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kaiyakaiyo's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
maybe a few too many twists actually, but I liked this a lot overall! The idea of vampires as an indigenous-ish species that lived in harmony with the land, only to be subjugated and made into second class citizens was very compelling!
im not a fan of red herrings, so there was a point where I was just like “can we get on with it damn”, but in general i loved Barbara and her thought process was fascinating. the reverend… CRAZY
would love a sequel!
Graphic: Rape, Hate crime, Child abuse, Blood, Colonisation, Body horror, Misogyny, Gore, Domestic abuse, Death, Religious bigotry, Confinement, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, Torture, Death of parent, Racism, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Murder, Suicide, Sexual violence, Homophobia, and Grief
Moderate: Suicide attempt and Terminal illness
aileron's review
- 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
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Child death, Murder, Blood, Physical abuse, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Rape, Religious bigotry, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Hate crime, Confinement, Car accident, and Torture
Minor: Alcoholism, Infertility, Miscarriage, Cancer, Racism, Suicide, and Animal death
katelynprice's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Child death, and Suicide
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Infertility, Rape, Grief, Miscarriage, Dementia, Gun violence, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Alcoholism, and Animal death
jelkebooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
When this book started off I was very quickly very invested in it. I thought C.J. Tudor just did an incredible job completely transporting you to this small town. The atmosphere was impecable. I also thought the inclusion of vampyres in a premise like this one, was incredibly interesting and really well executed. I was super intrigued to see how this mystery was going to unravel itself, especially because we relatively quickly made a big breakthrough in the case.
However, that being said this book also got stagnant very quickly. After that first breakthrough it takes until the very end for anything else to happen in this book. I did still think the tension with the vampyres was interesting, but ultimately I can only read about how the townspeople really fucking hate the vampyres and want to kill them no matter what a certain amount of times before it gets really repetetive and boring. So even though I was gripped from the start, I did find myself quite bored throughout most of this book.
Then the ending also felt a bit like a bit of letdown. The reveals were really well done, and honestly I didn't even see them all coming. I just feel like they all happened a bit too close to one another as they were packed in like the last 5% of the book. Some resolutions we didn't even get to see happen on page, we're just told about them afterwards. It felt a bit like a let down. And then we also get a little something that could potentially be a teaser for a sequel. I do have interest in that though ... So maybe that will be something to check out. Yeah, in conclusion I thought this book did some things really well but it left me just a bit too bored for me to fully root for it.
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Suicide, Physical abuse, and Racism
Minor: Drug use, Alcoholism, Dementia, Misogyny, and Pedophilia
Huge content warning for child loss!!!amy_reading_23's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
I thought it was refreshing to have a middle aged plus sized lesbian protagonist and I mostly enjoyed her character, however I was dissapointed by one throw away comment towards the end that she should cut down on calories. I would love it if one day we could have a plus sized character who isn't told or isn't thinking about losing weight.
This book doesn't shy away from the heavy topics, and some content is quite explicit, so if you are worried about finding some things triggering then check out the content warnings first.
Graphic: Child death, Body horror, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Hate crime, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Addiction, Cancer, Child abuse, Colonisation, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, and Kidnapping
Minor: Body shaming, Torture, Violence, Gun violence, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, Medical content, and Rape
tabby2920's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Suicide, Death, Violence, Murder, Kidnapping, Gore, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Rape, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse