Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

32 reviews

ford_defect's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny 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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Abandonment, Child death, and Violence

Moderate: Vomit and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death

jdieperink's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Body horror, Blood, and Classism

Moderate: Abandonment, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Vomit, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Drug use, Gun violence, and Medical content

featherwoman's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

4.5

It was definitely a dark read, a different flavor of horror than Mexican Gothic. It's a neo-noir starring an Aztec vampire trying to escape Mexico City while keeping a teenage garbage-collector safe. It's a breath of fresh air compared to other vampire books just because vampire lore outside of Europe is explored! While Certain Dark Things had me at the edge of my seat, I feel like the ending was rushed, or maybe anticlimactic for certain side characters but the disservice was not enough to ruin the experience. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship

iamsammie27's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Medical trauma, Violence, Blood, and Body horror

Moderate: Drug use and Alcohol

Minor: Death and Death of parent

megsbookishadventures's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

Moderate: Death of parent, Child death, Colonisation, Body horror, Drug abuse, and Grief

Minor: Cursing, Animal cruelty, Grief, Police brutality, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Animal death

sonygaystation's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Blood, Body horror, Violence, Murder, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, and Death

Moderate: Stalking and Gun violence

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Torture, Sexual content, and Pregnancy

trollmila's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad tense fast-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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gun violence, and Blood

Moderate: Sexual violence, Addiction, Alcohol, Police brutality, Medical content, Body horror, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Sexual harassment, Murder, Misogyny, Death of parent, and Drug abuse

Minor: Animal death, Confinement, Slavery, Trafficking, Animal cruelty, Classism, and Colonisation

bellabells113's review against another edition

4.5

I'm so glad the dog lives and as much as I did cry when Atl left Domingo behind, I think it is the best for him AND the dog. They both deserve to live good and comfortable lives. Also, Domingo being 17 and having a relationship with 23 year old Atl *siri play All Too Well by Taylor Swift*. Ultimately, I really enjoyed this (the narrator was utterly amazing, like by far the best narrator I've ever listened to) and I think I'll actually end up giving it a higher rating after I give the ending some time to marinate.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, and Blood

sarahbethhh's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-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

2.25

Mexican Gothic made me want to read anything and everything Moreno-Garcia wrote. I was so excited to pick up this one, especially since I was a Twilight girlie in middle school. This one just absolutely fell flat for me. The interactions and character developments felt forced; the various storylines converged in a disappointing and frantic way; the plot felt weirdly cliche and like a stretch at the same time. Domingo, though, is precious and needs to be protected at all costs. He alone saved the story for me. 

I'll also give credit for the lovely use of folklore that Moreno-Garcia wove in. It was refreshing and interesting, even if the story itself wasn't one that particularly resonated with me. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Body horror

daniellekat's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

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

3.25

Silvia Moreno-Garcia is one of my favourite author's but this one fell a bit short for me. I typically love the vividness of her writing and her characters but everyone felt flat and one dimensional here.  There were too many characters for me to feel connected to any of them, but I do think the changing POVs was well utilized for this narrative. The book was well paced and had me engaged throughout. I loved all the vampire lore but it was weirdly woven into the storytelling (It often felt like Domingo's only purpose was to ask questions for the reader). Overall, SMG is still one of my favourites and I love the diversity of her writing, you never know what you'll get.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Gun violence, Blood, and Gore

Moderate: Toxic friendship

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Bullying