Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward

46 reviews

emzhay's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Suicide, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Vomit, and Kidnapping

Minor: Homophobia

aardwyrm's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense slow-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

3.0

It's fun to read, and the genre is full of works that are great atmosphere 90% of the way through and then don't stick the landing. If you just want spooky eeriness, it's not a bad choice. It's just ultimately got nothing it's actually about. The setup seems to promise a situation where lots of cliche genre stuff seems to be true, and then the big twist is all the cliche stuff is in fact true, just obfuscated. It's definitely going for twisty and intricate, but a twist and just changing the story partway through aren't really the same thing. Exactly the sort of book I think ought to have a warning sticker you can optionally peek under so you can know before you get invested if the supernatural is just a bad metaphor. When the big reveal is nothing interesting has really happened, then it's hard to care about what comes before. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Classism, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Murder, Self harm, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Ableism, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Animal death, Body horror, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit

thehmkane's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense 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? Yes

4.5

Lots of good, satisfying twists. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death of parent, Confinement, Physical abuse, Self harm, Alcoholism, Vomit, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Alcohol

Moderate: Child death and Homophobia

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Suicide, Self harm, Domestic abuse, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Fatphobia and Animal cruelty

Minor: Homophobia

amberinbookland's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Murder, Animal death, Alcoholism, Violence, Torture, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Gore, Emotional abuse, Death, Confinement, Child abuse, Body horror, Blood, Animal cruelty, and Alcohol

kjm_x's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Animal death, Bullying, Confinement, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, Violence, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, and Physical abuse

devynvictoria's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I finished this book in just a few days. It was gripping and suspenseful, I couldn’t put it down. The multiple povs and changing timelines got confusing at times, but it’s written that way on purpose and overall added to the mysterious “wtf” elements of the book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Child abuse, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Confinement, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Murder, Suicide, Death, Death of parent, Mental illness, and Self harm

Moderate: Alcohol and Alcoholism

Minor: Hate crime and Homophobia

maximauve's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Alcoholism, Death, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, and Mental illness

Minor: Homophobia

laurenvoice's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Wow. The Last House on Needless Street was an unexpected read. Catriona Ward flipped the script on an overused horror trope, and it was magnificent. Although The Last House on Needless Street started slow, it was well worth the wait, as in the middle, the pace picks up, and Ward fills the end with lots of twists and turns.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Mental illness

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Child death, and Suicide

Minor: Homophobia and Kidnapping

kbergsten's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Murder, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Gaslighting, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Violence