Reviews tagging 'Trafficking'

Lovesick by Luana Vecchio

5 reviews

yeet_reading's review

dark tense fast-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, and Murder

bria1312's review

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, and Stalking

livlamentloathe's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Probably the most fucked-up book I’ve ever read. Graphically disgusting and psychologically disturbed. HOWEVER, there was something so fascinating about the world and about Domino in particular. Like a more disturbed Harley Quinn but bloodier. 

This story depicts a part of the world I will never understand or empathize with but it brings up so many great questions about life, love, and vulnerability. Truly, is it murder if the victim is consenting? I don’t think there’s an easy answer, and I don’t even think this necessarily answers it but it does expand the depth and complexities of said question. What is the cost of a human life? How much more can you take before it breaks you?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Murder, and Abandonment

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Confinement, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicide, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Drug use, Pedophilia, Racism, and Trafficking

Violent, full of gore and harm. It’s walks a tricky line because most of the victims are consenting adults, but can you truly consent to the acts depicted?

lilli_mack's review

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

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

2.5

Western comics spent a long time not getting to tell horror stories. The Comics Code Authority kept that shit tamped down for decades, so any comic from a major publisher in that genre has a sort of elevated importance to me. It feels like we're still building a foundation for that canon. 

Lovesick is so good at being horrifying. I read it in a single sitting, and I had to go horizontal several times. The gore in this book is gut-churning. The art, especially on the covers, is stunning. And it's playing in a unique arena, that of dark-web snuff porn and the people who engage with that kind of cursed shit. Lovesick very quickly racks up a deep catalogue of content warnings, and dares you to look away. The first three issues are nearly perfect, and I'd absolutely recommend them to anyone who can stomach the content and is looking for a good horror short story.

However, this trade compiles 7 issues. The second arc focuses on showing us who our main characters really are, and how they got to this point. Issues 4 and 5 have writing and art generally on par with the first arc, but the more time I spent marinating in the subject matter of this book, the more I was left hungry for a "so-what," or any sort of cohesive point that the author was trying to make. It felt like the book was more focused on depiction, rather than discussion. The last two issues sort fall apart a bit. The moment-to-moment quality drops off pretty notably, and the themes become extremely muddled. The ending also feels sorta toothless. By the time I finished reading, I was left entirely unsatisfied. While the story unnerved me in the way it wanted to, it felt like it only pressed those buttons for the sake of pressing them. 

TL:DR: Lovesick is impressive as a horror short story but, in my opinion, fails to be worth its content warnings.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Stalking, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Homophobia and Racism

Minor: Vomit

It's about the making of snuff films. Please be careful.

mcribsy13's review

challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Car accident, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail