Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

When the Reckoning Comes by LaTanya McQueen

11 reviews

f18's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective slow-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

3.0

The writing in the "intersitial" sections was excellent. 

Disappointed that most of what happens with the wedding guests is offscreen and we don't find out

if they end up alive or dead.

While I usually don't mind open endings esp in horror, this instance didn't work for me. It felt abrupt and unsatisfying.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Slavery, and Classism

Moderate: Death, Gore, and Blood

Minor: Child death, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Rape, Suicide, and Torture

nicole625's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense

4.25

It didn't feel as gothic as I imagined it would be. The way that history and the modern story blend is very impactful. However, it felt like some of the character reactions were so mild that it almost dulled the impact. For example, Mira believes that

Jesse has been shot and killed by an angry mob

but the way it's written is so blunt and short, that it feels like it loses some of the emotional impact. Overall, a really interesting story that's difficult because of the absolute atrocities described throughout (literally like ALL the trigger warnings).

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Racism, and Slavery

Moderate: Death, Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Child death, Pedophilia, and Cannibalism

lindseyhall44's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective 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? Yes

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Suicide, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

toofondofbooks_'s review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

4.0

This book is short but it packed a huge gut punch for me. I couldn't read it at night because I would get too upset and overwhelmed by the detail and sheer horror of everything that was happening, but I still really liked it. The writing was immersive and gorgeous, made even better by listening to the audiobook while I read along physically. I usually hate romantic subplots in thrillers and horror, but I honestly thought that the one happening here was believable and I was rooting for it. The only thing that gives me pause is that I wanted a little more from this ending and there are some things that I would like clarification on re: the supernatural element. In some ways, I totally get why it ended the way it did and why I won't get that clarification, but it would still be nice to have it not end so abruptly and to have some answers. Overall, this was a good one. Authors using horror to address real life issues are one of my favorite types of authors to read so I will definitely look out for more from this author.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Child death, Police brutality, and Alcohol

rorikae's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.25

'When the Reckoning Comes' by LaTanya McQueen is a haunting story about the echoes of ghosts of the past. 
When she was young, Mira and her friend Jesse encountered something haunting in the old, rundown plantation in their town. Though they both got out alive, that experience has haunted them both and sent them on different trajectories. Mira has left the town, gone to college, and now has a full time job. She thinks she's fully escaped her past but then she receives a call from her childhood friend Celine. Celine is getting married at the same plantation from Mira's youth, which has now been restored and acts as a tourist attraction. With Celine's insistence, Mira agrees to come home for the wedding, seeking to get to the bottom of what happened that day in her youth and to potentially see Jesse again. 
McQueen does an exceptional job of creating a haunting atmosphere that slowly ramps up throughout the course of the book. These horrors are all based on true events but with an added dash of paranormal. There were moments in this book that were hard, but necessary, to read as McQueen makes the reader confront the true horrors of slavery. One of the most effective aspects of this story is the melding of the past and present day elements. Mira is a great main character who is easy to care for while also being a complex person. I will be interested to see what McQueen writes next as it is clear she is great at creating atmosphere and melding horrors of the past and present to create an engaging narrative. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Murder

Minor: Rape and Suicide

thiszetasajerk's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

2.0

I didn’t like how the ending played out. I felt like it was unfair that the black woman was the one who was truly subjected to the whores of slavery. Meanwhile, the white people who, needed to do the most learning, got off easy. I don’t like that  most  of the gruesome details were done to the African-American characters, and when it came time for the white characters to experience death, all but one, was relatively quick.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

readingwithgoose's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes

2.5

---

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

---

Content Warnings

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

lindseyas's review against another edition

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? No

4.75

This was another book that I read for my "Literary Hauntings" class. It wasn't like the normal "hauntings" that we'd been reading about, but it was the most realistic, and certainly the most visceral, emotional and raw. The combination of history and the supernatural is the perfect encapsulation of what the gothic really is – our pasts coming back to haunt us. The novel played perfectly into this archetype, with a tense tone and winding suspense keeping it in place. It used gore and mental anguish to create a haunting aura that has lasted with me long since reading.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, and Murder

lisabrune's review

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Blood, and Murder