Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

Acércate by Sara Gran

18 reviews

chloseencounter's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I quite enjoyed this short little read. It was a take on demonic possession I’m not sure I’ve ever experienced before, a very realistic downfall of questioning your own sanity and the feelings of losing control. I liked the interactions with the main character and the demon, the false sense of security the demon created for her while she was vulnerable truly manipulating her to the let the demon in. 

I really enjoyed the parts where I wasn’t even sure if they actually happened, like the doctors visits that only made the possession take more of a hold and when our main character (can you tell I can’t remember her name, I think it was Amanda) would run into other people who seemed to have demonic energy within them. I also thought the freakiest part was the sad excuse for an exorcism and the description of the demon just kind of skittering around in the darkness of her mind’s safe space.

Overall this was a solid, short, spooky read perfect for my Halloween/Fall TBR. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Murder

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Blood, Death, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Violence, Vomit, and Medical trauma

Minor: Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Cursing, and Death of parent

wrensreadingroom's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Grief, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Death of parent, Sexual violence, Blood, Confinement, Terminal illness, Violence, Vomit, Addiction, Child abuse, Alcohol, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Gore, and Sexual content

kcraig73's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Absolutely thrilling. This book genuinely scared me. The fast paced spiral into complete insanity, along with the insidious and beautiful nature of Amanda’s possession is completely captivating. This book grabbed me by the throat from the first page and it still hasn’t let go. I absolutely loved it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Blood, Death, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Infidelity, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Kidnapping

mixeterna's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

A quick and interesting read with a writing style I found immersive. The plot was intriguing and, while predictable at points, still had me holding out hope for the characters. I love the concept of a gradual possession that could be attributed to just a change in personality, by both others and yourself. I didn't find it particularly scary, however, and I would describe it more as an unsettling suspense than a horror. Overall enjoyable for the length.

Sadly, the ending felt cliché to me and was a bit disappointing. 

Amanda's relationship with Ed, while they had their happy moments, read to me as consistently strained since before her possession, so the overwhelmingly romantic notions towards him came across very forced. Maybe that's the point - that she doesn't care about her grievances with him anymore since her life was completely destroyed by Naamah. But to me it felt a bit cheesy, and the last line just confused me. It's a shame because I really enjoyed the chapter directly before it, where Naamah had almost completely taken over and we only got glimpses of her life between blackouts. It could have been more powerful and unsettling if it stuck with that.

There was a semi-frequent use of homophobic slurs throughout, including in the very first scene, and some racist rhetoric which was never really addressed. The main character isn't painted as a likeable person, but it still made me pause and wonder whether this was a reflection of her character or just the author. There was also a conflation between demonic possession and mental illness at points,

especially since she ends up institutionalised at the end

, which strays into dangerous ideas around things like psychosis and DID. This brought my enjoyment for it down a lot.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse, Infidelity, Cursing, Homophobia, and Sexual violence

Minor: Vomit, Animal cruelty, Kidnapping, and Racism

Increasing depictions of murder and gore towards the end of the book. Body horror, again more towards the end. Cursing throughout. Some mentions of characters vomiting. Use of homophobic slurs and at a few points some stereotyped depictions of people of colour. Mention of kidnapping. Graphically described instance of child abuse with a brief mention of parental abuse:

At one point, a child is purposely and repeatedly pushed underwater to drown, but is saved. The child is also described to have experienced "worse at home".

Sexual violence with heavily blurred lines of consent:

Naamah, while possessing Amanda, has sex with people and Amanda is often only acutely aware or completely blacked out. She describes being disgusted with it and herself afterwards.

inkdrinkers's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

2.0

I waffled back and forth about this book. I think it's done well for a thriller/horror in first person POV, but at the same time I found myself unhappy at the ending. It just fades to an end that seems so mundane for the story.

I will say the content in this book is incredibly heavy and homophobic slurs are used multiple times (often through the lens of the demon being horrific). It was an interesting but uncomfortable read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Blood, and Violence

Moderate: Gore, Sexual content, and Homophobia

Minor: Child abuse and Animal cruelty

This novella has a lot. Murder happens on page with lots of blood and gore. A child is almost drowned. Animals are hurt. Homophobic slurs are used multiple times.

fictionofthefix's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Violence, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Animal death

rosesofthespring's review against another edition

dark emotional tense

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Homophobia, Infidelity, Alcohol, Confinement, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Murder, Death, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Physical abuse

Minor: Child abuse, Classism, Animal cruelty, Vomit, Child death, Death of parent, and Excrement

It's a book about demonic possession, so there are are a lot of psychosis-esque symptoms, although the main character is not actually psychotic/schizophrenic. This book may be triggering to readers with psychosis, especially those with religious delusions.

jyan's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Infidelity, Murder, Self harm, and Violence

Moderate: Child abuse, Animal cruelty, Sexual violence, and Homophobia