Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

When Darkness Loves Us by Elizabeth Engstrom

5 reviews

jully_bean's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Child abuse, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Confinement, and Incest

thestartrekunicorndog's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Loved the first novella contained within this (the titular "When Darkness Loves Us") because I absolutely adore cave-related horror. Something about being underground terrifies me! I also got really invested in how terrible the main character's family was. I wasn't as fond of the second story, "Beauty Is...", which is a little unfocused. Additionally, I think some of its themes, while well-intentioned, may come off as unintentionally ableist to some modern readers and have aged awkwardly. It is a story about how ableism is bad, but the execution was lacking. My star rating is just an awkward mishmash of what I would rate both stories; I think When Darkness Loves Us is a solid 4 star and Beauty Is... is somewhere around a 2.5 or 3 depending on my mood.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Alcohol, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Abandonment, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Mental illness, and Murder

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Gore, Medical trauma, Alcoholism, Blood, Kidnapping, Medical content, Incest, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Chronic illness, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Gaslighting, Car accident, Cursing, Pregnancy, Vomit, Sexual assault, and Forced institutionalization

bookish_ann's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

4.0

This was featured in Paperback from Hell and thus was rescued from obscurity via a re-release.
I truly did not expect to like this at all… both stories looked like they would veer into V.C. Andrews territory and while I loved that as a middle-schooler, it is not something I need as an adult.  But while I put each story down and stepped away, I could not stay away, and happily my worst fears were not realized (mostly).  While some of the things that happen are in that wheelhouse, they way they are handled is very different and the writing is worlds better.
One thing stood out to me as odd in both stories though - both feature child brides. In the first story, Sally-Ann is a newlywed 16 year old, and in the second, Fern is married on her 17th birthday.  It’s treated as completely normal, but was it???  I thought that even going back a few generations it was more customary to graduate high school AT LEAST.  This was published in 1985!  Maybe this was a case of being YS before YA was a thing, and in order to have some romance there needed to be marriage?  IDK.
This was a page-turner with surprising nuance for a pulpy 80’s horror.  Quite enjoyable.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement

Moderate: Incest, Violence, and Ableism

Minor: Blood, Death of parent, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, and Body horror

jyan's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-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

3.0

These are two VERY dark stories, each examining the effects of trauma on the psyche, both told in wildly different ways. I adored quite  bit of the first story, "When Darkness Loves Us", a back-pricking, heartbreaker of a tale of a woman forced to change her life in horrific ways after a horrifying accident, though it devolves into a subject that always turns my stomach (and not in a good way). The second "Beauty Is...", leaves me a little puzzled, as the metaphor at its center can feel a little exploitative (and its depiction of mental illness is questionable). Still, both have bomb blast endings and I'm looking forward to exploring more by this author. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Mental illness, Child abuse, Animal death, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Death of parent, Kidnapping, and Medical trauma

cyan_ink's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Child abuse, and Incest

Moderate: Death of parent, Violence, and Mental illness