Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Un lugar soleado para gente sombría by Mariana Enríquez

11 reviews

joeraine's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

not_another_ana's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

2.25

El tiempo, esa monstruosidad aplastante. El tiempo, lo único que no se podía parar y que ni siquiera se sentía.

Última colección de cuentos cortos de Mariana Enríquez que debo admitir que no me gustó tanto como las anteriores. Los relatos se me hicieron muy largos, dispersos, no me dieron miedo. Siento que faltó edición en general a todos los cuentos, vida, pasión, algo. Una decepción.

• Mis muertos tristes: Fantasmas dejados por crímenes violentos acosan a los habitantes de una urbanización, 3/5
• Los pájaros de la noche: Una joven teme convertirse en pájaro, 2/5
• La desgracia en la cara: Una aflicción misteriosa e inexplicable afecta a mujeres de una misma familia, 2,5/5
• Julie: La prima de la protagonista afirma que tiene sexo con fantasmas, 2/5
• Metamorfosis: Después de una operación para remover un mioma la protagonista decide conservar el tumor, 2/5
• Un lugar solead para gente sombría: Una reportera va a Los Ángeles a conocer un culto fundado alrededor de una muerte violenta y confronta fantasmas de su pasado, el más aburrido de todos, 1/5
• Los himnos de las hienas: Cuando visitan un antiguo centro de tortura una pareja es confrontada por un pasado aterrador, 3/5
• Diferentes colores hechos de lágrimas: Una tienda de ropa vintage recibe unas piezas que afectan violentamente a quien las use, 3/5
• La mujer que sufre: Por un espejo en su apartamento la protagonista observa a una mujer que agoniza, 3/5
• Cementerio de heladeras: De niña la protagonista cometió un crimen que la atormenta y que ahora debe encubrir, 3/5
• Un artista local: De vacaciones en un pueblo en decadencia una pareja conocerá al artista que ha cambiado a los locales, 3/5
• Ojos negros: Un encuentro con unos chicos extraños y perturbadores cambiará la vida de tres voluntarios de manera violenta, el mejor de toda la colección y el único realmente terrorífico, 4/5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Death of parent, and Classism

rugops's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror

Moderate: Child death and Sexual violence

Minor: Animal death

sarahemily0425's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This is like goosebumps for adults. Incredibly scary short stories that will stay with me for years 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Death, Sexual violence, Violence, and Death of parent

shellballenger's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

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

2.25

Type of read: Commuter Read

What made me pick it up: One of the TN R.E.A.D.s prompts for October is to read a book by a Hispanic or Latinx author. The title and cover art drew me in.

Overall rating: I struggled with this one. I didn't find the stories to be all that entertaining and I had to keep reminding myself to put this one on to listen (I read as an audiobook). I'm not sure if there's something missing in the translation (I read an English translation) or if I just wasn't getting into the content. Some stories were better than others in my opinion, but many of them just seemed like random diary entries of overly imaginative individuals. Maybe I expect more scare and thrill from my thriller/horrors, but this wasn't it for me. I probably wouldn't recommend it, but I'm glad I was exposed to some different authors from who I usually read.

Reader's Note: 'A Sunny Place for Shady People' includes multiple stories that include themes of sex, sexual assault, rape, death, dying, torture, dismemberment, supernatural activity, general assault, and witchcraft.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Gore, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

javafenn's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.5

This book is a translation but honestly didn’t feel like it. I loved the spooky stories and often found myself craving more form the stories or more of a resolution only because they sometimes ended on a mystery, as a spooky story would. I LOVED listening to stories of Argentines, specifically women. It was interesting to get some of the folklore mixed into the tales. The story of the boy trapped in the fridge was especially haunting. I also really liked the story of the ghosts who haunt a neighborhood. The story of the woman who loses her face was my favorite and least favorite at the same time. The idea that generational trauma can present like is does in the story is terrifying and beautiful. It’s a sad, sad story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

savvylit's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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

I am a big fan of short story collections, in general. However - and this seems to be the nature of the form - many short stories often leave me wanting more; there's a sense of incompleteness when they're over. As someone who has only dabbled in writing fiction of my own, I know that a satisfying ending is the worst (and hardest!) part. That's why I was ultimately blown away by A Sunny Place for Shady People - Enriquez has achieved a collection of twelve stories that are each perfectly complete.

Now, onto the content of the stories themselves. In A Sunny Place for Shady People, readers are treated to a variety of scares that range from the mildly unsettling to the downright terrifying. Each scare is based in the paranormal yet reflects a terror that is all too real-world: loss, mortality, colonization, murder, family secrets, greed, sexual assault, addiction, aging, guilt, and disgust. In Night Birds, a young (un)dead girl worships her older sister's world of make believe. In Face of Disgrace, a woman inherits a disturbing maternal legacy from a mother that she hated. In Hyena Hymns, a couple accidentally enters a torturous dimension while exploring a mansion in ruins. In the titular story, a woman returns to the site of her grief and spends time with a cult that communes with a famous dead woman. In A Local Artist, a couple escapes to the countryside to seek tranquility but what they find instead is a gradually escalating trap.

Thank you so much to @netgalley, @hogarthbooks, and @marianaenriquez1973 for the advanced reader copy of A Sunny Place for Shady People in exchange for my honest review! As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

A Sunny Place for Shady People is out now and can be found in a bookstore or library near you! What are you waiting for?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, and Murder

charlatana's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

redbreezes_'s review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, and Abandonment

vickyoyarzun's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Blood, Vomit, and Dementia

Moderate: Cancer and Sexism

Minor: Abortion and Pandemic/Epidemic