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dannybrown59's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Rape, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, and Cultural appropriation
spoookycat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Domestic abuse, Rape, Terminal illness, and Death of parent
Minor: Drug abuse and Forced institutionalization
shepherd'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? Yes
4.0
I think I was expecting some horrifying blood sucking adventure of chaos and murder. Instead it was an energy vampire or some shit.
The characters are fleshed out and Vic is ballsy and incredibly damaged, I dug that. Lou is amazing, enough said.
I did feel the entire novel was paced medium to slow. I should have expected that, given the family ties. The end was incredibly rushed after 650 pages. The finally chapter left me wondering how it even made sense. Lou was so absolutely in love with Vic, bit a couple months after she dies he's basically shaking up with the FBI agent? Excuse me, but no, that made absolutely no sense after spending 700 pages explaining how tied to each other these two characters are emotionally.
I likely will skip all other Hill books as they're too much like King, which is slow and superfluous.
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Violence
chelsmm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Gore and Violence
ranocchietto's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
The book deals with cycles of trauma, growing up and the loss of innocence, and how people close to us make a difference in our lives, it was quite moving at times.
I would say my main problem was with the pacing, it felt unfocused towards the last third, it would have benefited from fewer digressions. I also felt the tone towards the end didn't match the tension the author was probably going for, but it didn't really spoil the experience for me.
Do check the content warnings before reading, it can get a bit heavy. The fatphobic undertones made it quite uncomfortable for me.
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Biphobia, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Incest, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship
alohiel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, and Death of parent
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
Minor: Drug use
tieflingkisser's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Car accident, and Death of parent
Moderate: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, and Pedophilia
michellepc's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Sexual violence and Violence
Minor: Fatphobia and Self harm
daisydil's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Animal death, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
caidyn's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Apparently, all it took was trying multiple of Hill's books (including this one) a few times and also buddy reading one with my very good friend to finally find a book I like by this author. I mean, I've tried him so many times with so many books that this was a last-ditch effort. And I really enjoyed it!
I like how the book was split up and it felt like there were multiple climaxes in it. A first with Vic when she was a kid, then another when she was an adult. I also found Bing ten times freakier than Manx. Honestly, he was scarier to me because he was so unhinged, although that's what Manx profited off of. Then, there's the vampire mythos of it almost being like an energy vampire, so that was fun.
I think the only thing that was a pro and a con was that it piggybacked so much off his dad's works. In my opinion, that's the double-edged sword for Hill. On one hand, it's fun to see him linking his books in with his father's creations and seeing little Easter eggs in that regard. It also comforts me because I know that Hill will take charge of his dad's unfinished manuscripts when he eventually dies and will be able to keep it going for a while. On the other hand, I wish that Hill was more of his own person and didn't rely on those little things. Again, a double-edged sword that is both good and bad.
So, overall, I did enjoy it. I'm glad that I liked this and can feel confident that I'll try some of his books again. Maybe not Horns since I've tried it twice already and DNFed both times, but I will try him again in the future.
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Drug use, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, and Kidnapping