Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

The Woods All Black by Lee Mandelo

26 reviews

readingwithgoose's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

4.0

Chapter 14......Lee Mandelo you will always be famous

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Transphobia, Blood, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gore, Rape, and Pregnancy

Minor: Animal death

flamesocks's review against another edition

dark funny 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

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Rape, Fire/Fire injury, and War

qpqdelia's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A tense read that left me wanting more. A story of revenge and comeuppance. Feels very relevant today. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Deadnaming, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Sexual assault

Minor: Homophobia, Torture, Excrement, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and War

bookishdragon3's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad tense 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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Misogyny, Transphobia, Religious bigotry, and Lesbophobia

Moderate: Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Murder

quinntillion's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

If I could rate this higher, I would. Closested queer historical fiction, with the most delightful addition of the supernatural near the end... I would have read so much more of this. It's the t4t horror romance I've always wanted.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Misogyny, Sexual content, Violence, Cannibalism, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Death, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Medical content, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Rape and War

laguerrelewis's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective 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? Yes

4.5

Lee Mandelo just gets atmosphere. He’s a master of southern gothic. There’s a lot of punch in this short tale, and if you want to see queer love in the monstrous and stick it to that small town religious mindset, this i the story for you. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Deadnaming, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual violence

crybabybea's review

dark tense fast-paced

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

3.75

You know what hell yeah.

This didn't go where I was expecting it to go but it was still fun. It's less monster/eldritch horror and more psychological. Although there is a monster and they do

have sex

. Just so you're aware.

The writing was really well done, and Lee Mandelo crafted a great sense of immersion. The setting was so perfect for a story like this; 1920s Appalachia, small conservative town for our trans main character. Horrifying. I do wish that the horror came more from Appalachian folklore but that's me wanting something completely different out of this book because I misled myself about the direction of the story. 

That being said, I felt like the horror elements worked perfectly for the story and the horror imagery tied in well with the themes of queer identity and religious bigotry. I wish this wasn't a novella, and we could spend a bit more time with some scenes and characters, but at the same time the fast pace helps add to the claustrophobic feeling. It felt super cinematic and tense! The main character has an interesting backstory that could have been explored more in a longer novel.

For me the only thing I really didn't like was the age gap between the main characters. That's honestly a minor thing but it bugged me a bit.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Gore, Homophobia, Sexual content, Transphobia, Religious bigotry, and Murder

Moderate: Misogyny and Sexism

Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, and War

zombecrustacean's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

⭐⭐⭐⭐🐊🐊🐊🐊

While this book has a low page count, I didn't feel that the story suffered at all from the shortness of the novel. I thought we had ample time to learn about the characters, understand the setting, and set up the premise. I will say, it is crucial that you read the trigger warnings before jumping into this one!

The thing that I'll touch on in my review that I really loved was the diverse perspective on the trans experience here. We have trans characters with different ways of describing their gender preference and different representations of how they prefer to engage in sexual activity. That is super important! I feel so often that media tries to push this narrative that to be trans you need to completely convert from one gender to the other; that you must hate the body you were born in. And while that is true for many people, it is not altogether a synonymous experience of the community. 

The age gap relationship is what took one star away for me. While it mostly fit with the setting and characterization of our protagonists, I don't prefer it. At least, not to this extent. Freshly 18 with a 30-something? Not quite my vibe.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Transphobia, Blood, Religious bigotry, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, Homophobia, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Medical content, Abortion, and Pregnancy

eklektikam's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Homophobia, Sexual content, Transphobia, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Rape, Sexism, Abortion, and War

Minor: Medical content

remark18's review

dark hopeful mysterious fast-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore

Moderate: Sexism and Transphobia

Minor: Sexual assault