, even for a vampire story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Child death, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Violence, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Gaslighting, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Alcohol, Cursing, Death of parent, Dementia, Gore, and Blood

Moderate: Bullying

make_believer's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

John Tucker Must Die meets Jennifer’s Body. It’s perfect.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Violence