Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Dom sióstr marnotrawnych by Krystal Sutherland

202 reviews

lovehavi's review against another edition

3.0

this was a really fun read, i enjoyed the second half a lot better. iris' pov was compelling and i think what stood out was how she's arranged past and present in order, which kept the mystery alive. appreciate that this actually attempted to get gore right and true, and had a cool supernatural world to introduce that usually you don't get so convincingly. sometimes the descriptions of characters was a bit overboard and corny as shit lol 'she smelled like the south of france and sex' what does that even MEAN. the characters were interesting as a concept but at times superficially trope-y. my problem was largely the pacing, weird incest-y vibes from the sisters (?????), and that at times characters lacked depth (really? comedy relief asian guy

who dies

? in this day and age?) but also that it's weirdly dismissive of consent to the point where it's jarring to watch blatant non-consensual kisses occur and have virtually no retrospection beyond 'whoopsie'. if this was the point the author was trying to make, i don't disagree but i think it fell short / could have used more attention.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Vomit, Murder, Sexual assault, Violence, Suicide, Stalking, and Injury/Injury detail

bzliz's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Big trigger warning for body horror.

Ten years ago, Iris and her two sisters went missing for a month. Now her eldest sister Grey is missing again and has left clues for Iris and Vivi to be able to find her- or her body- because something from their forgotten past is coming back to haunt them. 

The only reason I can’t give this five stars is because of how easily I was able to predict the two major twists. The imagery was so beautiful and disgusting that I could really feel Iris’ fascination, obsession & revulsion. My favorite character ending up being Cate. Although she is a deeply flawed, haunted woman, I came to understand her controlling tendencies and her big heart. I’m not a mother but I believe only a mother could climb a mountain of trauma and still find love on the other side. 

I spent several hours after I finished this book thinking about it and how I would rate and review it. It’s been a while since I needed to sit with something for a while to gather my thoughts, which is a point in its favor. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Vomit, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Medical content, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Kidnapping

Minor: Alcoholism, Drug use, Drug abuse, Alcohol, and Eating disorder

I’ve tagged eating disorder as a potential content warning. Although the behavior is caused by a different condition, the Hollow sisters (get it?) do engage in binge eating behaviors. Their continued description of being thin in defiance of how many calories they must consume daily could be triggering for someone struggling with their own disordered eating.

underhill's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror

Moderate: Violence and Sexual assault

Minor: Misogyny

taylormoore's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Suicide, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, and Death

Moderate: Gun violence, Violence, Cursing, and Child death

ashadaxa's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Murder, Violence, Child death, Blood, and Gun violence

wall0w's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

3.0

The more I read teen fiction, the more I feel that a key difference between it and adult fiction is just that it's edgier. Hoo boy, is this edgy. This is an edgy fairy tale (source fairy tales often are but y'know what I mean).
The plot twist (despite being increasingly hinted at and then effectively shown) was then told to a character directly which felt entirely unnecessary as it had already been made clear. 
I do appreciate the bond between the sisters and elements of the parent/child relationship but I think it could have been more developed further.
The pacing felt good though and never felt like we were stagnating in the same place for too long, even though in parts the characters literally are.
Overall, it's alright. It is a fun read so if you like edgy fairytale retellings with strong family relationships, give it a shot. Just be prepared for blood and guts.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Sexual assault, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Death

Moderate: Grief, Body horror, Death of parent, Stalking, Suicide, Child death, and Blood

pryingblackbird's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror

Moderate: Child death, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, and Violence

Minor: Suicide

becksus's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

I found the repetitive description of scents a bit annoying, and the use of brand names was kinda weird and took me out of the story but all in all a cool idea and an engaging read. The big sisters definitely read like what kids think cool adults are like (the fashion and the punk and the beauty etc etc) but it has to be forgiven since the book is itself aimed at teens. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Body horror, Grief, Suicide, and Violence

Moderate: Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gore, and Sexual harassment

tessvosper's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Stalking, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Grief, Death, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Gore, Suicide, Violence, Gaslighting, and Child death

Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Rape, and Alcoholism

bees_knees735's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.5

This was such an enjoyable and engaging read that I got my book club to read it and it was one of the first books everyone agreed on. We loved the characters, the plot was well paced and kept you guessing, there was just the right amount of violence and gore for a horror book without tipping over into being gratuitous. I highly recommend this one and hope the author finds a way to keep the story going!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death of parent, Body horror, Violence, Kidnapping, and Suicide

Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Child death, and Animal death