Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

White Horse by Erika T. Wurth

18 reviews

thebearnest's review

dark emotional mysterious 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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Cursing, Sexual content, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Death, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse, Drug abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Drug use, Colonisation, and Addiction

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, and Gun violence

mary_stormageddon's review

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-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

3.5

Too much telling, not enough showing. I had a hard time disappearing into this story. But I loved a lot of aspects of it. It was sad. And I learned a lot. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Violence, Alcohol, Death of parent, Drug use, Grief, Blood, and Death

abbynordman's review

slow-paced

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

1.0

This book is a mess and is NOT horror. None of the characters are likable, and not in a good way. This book also downplays spousal abuse. The characters act a controlling and emotionally abusive partner is problem that can be solved with the snap of a finger and everyone can have live happily ever after.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic relationship

Minor: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual assault

czoltak's review

challenging dark mysterious 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

“The harsh, cruel sounds of metal that satisfied the pain, the parts of us that would never completely recover.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I really enjoyed this one. However, I can easily see why this book won’t be for everyone. Firstly, the book is marketed as horror, and while it certainly has some horror elements, the overall story is much more of a mystery than anything else. Also, Kari, our main character is someone I’m sure many will find unlikeable. She’s outspoken, coarse, and doesn’t put up with anything that she doesn’t want to. Personally, I loved Kari as a main character; I thought her tenacity and boldness made her incredibly interesting to read from. We follow Kari as she reluctantly goes on a journey to figure out what really happened to her mother after she mysteriously disappeared only 2 days after Kari was born. The sections of trying to figure out what happened were my favorites as we got to learn more about Kari’s past and why she is so guarded and hard now, those who knew her mother best, and some previously unspoken family secrets. However, once we got the final resolution, I was a bit disappointed; the story took a direction I wasn’t expecting and didn’t necessarily love. Also, the final act felt incredibly rushed for some reason. On the other hand, another aspect I did not see coming, but absolutely loved were all the homages to ‘The Shining’. I enjoyed Kari’s love of metal music and horror books, and I loved it even more that she continuously read and referenced ‘The Shining’. My absolute favorite part of the book is when she actually goes to the Stanley Hotel. The mood and tone of this book already reminded me a bit of King’s works, but the direct references made the story that much better. Overall, I know this won’t be for everyone, but I do hope it makes it to the niche audience who will truly love it for what it is. 🎠🍻🏜️🚬🪬💀👀👊🪓⏳

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Addiction, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Ableism, and Incest

chelsearae87's review

• 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? It's complicated

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Drug use, Drug abuse, Child abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Violence, Murder, Alcohol, Body horror, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Death, Abandonment, Alcoholism, and Blood

corncake's review

dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense slow-paced

3.0

Less horror, more supernatural family drama. I enjoyed the protagonist - a gritty and messy individual with a soft heart for those she loves. And the story wasn’t bad, I just felt a bit bored while reading - probably cause I was expecting something a bit more scary and less domestic. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Pedophilia, Rape, Suicide, Drug abuse, Drug use, Murder, Suicide attempt, Violence, Cursing, Death, Grief, Alcohol, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Body horror, and Domestic abuse

carriepond's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.25

White Horse by Erika T. Wurth opens with our protagonist, Kari James, in the bar after which the novel is named. Kari is an urban Native who loves heavy metal music, Stephen King novels, and hanging out with her cousin, Debby, whenever Debby's controlling husband okays it. Debby has found a bracelet that used to belong to Kari's mother, who disappeared when Kari was a baby. Kari has always assumed that her mother left her and her father and her father, who is incapacitated by a traumatic brain injury after a car wreck when Kari was young, is unable to offer insight. Soon, Kari begins to have visions of her mother's ghost, prompting her to open all manner of old wounds in search of the truth.

Although there were a lot of things I really liked about this book, in the end, it didn't quite come together for me. Pros: I loved how Wurth used Indigenous spirituality and culture to add depth to the typical ghost story. I also loved Wurth's description of Denver and all the places Kari went-- I felt like I was there and it made me want to visit Denver immediately. I also loved how the world Kari inhabits is imbued with native culture without Wurth overexplaining or hand-holding readers who might not be familiar-- it is what it is, and it feels authentic and complete as a result. I also love the way Wurth explores trauma, both individual and collective, and how those traumas ripple down and reverberate through generations. Cons: I found the plot to be pretty predictable and a little all over the place at times, and Wurth spent a lot of time on subplots that I found uninteresting and a little annoying (Debby and her husband, for example), which distracted me from the elements of the novel that were really interesting and compelling.

Although this didn't quite live up to my expectations, I would still recommend it to fans of horror that subverts norms and explores big ideas while still being spooky. There were a lot of great elements here, and I would check out a future novel from Wurth.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Gun violence

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Colonisation, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, and Misogyny

Minor: Car accident

yuyuv's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, Drug use, Medical content, Murder, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Colonisation, Cursing, Addiction, Blood, Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Violence

Minor: Forced institutionalization and Car accident

julied's review

challenging dark emotional funny informative mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Blood, Child abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Addiction, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Self harm, Sexism, Vomit, Alcohol, and Alcoholism

omnilegentoberski'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

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Drug abuse, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts