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bkwrm1317's review
dark
funny
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
I rarely enjoy the second book in a trilogy more than the first. That is indeed the case here.
Love Jade and Letha’s return, as well as some other familiar faces, and the introduction of new faces including our new boogeyman (all with a surprise twist at the end because duh it’s Graham Jones after all) that closes the loop on a subplot from My Heart Is A Chainsaw.
And the last couple lines whewww! Spoiler:” …along with what no photograph could have captured: Jade shrugging free of the two state officials holding her by the upper arms, shaking free and stepping ahead, reaching her right arm back to her waistband. When she thrusts her right arm up in victory, what she’s holding there for all the gods to see, for the whole world to know, for you to never have in your sacred collection, it’s a hook. From the killer she killed. Because she’s Jade fucking Daniels. And a thousand men like you can’t even reach up to touch her combat boots.”
Gods I love a good slasher. I’ll be anxiously awaiting the close of this series and returning to Jade, Letha and the gang, while revisiting films in anticipation of how we might close out this saga.
Love Jade and Letha’s return, as well as some other familiar faces, and the introduction of new faces including our new boogeyman (all with a surprise twist at the end because duh it’s Graham Jones after all) that closes the loop on a subplot from My Heart Is A Chainsaw.
And the last couple lines whewww! Spoiler:
Gods I love a good slasher. I’ll be anxiously awaiting the close of this series and returning to Jade, Letha and the gang, while revisiting films in anticipation of how we might close out this saga.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore
Moderate: Child death, Death, and Blood
jillaay_h's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
ehmannky's review
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Stephen Graham Jones is such a spectacularly talented writer I and it is such a treat to read a sequel better than the first installment. I honestly think it's better than My Heart Is A Chainsaw--something about Jade and her crew being grown up and them dealing with this trauma and violence that is at the heart of the American West and the small towns just hit right. And I didn't know if I would love the multiple character POV, but it worked so well. It also had these moments of dark humor that made me chuckle amongst the horror that I just loved (Jade being indignant about a slasher using a gun was very good).
My only criticism is that I felt that the fantastical element was as seamlessly integrated into the plot as it was in the last one. But I'm so excited for the third book in this series it's been so good so far.
On a reread I agree with everything me from a year ago said, but I think this is book, like the first in the series, improves on a rereading. Knowing the twists in the plot makes it really fun to see the foreshadowing for the reveal for what it was.I also missed this on the first read through, but the way Dark Mill South is continually compared with at least vaguely physically resembling Tab Daniels just makes it fit in so well with the slasher genre of the Big Bad Slasher rising from his grave for the sequel. Also, Jade's mom hits so hard because it's a woman who tries to protect her daughter but is ultimately too weighed down by her ineffectiveness, her unrealized dreams, to actually be a protector. I think reading this one so soon after rereading the first one really just made her death a lot more meaningful than I found it the first time through.
My only criticism is that I felt that the fantastical element was as seamlessly integrated into the plot as it was in the last one. But I'm so excited for the third book in this series it's been so good so far.
On a reread I agree with everything me from a year ago said, but I think this is book, like the first in the series, improves on a rereading. Knowing the twists in the plot makes it really fun to see the foreshadowing for the reveal for what it was.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Bullying, and Self harm
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt
averagesparrow's review
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Cursing and Racism
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Rape
jayjm94's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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? It's complicated
5.0
As perfect a book as I’ve ever read. It had everything: horror references, incredibly adept women, strange teenagers, a small town on the water, a snowstorm, and some light supernatural content. an absolute gem by SGJ, almost certainly my best book of the year (close 2nd being my heart is a chainsaw) cannot wait for the 3rd!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Incest, Sexual assault, Car accident, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
juliana18's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
sad
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? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, and Torture
Minor: Pedophilia
zosiablue's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
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? It's complicated
4.25
Man, marry me, Stephen Graham Jones. He's just the best. Like all his stories, this one has full heart and gorgeous writing and campiness and tragedy and action and total respect for the genre. He's the only my writer I know who can do textual jumpscares. This is true horror but it's exhilarating because it follows slasher-horror rules until it doesn't and the rule breaks are totally earned. Can't wait for the next one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
sofipitch's review
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I'm so disappointed to say this one was just meh. Because I ADORED My Heart is a Chainsaw. The best part of Chainsaw to me is Jade's perspective, it scratched a very specific itch for me, the unreliable narrator, obsessive focus on what the character loves, disregarding a lot else, the way in her essays it Mr. Homes it feels like she is lecturing at you, telling you about slashers with an infectious enthusiasm (I love horror but slashers really aren't my thing). Also Chainsaw all came together at the end in a very perfect way. Which all that is what Reaper was missing. The multiple POVs didn't add much, in fact to me it felt like it lessened my emotional investment, rather than heightening it. There were too many ppl to keep track of, I didn't reread Chainsaw which was maybe a mistake. I'm not the best at remembering names and some of the characters Reaper brought to the forefront I couldn't remember from book 1, and then they still failed to make an impact. I didn't count but we had at least ten POVs which for a 450 page book is too many. Also the "it all comes together at the end" didn't feel as strong or emotionally impactful in this book. Dark Mill South as a slasher is actually the kind of slasher that idgaf about, some brick wall who just loves killing. The thing with Cinnamon was also eh, the stag was the only one I really liked and delivered the way I think it was supposed to. So a lot of this is all my opinion, I've tried to make that clear bc like I said I'm not a slasher girl so slasher fans might still love this, but since this is a sequel, I don't think it lived up to the expectations of the first book. The first book still had enough of an impact for me to likely read the third when it comes out.
Second reading review: While having just read Chainsaw helped with the characters the multiple povs still hurts the book, slows momentum, etc. Showing what someone was doing before they are gored is how slasher movies operate but I think SGJ wants to flesh out his characters maybe too much.
Still looking forward to the finale though!
Second reading review: While having just read Chainsaw helped with the characters the multiple povs still hurts the book, slows momentum, etc. Showing what someone was doing before they are gored is how slasher movies operate but I think SGJ wants to flesh out his characters maybe too much.
Still looking forward to the finale though!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, and Violence
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, and Sexual harassment
mlovesbooks's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Jade Daniels is at it again.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Gore, and Blood
lennybiird's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Gore, and Murder
Moderate: Drug use