Reviews tagging 'Slavery'

When the Reckoning Comes by LaTanya McQueen

118 reviews

shawna_reads'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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

"To believe, one must care, and who's to say anyone ever cared?"

Mira fled her segregated hometown to forget her past - her best friend Celine who was the only white girl with black friends, her old neighbourhood, her memory of a ghost the day her crush Jesse got arrested, and the Woodsman plantation rumoured to be haunted by the spirits of slaves. But Mira is now back to attend Celine's wedding at the plantation that has been revamped into a resort. Mira hopes to reconnect with her friends, but things aren't as they appear.

This was a well written historical fiction horror that tackled the themes of racism, slavery, and oppression. It was dark, haunting, and atmospheric with some pretty graphic scenes.

I liked that the story included multiple timelines, going back and forth from the past to the present. This gave the reader an idea of what Mira, Jesse, and Celine were like as kids in a racist town, the events that occured at the plantation, and how it effected them in the present with racism still prevalent. It also gave a voice to the spirits of the slaves to include their POV and the brutality they faced.

While disturbing and graphic, the author did an amazing job taking real life social issues and turning it into a haunting novel.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Slavery

Moderate: Rape

rigbees's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

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

4.5

A horror novel that mostly takes place during the plantation wedding of the Black main character's white high school friend. In this Southern horror novel, the past literally haunts the town where the characters live. It's well-paced with each reveal happening at a satisfying time. The work also strongly speaks to the way the past affects the current future.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence and Slavery

honeycruller's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Overall, I liked the book. I was looking for something similar to Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward so I gave this a go. My only qualm is that there were several points where there was more tell than there was show. There would be a beautiful (and accessible) metaphor, then two paragraphs later it would be spelled out for the reader. I understood it the first time, I don’t need the metaphor explained thank you. There was some very graphic scenes near the end, violence and gore but it’s not unrealistic … humans are awful. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Slavery, Torture, and Violence

Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Rape, and Sexual violence

The scenes where they talk about things being made of human flesh, the flesh of the enslaved people, literally had me so nauseous I thought I was going to be ill.

amris's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Police brutality, Toxic friendship, and Classism

quantumponies's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Slavery

Moderate: Sexual violence and Torture

lex_reads_books's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Slavery, and Violence

Moderate: Racial slurs

Minor: Gore

readingwithgoose's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Suicide

lefthandlou's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, and Murder

arijones91's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery

Minor: Rape

kaerene's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

Another TikTok recommendation that lives up to the hype. It has everything thing: horror, ghosts, and multiple deaths at a wedding on an old plantation home. Once you get halfway through, you will be unable to stop reading as you are taken on a wild journey not knowing what is a vision and what is real. This is a really heavy read so be sure to check content warnings as these characters go through a lot in this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail