Scan barcode
downtown_kb'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? No
3.0
Enjoyed the set up in a world where vampires exist and are tolerated but discriminated against. There are many laws in place to protect them from hate crimes.
There is a murder in a tiny Alaskan town and Barbara is sent to determine if a vampire truly is to blame. I liked Barbara as a lead. But towards the end I got a little lost in all the characters in the air and all the lose ends. I also didn't need Barbara's childhood flashbacks.
Great on audio by Lorelei King.
Moderate: Racism
nrogers_1030's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Cursing, Gore, Death, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Confinement and Alcohol
Minor: Pedophilia, Homophobia, Terminal illness, Racism, Dementia, Suicide, Cancer, and Fire/Fire injury
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
amanda_reads89's review against another edition
- 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? No
4.5
Graphic: Xenophobia, Death, Domestic abuse, Murder, Violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, and Gore
Minor: Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Slavery, Rape, and Sexual assault
paronomaniac'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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Blood, Murder, and Child death
Moderate: Racism, Homophobia, Colonisation, Confinement, and Gun violence
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Deadnaming, and Transphobia
josiesprobablyreading's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Moderate: Physical abuse, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, and Confinement
Minor: Child death, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Gun violence
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
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!!!chloverleaf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Body shaming and Racism