Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

The Sacrifice by Rin Chupeco

9 reviews

hookerkitty's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.5

Usually when you hear the phrase “don’t judge a book by its cover” it’s bc the cover is crappy, but the writing is good. However in this case it’s the exact opposite. 

This story had the potential to be amazing, but definitely needed (basically everything) to be fully fleshed out and heavily edited. It was full of caricatures and tropes which induced many eye rolls. Plus I found several grammatical/spelling errors (including usage of the wrong word or incomplete/nonsensical sentences). Parts of it were really interesting, while others were a slog to get through. I had to go back and re-read several parts because I had no idea what was going on (and unfortunately re-reading them didn’t usually help). 

Basically this was a confusing and disappointing read. I don’t remember how I came across this since it wasn’t in my TBR, but I don’t think I’d read other works by this author. From the reviews I’ve read it seems like her books are really hit or miss, so I don’t want to waste (more) time on books that I don’t like. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Colonisation

Minor: Animal cruelty, Chronic illness, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, and Car accident

gnarly_cinnamonroll's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-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? No

3.75

I definitely enjoyed this bit- it was refreshing to get to read a book based in Filipino lore/mythology. It didn’t bother me that the Tagalog want always directly translated as you can figure out what Alon is saying contextually. I enjoyed the LGBT aspect of the book however I felt that

the relationship between Alon and Chase didn’t make much sense to me beyond surface level interactions. I wish that there had been more time with the two characters developing a more extensive/cleaned out environment.

 

I enjoyed how the side characters were given nicknames that feels real as to how we may refer to b people by monikers in our internal dialogue. The descriptions of the environment were riveting and kept me hooked. I wished I had felt more connected to Alon who feels more like a neutral narrator telling a story than the protagonist of the novel.

However, that may be intentional since we learn who  Tatay is and Alon’s connection to them.

 

Overall I enjoyed the plot twists, descriptions, and mythology, but found myself c wanting deeper characters development and relationships.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug use, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Violence, Stalking, Murder, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

shinyharley's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-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

5.0

Rin Chupeco has become one of my favorite authors. They create stunning worlds that blend cultures beliefs, superstitions and environments in beautiful ways. This book gripped me from the first page and at the end left me wishing for more (in the best way.) I fell in love with the way the beauty of nature was combined to both inhance and contrast with all the spookiness thats happening which help create the air of this mysterious island lost to time and the myths around it. I also love the commentary on how people change and impact the places they visit and how much harm disrespect can lead too.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Blood, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

awkwardimagination's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

3.75

I was really really enjoying this book, it was so good from the very first line. But I cannot help but feel,,, disappointed by the ending? maybe its my brain and I'm tired but i was hoping for something idfferent and reading the last chunk of the book made my brain feel mushy. I do really like this book, Alon and Askal were fantastic and the central theme of the book is one I like a lot - much about humanity and our actions. A great summary of this book is basically "greedy white men get whats coming to them, finally"

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Car accident, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Suicide, Medical content, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation

tspice24's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

annelihghh's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Blood

Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

annemariemulksibb's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

As I read this, I could easily imagine what the creepy movie version would be like-- All full of petrifying figures appearing in the background, often going unnoticed by the characters in focus. Eek. 
I enjoyed this book. As I hit the 2/3 mark, it felt more and more like a young adult novel, which it is. One of the characters became a bit over the top for me at that point, becoming flatter and more and more myopic to move the plot forward. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Alcohol and Sexual harassment

mangocorpses's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Blood, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Racism

daniellestarredpages's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I really enjoyed this book. The fact that most off this book was entered around privileged white Americans encroaching on a space that wasn't theirs to enter, ignoring all the warnings and suffering the (horrifying, supernatural) consequences was something I never thought would become a plot point I would thoroughly enjoy but I did. 

This book also makes a budding queer relationship between a the son of one of the producers of the show and Alon (they/them) the local boy, with  a strange connection to the island, who tries repeated to warn the Hollywood people to get off the island.

The horror element of the story was amazing written, vividly detailed and sufficiently creepy without being  too much for the people who have a lower tolerance.

Also the twist! It was hinted at without being too obvious. I loved it.

If you are looking for more reviews from me, check out my YouTube channel here : https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCGRr_IBoWd5ue-0Q9qffYdw/featured

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Racial slurs, Car accident, and Colonisation