Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Bloom by Delilah S. Dawson

17 reviews

daffodilcherry's review against another edition

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dark 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? Yes

5.0

Impeccable novella that is quite literally a cottage core lesbian horror. There is an unmistakable tension throughout the entire book, masked by gorgeous writing. It perfectly captures obsessive love, how easy it is to wave away red flags (but girl there were some red flags) and the romantisation of cottagecore/how real life rural living is a bit different. Also a master class in how to gorgeously describe things without purple prose. I wasn't a huge fan of the ending, but it fitted the story.

Wheelhouses: obsessive lesbian love, beautiful descriptions of food/gardens, "something is messed up here and the main character can't see it.", horny lesbians.

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megj23's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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kelnicash's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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noeldiem's review against another edition

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dark tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5


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nika_nix's review against another edition

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

5.0

Exquisite. Absolutely stunning, fucked up and amazing. Just my type of horror. The writing was great, the characters were great, the plot was great and the vibes were immaculate. This one blew me away and I'm so happy I found a new favorite.

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theatrealpaca's review against another edition

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challenging dark 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

5.0


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blueyapologist's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

3.0

This book. I skipped the middle of this book because I got so incredibly bogged down by the rom-commy vibes that felt a bit like fanfiction. The end was the sharpest turn I’ve ever experienced with one intense scene after another. I need to take a shower. 

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coenobi's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny mysterious sad fast-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? Yes

5.0

This was a joy to read and it has a lot to do with the way Dawson wrote this.

The moment Ro sees Ash for the first time, she sort of panics and feels a thousand things at once. The sentences at this moment go on and on and on and just do 't end and things that enchant Ro about Ash keep getting mentioned and the way they make her feel and what they make her want do... The emotion pours from the page, as does the doubt, the joy, everything. It's all really well done.

A thing that amazes me about this book, and of how much I liked it, is the insane amount of romance. I'm not against the genre at all, but I would never pick a book with this much of it off the shelves. And I swear, if you didn't know better, you'd mistake this for a romance novella, nothing more. Now, knowing what kind of book this is, makes it possible for you to pick up all the little hints about where this story is going, and, like Ro would say, they're unctuous. Absolutely freaking delicious how subtle and unsuspecting they are, I really enjoyed that. It's very well written stuff and I'm here for it. And at the end, when all the other red flags become clear... I'd love another serving of this. Super fun, this little novella!

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mfrisk's review against another edition

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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? It's complicated

5.0

This book was stunning and everything you could want from queer horror.

You’re taken from romance, over the top sweetness, and saccharine words (many of which I had to look up) to sheer dread and fear. I so look forward to reading more from this author and seeing how they peel back the layers in another story.

This book to me
had parallels to Misery, Midsommar, Hannibal and was an excellent addition to the cottagegore genre. For those who’ve read This is where we talk things out this is also a great queer horror read-alike which touches on similar themes. Also a good reminder to have people in your life who’d sound the alarm if you uproot your life. Ro you grew on me throughout this story and I’m rooting for you.

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afaerytale's review against another edition

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dark mysterious 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

A great cottagecore horror short with a guessable but enjoyable twist near the end however the very end twist surprised me. A really good read, you could almost taste the cupcakes and smell the scented soaps!

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