Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

She Is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran

10 reviews

lunarexorcist's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad slow-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

i thought this was a new adult book until like twenty pages in my bad. i was so let down jade was 17 and not... like... 22.

i cried at the last forty pages but then went "what. what? what???" until the end. unhinged. i cant decide if it was unhinged in a genius or stupid way, but i will say that

being horny for a ghost that is horny for you also in a toxic yuri way and also a "wow you are so repressed colonialism slash misogyny slash queerphobia is a hell of a thing huh"

is one of the more unique interpretations of "this house eats people" ive seen. 

i think the fact everyone sucks so bad throws people off but that just made my chest ache with how real it felt. that was my dad. thats my eldest daughter trauma. im gonna lose it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Colonisation, Xenophobia, Body horror, Racism, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, Gaslighting, Slavery, Domestic abuse, Murder, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Abandonment, Addiction, Animal death, Child abuse, Misogyny, Car accident, Suicide, and Grief

parkergarlough's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Violence, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Mental illness, and Death

Moderate: Racism, Car accident, Misogyny, Grief, Gore, Lesbophobia, Murder, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, Alcoholism, and Alcohol

torismazarine's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Death, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Suicide, Car accident, Classism, Mental illness, Murder, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Cursing, and Xenophobia

Minor: Alcohol and Sexual content

uncreativeoops's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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

3.75

The vibes were immaculate, which is pretty important for a gothic horror novel, and the author managed to create an eerie and tense atmosphere while also describing everything so aesthetically. The descriptions felt very... indirect? I sometimes had to reread parts because I wasn't sure what was actually happening but that is by no means a criticism; I adored the language. Plotwise however, I struggled a bit. Haunted houses only work if the characters have a good reason to be in them and not leave once, you know, they realize they might die. In this case, there were reasons for the main character not just going home, but they weren't strong enough for me. I got her motivations and I liked how her struggles with her family and her identity played out, but her behavior in the house was just ridiculous. And some of it seemed like it only happened to set up conflict between characters, the main thing that didn't work for me. Nearly every thing that characters got angry about was so obviously only there to create a shocking reveal and lead to an argument and some of the "dark secrets" I just straight up didn't consider as bad things. The romance also suffered from this.
My favorite thing however were the shorter horror chapters and how horror as a genre was used to discuss colonialism, racism, and sexism. Gothic horror has always been used to portray societal issues with supernatural metaphores and this was done so well here. I also have never read YA horror before and was pleasantly surprised how well these two can be mixed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Abandonment, Colonisation, Racism, Violence, and Death of parent

Moderate: Blood, Animal death, Medical content, Addiction, Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Alcohol, and Misogyny

Minor: Homophobia, Biphobia, Car accident, and Bullying

weirdassfanta's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

4.75

Beautifully written. This book gives you slight chills while showing that you are allowed to be angry and make mistakes. Also deals with colonization and struggling with your identity. It’s a great read for body horror lovers who are looking for something diverse.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Body horror, and Colonisation

Moderate: Car accident

Minor: Alcohol and Alcoholism

I will also warn people about the detailed and common talk of bugs in places they shouldn’t be, such as skin and food, as this is a trigger for me. So please be conscious of that if you decide to read this book.

nutmegandpumpkin's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.25

The author did a fantastic job with the actual horror aspects & overall creepiness. The characters were OK but not entirely likable apart from the younger sister IMO. The writing was also just okay with the exception of a couple of great lines sprinkled here and there. The story felt VERY slow yet some of the aspects felt rushed at the end. 

I’m honestly having a hard time pinpointing how I feel about this book. I found it somewhat enjoyable but not extremely memorable. I think the potential is there but it didn’t quite reach it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Mental illness, Body horror, and Vomit

Moderate: Car accident, Cursing, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Colonisation

Minor: Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Animal death

beaubaggins's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Colonisation

Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Emotional abuse, and Grief

Minor: Alcoholism, Grief, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, and Alcohol

belava's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Racism

Moderate: Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Alcoholism, Car accident, and Alcohol

emilunax's review against another edition

emotional inspiring mysterious sad tense 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? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Violence, Blood, Colonisation, Abandonment, Alcohol, Car accident, Death, and Fire/Fire injury

marywahlmeierbracciano's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Jade’s first visit to her ancestral homeland in Vietnam is not exactly how she’d envisioned spending her last summer before college.  Having agreed to stay with her sister in the historic house her estranged father is obsessed with restoring, Jade expected to face family drama, but what she finds is much more sinister.  Death and decay creep around every corner, and the unease of day and night are only partially countered by time spent with a rebellious and magnetizing local girl.  Woven with body horror, ghosts, and the violence of colonialism, I’d definitely recommend this YA crossover to fans of Mexican Gothic.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, and Body horror

Moderate: Alcohol, Violence, Car accident, Genocide, Blood, Death of parent, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Vomit and Suicide