erafact's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Child death, Animal death, and Death
Moderate: Racial slurs, Car accident, Homophobia, Domestic abuse, Rape, and Cannibalism
Minor: Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Excrement, Stalking, Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Animal cruelty, Physical abuse, and Alcoholism
Set in a rural area in the 70's, lots of slurs thrown around. A man catches his wife cheating, then beats her and rapes her over the next couple (?) Weeks. Several children die. A dog is killed but not graphically, we just find its body.literatureleaf's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Gore, and Murder
Moderate: Physical abuse, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Animal death, Alcoholism, Rape, Sexual violence, Cursing, Homophobia, and Infidelity
Minor: Bullying, Medical content, Car accident, Addiction, Racial slurs, Sexism, Grief, and Death of parent
shadowdra126's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Sexual violence, Bullying, Rape, Domestic abuse, and Homophobia
nicole_cob_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Death, Violence, Cursing, Blood, and Homophobia
Moderate: Grief, Child death, Drug use, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, Sexual content, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Sexual violence, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, and Stalking
augustinedreams's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
Graphic: Body horror, Medical content, Violence, Addiction, Death of parent, Alcohol, Cursing, Death, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Torture, Alcoholism, Blood, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, and Murder
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Body shaming, Drug abuse, and Gaslighting
Minor: Sexual harassment, Rape, and Sexual assault
bookbelle5_17's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Grief, Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Racial slurs, Violence, Addiction, Death of parent, Murder, and Physical abuse
zone_a3's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Stalking, Child abuse, Child death, Infidelity, Blood, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and Animal death
Moderate: Body horror, Rape, Sexual violence, Bullying, Car accident, and Alcoholism
sayhar13's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Car accident, Child death, Blood, Bullying, Gore, Death of parent, Animal death, Death, and Child abuse
Moderate: Alcoholism and Sexism
Minor: Homophobia, Rape, and Racial slurs
chris_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I enjoyed the plot and—while at times meandering—his prose was great. I liked the focus on classic vampire lore and how it connects to the characters' tenets of literature and religion in the modern world. But there were things that bogged it down as well.
To start, there were so many characters referenced it felt like I was expected to learn the names and personalities of the entire town. I liked the main players, and thankfully I got over the confusion once the plot got going and focused more on them. There were a couple relevant female characters, but I wish they had a larger role in the story overall. And of course the casual use of homophobic slurs/mentions of rape/slut shaming really date the book. And I honestly expected it to be scarier.
I'd heard about his lackluster endings more than once, but I quite enjoyed this one. I thought it worked for the story being told, if a bit simply. And I know horror endings are though to land.
Overall a good book with flaws. I'm definitely willing to try more of his work, so if anyone has suggestions of where to start, please feel free.
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Medical content, and Violence
Moderate: Bullying, Car accident, Death of parent, Grief, Homophobia, Alcoholism, and Animal death
Minor: Blood, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, and Rape
carrionkid's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Sexual content, Violence, Vomit, and Alcoholism