Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

40 reviews

maresuju's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5


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emzhay's review against another edition

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

3.5

Really enjoyed this. The world building is the star of this book. It’s so fascinating and always left me wanting to know every detail of the lore. The plot is very straightforward, but I found that I didn’t mind because the world was so rich that it made sense to have a glimpse into these characters lives. 

I think the characters could have been stronger. Because of this I didn’t really care about the romance subplot, and honestly thought it could’ve been left out. 

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achay91's review against another edition

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

4.75


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sophmcgraw's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional medium-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

3.75


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meganlafo's review against another edition

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

3.75


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ecn's review against another edition

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adventurous 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

Not gonna lie I’m pretty disappointed by this book and I really wanted to love it :/  To start, the MC is extremely annoying and the reader doesn’t learn ANYTHING about her as a person. The same can be said for the other MC. We learn almost nothing about him and I just feel bad for him whole time. Also, their AGE GAP romance is absolutely disgusting and NOT AT ALL NECESSARY!? He literally could have been 18 (and she 23(?)) but he had to be 17? 
Also, the pacing felt so choppy and like I was missing something and this became especially apparent whenever new characters were introduced.
Lastly, the ending was the most anticlimactic thing I’ve ever read? I kept seeing how little was left of the story and thought SURELY things must start getting crazy soon? But they never did and the story didn’t end on… any note. It just kind of ended.

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gcjay1994's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • 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


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annemaries_shelves's review

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

3.5

3.5 stars

I had a very fun time with this story. It's an earlier novel of Moren0-Garcia's so some of her character  and pacing work is less strong, but that creativity and sense of place is still there. 

The vampire lore she's created for this world, with the various sub-species of vampire and their clan clashes and clashes with humans, is fascinating and I want to learn more. It's absolutely the best part of the novel. 

The overall plot is fairly predictable and it's slower to start, but the chapters are short and the story is engaging enough that you just keep turning the page. I'd recommend especially for the Halloween/spooky vibes. 

I think some of the themes hinted at in the novel become much more prevalent in her later works.

Finally as it's a noir, the novel does get bloody and violent towards the end and I think some may be unsatisfied with the ending (true to genre). 

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30something_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous 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

4.25

4.25 ⭐

I had such a great time reading this, especially considering I don't typically read Noir. I also listened along on audio while reading, and I think that really helped set the tone.

Dark, gritty, and very violent. This is the story of, Atl, a young Tlahuihpochin vampire who is on the run from a Necros vampire clan. She reluctantly teams up with a street kid from Mexico City, Domingo, in order to evade vampires, cops, and all matter of criminals that are looking to take her down. 

The vampire lore in this was just freaking fantastic. I loved the descriptions of the species and different subspecies and how the author wove it all together in this world. 

I can imagine this being a fantastic movie or graphic novel.

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marareading's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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

3.5

This was definitely outside my comfort zone as far as genre is concerned, and I genuinely liked it. This is a vampire crime noir. Imagine a gritty urban crime story based in Mexico City, with battling vampire drug cartels. Atl is a vampire and is on the run for her life. She is the daughter of one of the largest cartel families in South America, and another cartel vampire family is after her. Meanwhile, the cops/government are not fond of vampires and trying to extinguish them, considering them a threat. Atl takes up with a street kid, Domingo, who is overly curious, sometimes annoying and now they are in it together on the run. 

This is a brutal and bloody story. It is so well written. I really enjoyed it. Noir is not usually something I reach for, but I can never resist a vampire story. Definitely recommend if you like crime stories or vampires.

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