Reviews tagging 'Blood'

The Project by Courtney Summers

14 reviews

ravensandlace's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• 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

4.0

tw: premature birth, hospitals, parental death, car accident, suicide, parental abandonment, burns, corporal punishment, infidelity, drowning, death

One of my latest fascinations is cults. In fact, over the course of a year (thanks to a 30-minute commute to my job), I listened to a podcast about cults. I’m going to be posting my thoughts on that at a later time but I will let you know that it is on Spotify. It’s called Cults and it’s from the Parcast Network. Anyway, I don't know what it is about cults, but they intrigue me. It’s hard for me to understand how anyone could get sucked into one but they do. 

That’s why I was so intrigued with this book albeit a little hesitant. I knew it was about cults. But I've been having a hell of a time trying to connect with Courtney Summers’ writing. She has written excellent books but I just can't seem to get into them. In the last two books I’ve read of hers (Sadie and Cracked Up to Be), I rated three stars. Which is a good rating for me but I wanted to love them since I know a lot of people love her books. 

That changed with this book. I loved this book! It started out a bit slow initially and I struggled to pay attention. But I knew that if I persevered, the ending would be worth it. And it was! After a couple of chapters, the book quickly picked up and I was hooked. I did call a lot of the twists but that didn’t hinder my enjoyment.  I was glad I was right. 

Lev, the leader of the Unity Project, reminded me of the Unification Church (or as they are more commonly called, the Moonies) led by Sun Myung Moon. Moon, along with Lev, had a vision and wanted to “help the world” but behind closed doors, they were not the person they presented themselves to be to the public and if I’m being honest, I almost bought into Lev’s BS, for lack of better words. He did seem very convincing and I was thinking to myself, this group can’t be that bad, can it?

Lo was a great main character. She was incredibly unlikable at times and I just wanted to shake some sense into her. But I really did like her and was rooting for her the whole way through. We also got a point of view of Bea, her sister. At first, I was so upset with her. But as the story progressed, I understood her, and I understood her motives. That doesn’t mean I liked it but I got where she was coming from. I would do anything for my sister, too. I’m not so sure I would abandon my sister for a cult, however.

Overall, this is the best Courtney Summers book I’ve read so far. I’m glad that I preserved and kept trying her books. I knew that eventually, I’d find a book I’d like of hers. I think it helps that it was about a topic I’m very much invested in. I also think I’ve gotten used to the way Courtney Summers writes and also how she writes her characters, which are unlikable female characters. I highly recommended this book especially if you are interested in cults and enjoy Courtney Summers's books. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Blood, Car accident, Murder, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Violence, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Confinement, Death of parent, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Medical content, Suicide, and Torture

thebookpaiges's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Murder, Pregnancy, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Suicide, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Sexual content and Blood

ashleycmms's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Death, Death of parent, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Toxic relationship, Torture, Suicide, Stalking, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Medical trauma, Medical content, Abandonment, and Body horror

Moderate: Pregnancy, Infidelity, and Grief

laguerrelewis's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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

4.0

This was a strange little book, but not in a bad way! The story kind of meanders along, not quite directionless but not quite as driven as its protagonist is. I love a good split timeline and this book utilizes the device well, and the characters were well fleshed out. What it lacks in thrill it certainly makes up for in mystery and a compelling, touching story about family, love, connection, and devotion.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Car accident, Infidelity, Medical content, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Pregnancy, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, and Sexual content

onemamareads's review

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad 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? Yes

4.5

Read my full review here: https://onemamassummer.weebly.com/book-reviews/the-project

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, Violence, Torture, Medical content, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Stalking, Pregnancy, Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, Blood, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Grief, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Addiction and Death of parent

Minor: Fire/Fire injury and War

sarah2438's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This one is hard to rate!
Courtney Summers does an incredible job with her writing. Lev's charisma comes through even to the reader-- I felt Lo's skepticism of him going in, and I found myself getting won over at times. I even remember turning to my boyfriend, who buddy read this with me, and saying "he has to have done something sketchy, but honestly he doesn't seem too bad at this point." I was over halfway through the book when I said that! It's very uncomfortable to think about.
Just as disturbing as Lev's charisma is how realistic and twisted this book is. Lev preys upon those with trauma, grief, and pain. He offers them relief. A cause. And they flock to him, just like they would in real life.
Unfortunately, this book wasn't prefect. I think when it comes down to it, there are 3 big things that keep me from totally loving this book. These issues don't all carry the same weight for me, and I'm sure there's plenty of people who would disagree, but here are my 3:
1- I struggled to understand the religion The Unity Project was centered around. Lev's charisma, I totally fell for. But the actual religious tenants were a struggle. I think this is partially attributable to my own lack of faith; it may have required more of a suspension of belief for me than maybe someone who believes in God. I found myself parallel to Lo in this aspect.
2- Something happens about 75% of the way through that didn't feel right to me. It was like a shaky bridge-- it connected the two parts and got us where we needed to go, but I didn't feel sold on it.
 3- I didn't love the ending. Summers usually does a good job of having just enough unanswered questions to be realistic, since we're not reading from an omniscient point of view, but still satisfying. In this one, I felt like there were too many questions left open, so the ending wasn't very satisfying for me. I wanted more detail, more information on what happened to everyone.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Pregnancy

Minor: Child abuse, Blood, and Confinement

morganperks's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Torture, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Suicide, Grief, Death, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Child abuse, Violence, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Body horror, Religious bigotry, Adult/minor relationship, Abandonment, Blood, Stalking, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Infidelity, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, and Rape

libraryghost's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Car accident, Death of parent, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Suicide, Torture, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Blood

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

4.5

Told from dual-POVs and dual-timelines, this story explores what happened to two sisters after one was in a tragic accident that killed her parents, and the other joined the mysterious religious group, the Unity Project.

This was a very high-intensity thriller.  This deals with some really tricky subjects, and does a good job expressing the feelings of loss, grief, and loneliness that are preyed upon by Lev and his cult. Though I can't really say I liked the characters, I did enjoy reading about them, and I was on the metaphorical edge of my seat while racing through this book! I really enjoyed the way this ended, as well.   I'm definitely scoping out this author's other books to read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Car accident, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Stalking, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Pregnancy

bookish_owl's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Physical abuse, and Blood

Moderate: Murder, Grief, Confinement, and Car accident

Minor: Death of parent