Reviews tagging 'Blood'

The Devil Makes Three by Tori Bovalino

30 reviews

zgreyz's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Death of parent and Cultural appropriation

grishawitchlands_75's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Blood

Moderate: Cancer, Child abuse, Terminal illness, and Dementia

sephiefoxx's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, and Terminal illness

Minor: Physical abuse, Grief, and Death of parent

catsandbookspluspup's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

celina246's review against another edition

dark fast-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

3.75

i don't know what possessed her to write this book. but it was, for the most part, very well written (v deep & dark for a YA book).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Terminal illness, and Grief

Minor: Death of parent

nadiaherondale's review against another edition

challenging mysterious fast-paced

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

3.5

A bit predictable and juvenile at times, but honestly, it's YA I get it. The last 25% was a bit rushed honestly, and it infuriated me that Elliot and Tess didn't seem to realize what was going on. And it was also infuriating that they spent half of the book not knowing how to communicate with each other. The plot was interesting with a bit of Dark Academia vibe to it. Overall it's not a bad book, but it's not something special 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Blood, and Vomit

Moderate: Death and Terminal illness

thesatellitecafe's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense

2.5

What happens in certain (many) scenes is very dark and gore-filled, but somehow none of it manages to be actually scary. 

The story takes its time unspooling the horror aspects, but once the thread is cut you’re well and truly dropped in. It’s like stepping into a dark room from a sun-soaked day and your eyes need to adjust to the dimness. Except in this case, the story starts with the quiet of a dusty library and you step past a threshold, into the horrific consequences of… occult dealings. Academia, right?

And yet, the story lacks the knife’s-edge tension to be truly horrifying. 

The strongest aspects of the novel were the mundane moments.

The ones where Tess is peppering books with sticky note insults or struggling to juggle multiple jobs to keep her and her sister afloat. Or where Eliot is desperate and hopeful and heartbrokenly trying to find a way to help his mother.

These scenes are all so deeply and painfully human, that when the horror arrived I mostly felt disappointed.

In comparison, the gore and trying to figure out what’s up with the devil scenes lack the same emotionality as the mundane ones. I wish we could have gotten to see more moments where Tess was

tempted to take the devil up on his offer. If we were shown more often than told of her passion for music and the cello, seeing the consequences of her putting aside her own dreams would have been more impactful. She gave up the life she wanted for her family. The devil shows her what her life could be like, if she accepted his deal. Let her waver and grapple with morals. Let her be tempted.

Lean more into that!

I will say, I enjoyed both Tess and Eliot as characters. They just got a little lost in the horror along the way. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Gore, Self harm, Blood, and Suicide attempt

ahen's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious 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? Yes

4.25

ending was brilliant

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Violence, Blood, Medical content, and Death of parent

sandra_bwf's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Self harm, and Blood

uncreativeoops's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Self harm, Terminal illness, Blood, and Death of parent

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders