Reviews tagging 'Death'

Lute by Jennifer Thorne

29 reviews

amyjoy's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Parts of this are genuinely creepy and unsettling, but it's fairly horror-lite. I really enjoyed Nina as she came to terms with the sacrifices required by her home, and

I was very interested in how she started to evolve the practice at the end. I do find myself wondering why people, even already dying people, would be willing to die for a place they don't live, but *shrug *

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

chiaraogan's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, and Blood

foxgloveandcrow's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Suicide attempt, Death, and Suicide

Minor: War, Infidelity, and Vomit

bibrarian_'s review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, and Death

leighsnerdlife's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Murder, Blood, Body horror, and Death

bookishbutch's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Murder, Cursing, Blood, Grief, Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, and Gore

Moderate: Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, War, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Self harm and Suicide

mandysreadinglist's review against another edition

3.5

Gripping, dark, and unsettling. 

Philosophically heavy: ethics, morality, mortality.

TW: death, murder, gore.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, and War

Moderate: Gore

grimdark_dad's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Cancer, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Grief, Violence, War, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

enchantressreads'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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Lute is a perfect read for spooky season. Although it takes place during the summer, the vibe of the story is mysterious, dark, and scary. I’m a huge fan of folk horror, and Lute does not disappoint.

Nina Treadway moved to the Isle of Lute seven years ago, and is soon going to experience her first “Day” on the island. The Day of the Tithe requires a sacrifice of seven souls in order to keep Lute happy, healthy, with good weather and good luck. With a war going on, it is imperative that they keep Lute and its residents safe.

There are many different parts of this story that I love and they combine to create a great folk horror. It’s a small town, where everyone knows each other. There’s somewhat of a cult, since there’s ancient pagan gods involved. There’s family secrets, because Hugh Treadway is exceptionally secretive about his past. There’s a strong female main character. Nina is a wonderful lead character, and she really grew into her role by the end of the book.

The story is told in time increments until the end of The Day. I think this really gave it another push towards being scary. It adds a layer of anxiety that really wasn’t there before. I always love a good countdown in a story. Add this to the generally creepy vibe of the book, and you have a perfect folk horror story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for this advanced review copy. All opinions are my own. Lute releases on October 4th.

CW for death, fire, blood, infidelity, child death, suicide attempt, war, vomit, self-harm, emotional abuse, death of a parent, and animal death

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: War, Infidelity, Emotional abuse, Vomit, Child death, Self harm, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Death of parent and Animal death

assisted suicide for terminally ill people