Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley

59 reviews

risemini's review

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Murder, Rape, Suicide attempt, Police brutality, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, Child death, Self harm, Sexual assault, Vomit, Excrement, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Trafficking, and Violence

shesun's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Trafficking, Rape, Sexual assault, and Police brutality

Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Child death, Racism, Self harm, Violence, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Abandonment, Murder, Suicide, and Terminal illness

kp_writ's review

3.0

Extremely mixed feelings about this read. Some of the most poetic and mesmerizing prose I've seen in a novel, with very real and poignant slice of life writing for the first quarter of the book. But the plot and pacing honestly made this read a bit miserable. 

Very bleak and caused me to dissociate, so I admittedly skimmed through half the novel and therefore missed out on that poetic prose that was the strongest asset. The plot wallowed so much in its depressing and traumatic turns (of which there were many...) that it got in the way of any character development and relationship building. While the conflict between characters was very real and nuanced, the relationships themselves felt static and stubborn, usually forgotten when the two characters weren't interacting on the page. 

In the end, each character felt less like a person and more like an object to project plot points and thematic messaging, which of course under baked any message that was conveyed. I cannot understate how much trauma these characters endured, and how unnecessary some of the descriptions and events seemed to me. While I don't doubt this amount of trauma is reality for some Black Americans, the overuse of it, in combination with some of the other weaknesses of this book, took away from the storytelling. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Trafficking, Violence, Vomit, Blood, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Police brutality, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Child abuse, Child death, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Stalking, and Rape

Moderate: Racism, Addiction, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Bullying, Death, Misogyny, and Mental illness

bambooboy's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Transphobia, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Police brutality, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Cursing, Death of parent, Drug use, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Classism, Blood, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Trafficking, Vomit, Colonisation, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Violence

lukel's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Abandonment, Child death, Sexual content, Classism, Sexual assault, Trafficking, Death of parent, Child abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Drug abuse, Terminal illness, Emotional abuse, Blood, Self harm, Gaslighting, Suicide attempt, Grief, and Sexism

Minor: Cancer

abbie_'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Blood, Child death, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Addiction, Death, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Suicide and Transphobia

preciouslittleingenue's review

dark emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

4.0

I gave all my thoughts on this one in the sapphlit zoom chat. Four stars because it wasn’t something I could thoroughly “enjoy” because of how traumatizing and dark and visceral it was. Fuck the police. Fuck all the men who placed their dreams on the shoulders of a little girl and then BLAMED HER for turning to sex work to support and uplift said dreams. That girl never did and never will get justice. And she is just one of tens of thousands of real life girls in the same situation. God. This author is incredible. And wrote it so young. Cant wait to see what else she does. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Blood, Sexual assault, Child death, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Pedophilia

hinkleh's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Trafficking, Rape, Child abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Police brutality, Child death, Stalking, Abandonment, and Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Blood, Excrement, Terminal illness, Addiction, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Suicide

haleshorror's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Self harm, Death of parent, Excrement, Rape, Transphobia, Blood, Child abuse, Suicide attempt, Trafficking, Violence, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Police brutality, Addiction, Body horror, Child death, Death, Pedophilia, and Suicide

moiracampbell23's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Trafficking, Child death, Grief, Cancer, Child abuse, Police brutality, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Addiction, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Abandonment, Racism, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Cursing, Blood, Bullying, and Drug abuse