Reviews with content warning for Homophobia - The Woods All Black

Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

The Woods All Black by Lee Mandelo

50 reviews

jourdanicus's review

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dark hopeful 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? It's complicated

4.5

Whoa 😳 this book was not what I expected. I thought: queer horror. I was not prepared for:

queer revenge horror and oh, monster sex 😀

. Anyway it was really good and I strongly recommend to any fans of queer/historical horror or queer speculative fiction.

As far as horror goes, this one was not terrifying per se. It had the strong sense of place that I find most books set in Appalachia tend to have, and Appalachia can be a spooky place at times. This was more tense than scary, and definitely check the trigger warnings because transphobia is a central part of the plot (but

don't worry bc the ending is satisfying

Content Warnings

rhi_'s review

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challenging dark 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? It's complicated

4.25

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cowbrotherx's review against another edition

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fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.0

i wish it had been longer! i wish we got more of a development of

leslie and stevie's relationship

i think there was room to build up more tension between characters.
also, fully did not anticipate

monsterfucking

, but enjoyed the book none the less

Content Warnings

nerdysread's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes

4.75

Wow monster fuckers this is for you. Also reading this book during night time: great idea

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hendrixpants's review

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adventurous challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

4.75

Content Warnings

charlesbiglythethird's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

4.75

Content Warnings

rachelgreenreads's review against another edition

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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? No

5.0

The Woods All Black by Lee Mandelo

I didn’t know I had a southern gothic trans horror romance hole in my heart until this book filled it. I think I could read this book a hundred times and not get sick of it.

The prose was lush and poetic, while still feeling grounded and deeply personal. The social horror was impeccable. Mandelo uses parallel themes of one person poisoning a whole community: the villain believes such of our main character, that his queerness will spread sin and evil through the holler. While in reality and alongside this narrative, the pastor, relatively new to town, has poisoned the community with his hatred and suspicion. A community that was once “a decent place as any for a child to be strange.”

Mandelo also captures the intense and unique way in which queer people find and support each other, and the many small and large resistances we’ve embodied throughout history.

If you support trans rights, and also trans wrongs, I highly recommend this book.

Content Warnings