Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Mestiza Blood by V. Castro

4 reviews

meaghanelizabook's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Animal death, Gore, Cursing, Violence, Body horror, Excrement, Infertility, Vomit, Sexual content, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Alcohol, Hate crime, Confinement, and Deportation

mfrisk's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

This is my 3rd V. Castro read and it did not disappoint. The short stories in this book all pack a punch in one way or another and there are plenty of strong female characters and monstrous beings to choose from. I love this author’s vivid descriptions of settings, gore, and the discussion of social issues mixed in with the elements of supernatural horror. Highly recommend! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Alcohol, Gore, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Murder, Blood, Death, and Injury/Injury detail

catapocalypse's review

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

4.25

Though I wasn't familiar with the author, I was eager to try her collection out and ended up having a good time! There was a bit of variety with the types of horror: emotional hard-hitters, chilling monster encounters, slashers, even one with a compelling sci-fi premise. Castro explores a variety of things through her heroines, like sex work, disability, poverty & homelessness, bigotry, anti-immigration policies, the pressures of motherhood, etc.

Some things might have needed slightly more polish, as a story occasionally felt like it changed gears jarringly. There was at least one notable instance of being a little too "on the nose," where an alt-right villain was named "Spencer Richardson;" I feel we could have got the idea of the type without the name play, and it felt a little more tongue-in-cheek than the story as a whole, to me.

But oh boy! I would really love to see a few of these expanded into their own full books, especially "Donkey Lady Bridge," "The Cold Season," "The Final Porn Star," and "The Latin Queens of Mictlan" (but on an epic dark fantasy scale!). Whether or not Castro revisits these ideas, I'll keep an eye out for more from her! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Death, Body horror, and Gore

Moderate: Racism, Misogyny, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Medical trauma, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy

bookswithmari's review

adventurous dark medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Miscarriage, Murder, Violence, Xenophobia, and Sexual content

Moderate: Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, and Vomit