Reviews with content warning for Gore - The Return

Reviews tagging 'Gore'

kate_monster93's review

dark emotional funny mysterious tense 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? Yes

5.0

I love how dark and funny Rachel Harrison's books are. The fact that she can make me laugh and then immediately terrify me is astounding. This book definitely feels more "horror" than her other books, which are a bit more fantastical. However, I couldn't put it down. I read it in just a few days and didn't do much else.

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cursivewolf's review

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dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

actually had me weeping.
grief and guilt are both monsters

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livlamentloathe's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.0

I think this story got ahead of itself. It told more than it showed. And I don’t even quite understand what happened? Was it paranormal? Supernatural? What? I’m unsure. It felt on the cusp of something but kept eating away at odd backstories instead of revealing the truth. Very repetitive. I wanted it to be much more than it was.

And I set myself up for that too. I was trying to predict the twist. In actuality, there wasn’t enough there. A lot of hyped up secrets only for them to fall flat. A lot of build up only to blow away in the wind. And it was so close to queer but was not, my biggest disappointment of all. Don’t hope for surprise lesbians, you will be disappointed.

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heypretty52's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

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slimepuppy's review against another edition

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dark mysterious 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? Yes

4.5

Oh, this one was a gut punch, simultaneously scary and so, so sad. The definitive "sometimes dead is better" book.

The body horror is genuinely disgusting and disturbing, and I'm not someone who is usually fazed by it. The beginning of the book builds such an oppressive atmosphere, you can't help but start to feel like Elise's growing paranoia is spreading to you, too.

The characters are complex, multidimensional and flawed while still retaining enough of a charm that shows why they're friends.

My only complaint really is the very ending of the book - I wish we got more of an exploration of everyone's feelings and a real conversation between the characters instead of them simply acknowledging that they do, in fact, have feelings - it doesn't really seem like things changed between the girls, even if they say it did.

Also wtf did the authorities do about the hotel L O L ??????

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amermanda's review

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dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A super fast read that totally sucked me in!! Perfect mix of creepy thriller and exploring a friendship dynamic as you age. I related to the MCs thoughts about where she fits in a friend group so much. Will be checking out their other works!

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monstersinspace's review

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dark mysterious sad slow-paced

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

3.0

Spoilers: The story sorta meandered around a bit and only really picked up like 75% through the book. It was like the author wanted to write both a coming of age story about out growing friendships and how life changes, but hey also this girl might be a demon. It was well written and I liked the characters I just think some of it got lost in the interpersonal relationships which isn't necessaryly a bad thing, but I went in expecting a horror book and I'm not sure if it fully delivered on that.

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