Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

The Gathering by C.J. Tudor

4 reviews

nrogers_1030's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

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

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• 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

a fun time, definitely twisty! 

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! 

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Content Warnings

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

amy_reading_23's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

This is a well written and fast paced book. I'd say it fits more the crime genre than fantasy, it just happens to have vampires in it. I think it was an interesting take on vampires and they were certainly used as a device to explore real life issues like prejudice, inequality, and scapegoating. The vampire colony shared a lot of similarities to native American reservations and how indigenous people of America have been treated - I am not indigenous or American so can't really say if this was done sensitively but it seemed to be to me. It was certainly interesting, and it's one of my favourite things magical books does - is to hold a mirror up to society and make us think. 

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. 

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Content Warnings

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

dogearedbooks'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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Child abuse, Gore, Murder, Death of parent, Hate crime, Religious bigotry, Blood, and Car accident

Moderate: Physical abuse, Suicide, Violence, Dementia, Fire/Fire injury, Pedophilia, Alcohol, Blood, Child death, Child abuse, Death of parent, Rape, and Gun violence