Reviews tagging 'Blood'

The Wicked and the Willing by Lianyu Tan

11 reviews

electrifyingpenguin's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I love the 1920s Singapore setting and culture, the gothic vibes that draw from local SEA folktales and mythology, and the toxic, codependent relationship between Gean Choo and Mrs. Edevane. This is definitely not for the squeamish or faint of heart; there are graphic rape and torture/mutilation scenes. But I appreciate that the author doesn't hold back and still is able to write such good sex and gorey scenes.

The only thing I have a gripe about is the lack of chemistry between Gean Choo and Po Lam. The choice between two endings is nice, but the romance between these two definitely fell short when compared to the one with Mrs. Edevane.

Content Warnings

the_vegan_bookworm's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad 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

3.5

The things I liked about this story, I loved. But the things I disliked, I hated.

The metaphors comparing the vampire and abusive partner to imperialism and white supremacy are brilliant and expertly crafted. I was really compelled by how deeply this story reached into that narrative to criticize the imperial system and how you may think you're immune to its harms when you're really another victim. ("She needs me." "She needs someone like you" will live in my head rent-free forever). This metaphor also explored abusive relationships in a similar way with thinking that you will never become the victim of their rage because you're unique, but truly you're just convenient at the moment. Just truly well-done.

With this being said, the gratuitous and graphic sexual violence was almost made to feel "sexy" in a way that felt deeply upsetting.

The non consensual fisting scene goes on for pages and doesn't serve any real and meaningful purpose for the story. By going so into detail with it, it was hard to differentiate it from the other consensual sexual scenes. Focusing on the unwilling orgasms taking place during the rape also seemed to be "sexy" instead of upsetting as they should have been.

Additionally, the torture chapter felt pointless in the greater narrative and, to me, mainly served to add a "horror" element without really furthering the story. It was graphic and hard to sit through, but I admit this might be my personal taste.

If you are interested a heavy and dark book in terms of violence and can handle a lot of graphic sexual violence, you might like this story more than I did. I have high hopes for future works of the author's, and I think the author is supremely talented. I just would like to see some care in the way certain kinds of violence are addressed through these stories.

Content Warnings

tig_'s review against another edition

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challenging dark tense

5.0

Christ, this book. I feel like it is very under-identified as a horror because make no mistake, THIS IS A HORROR. Mentally, emotionally, and physically. It goes hard.

It. Was. Awesome. I loved reading an interpretation of vampires as *actual monsters* instead of the sparkly sexy undead, and my god are they monsters. The author is masterful in the slow unveiling of the villain’s true evilness; you are beguiled down the path, shown instead of told, just like the protagonist.

For those who like audiobooks, the narrator does a fantastic job — adding to the book instead of merely reading it out loud.

If you are a sensitive reader, pay close attention to the content warnings at the beginning of the book. They are accurate but not all inclusive either. I’ve added as many to this review as came to mind for me.

Content Warnings

woolerys's review against another edition

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challenging dark medium-paced

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

3.0

Writing - 3/5

Plot - 4/5

Characters - 4/5

World-building - 3/5

Personal tastes - 2/5

TOTAL: 3.2

I should have paid more attention to the content warnings on this one! There is some pretty explicit content, and dark.

I thought it was obvious from the beginning that the vampirism was an analogy for colonialism—extraction, control, hierarchy, etc.—and yet the options for the two endings had me questioning my reading! Why is there an ending with

the option to save Verity

??? Is it supposed to be about how we also allow colonization into our minds and struggle to unlearn it? Or

is Verity supposed to be a sexy villain who tugs at your heartstrings? Because I find that disgusting; she is terrible. I 100% support the Po Lam ending, even if by that point it’s the less believable one!

Anyway I will say that I always appreciate a nuanced villain. And even if I thought the choices at the end were kind of bogus, I like the concept of having a choice in the ending.

Content Warnings

k_cao_xai's review against another edition

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dark emotional 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? No

5.0

This is the book that made me crawl out from underneath my rock because I have to talk about it.

Character Impressions:

Teo Gean Choo
Hardworking 19-year-old who can be pretty naïve at times. The things she goes through in the story, my god. There were a few instances where she chose to do something and I wanted to jump in the book and shake her by the shoulders to yell, “Don’t do that, please!” But it’s more from a place of wanting to protect her than thinking she’s an idiot.

Mrs. Verity Josephine Edevane
A smoking hot vampire but the shit that she does in the book (especially towards Gean Choo) hurt my soul. I enjoyed seeing her for certain parts in the story because sometimes, she was kind of like this knight who would come to the rescue, but damn, did she develop into something.

San Po Lam
She’s the Asian butch, lesbian in the story and she doesn’t wear a hat. I don’t know why I picture her with a hat even though she's not described as wearing one. She’s not 100% perfect but she is her own character. She’s more down-to-earth, realistic, a bit cynical at times, and whenever I read her dialogue, I always imagine her saying things in a sarcastic, monotone kind of voice, I don't know why.

Minor Characters:

Mr. Kalon Cottesley: I wanted someone to snap his neck when he opened his mouth for the twentieth time. There’s a thing he does that threw me over the edge and had me on the verge of committing homicide on a fictional character. This is all in a good way. I love characters who I’m supposed to hate and I cherish the moment they get their karma. (It was glorious by the way.)

Story Impressions:

Each of our three main characters have skeletons in their closet (some have more than others). This story put me through an emotional roller coaster. It is dark. It has a handful of content warnings so brace yourself if you want to give it a chance.

At certain points in the story, things from the past come back to haunt each of our three prominent characters, as well as things in the present that come to stir things up between them. You're going to see the tone go from neutral, to dark, to even darker. More secrets get revealed, more details about their past comes to light, and towards the end, you’re gonna start wondering, how is this going to end?

And…you can choose that ending. Which I thought was pretty cool, because you as the reader, get to decide one of two pathways Gean Choo can take. Now, this isn’t a choose-your-own-adventure novel. 95% of it is a straight read-through. The author makes that very clear. The chapters I got for my decision was literally the perfect amount. Not so little that it left me wanting more, but not too much that it allowed me to imagine the future afterwards.

#TeamPoLam all the way.

Highlights:

Highlight 1: There are mother-freaking penanggalans in this story! I’ve never read a horror novel with those before. I was pretty amazed. If you don’t know what those are, it’s a monster lady who can detach her head from her body at night when she goes hunting for pregnant ladies to eat. (Her spine and intestines don’t come off by the way.)
Highlight 2: The consensual sex scenes in this story were smokin!
Highlight 3: None of the toxic behavior in this story was romanticized.
Highlight 4: The author doesn’t shy away from gore and violence. The vampires in this story don’t make pretty little incisions on someone’s neck. There were moments when people’s throats were getting ripped out. It was brutal. Heads and limps were flying off. I loved every bit of it.
Highlight 5: You can really tell the author put a lot of care and thought into the darker topics that happened in the book. She doesn’t romanticize any of the abuse, nor try to justify certain character’s behaviors. If someone’s being a piece of shit, they’re a piece of shit.

My Personal Tags About the Book:

Vampires
Sapphic vampire
Choose your own ending (NOT choose your own adventure)
Toxic relationship
Explicit sex scenes
TW
Female-on-female SA, torture, child molestation, suicide, basically all the trigger warning
Asshole character gets what's coming

Content Warnings

amyjoy's review against another edition

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dark tense

Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

A really excellent, creepy vampire novel! I feel like this is a great one for folks who have really enjoyed the new adaptation of Interview with the Vampire.

I thought it was really interesting/I really liked that Tan gave us chapters from Verity's perspective - it's a choice that made me question if we were supposed to be rooting for her even as she

rapes Gean Choo

. I also thought it was a really well done examination of being in an abusive relationship and all the conflicting feelings that comes with it.

And the Choose Your Own Adventure style ending was a fun surprise!

Content Warnings

sofipitch's review against another edition

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dark emotional slow-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? It's complicated

4.5

This book is both indulgent and intelligent. It also handles themes of colonialism, race, and abusive relationships, while also still being an entertaining horror erotica? I feel like nothing captures the way the book toes the line than the fact that there are two endings, you can chose how you'd want it to end. I feel like the ending with Verity is how the book would end, while the Po Lam ending is the fanfic fix it ending 😂 Well written and made with a lot of love

Content Warnings

readsbymoonlight's review against another edition

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dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

Content Warnings

happily_undignified's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious 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

4.0

The Wicked and the Willing by Lianyu Tan is a dark fantasy sapphic romance set in Singapore in the 1920s. It is very adult and should be read only after checking out the content warnings. There are tons of them including SA, racism, classic, DA, gore, and violence. The main character, Gean Choo, Is caught in a love triangle between Verity, a. Powerful vampire and Po Lam, her majordomo. As the book progresses, we learn more about Verity's motivations and how Gean fits into everything. The world building in the book is very gothic and surreal. The mansion sounds like something straight out of interview with the vampire. This book is gratuitously, violent and definitely a good read for people who are a fan of gore and horror.

Content Warnings

nittiotvaan's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

4.0

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