Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

The Woods All Black by Lee Mandelo

32 reviews

ominousspectre's review against another edition

3.75

Spill enough blood on it, and the earth was bound to go strange.

So I was hesitant to pick this up, as I saw that the main character's transness was very integral to the plot. I often find that equates to an almost obsessive focus on trans suffering, and I generally find that exhausting and reductive. If our suffering is all we have to share, what message does that send to everyone?
HOWEVER
I was pleasantly surprised this book didn't do this. The portrayal is honest, still gritty and hard at times, but honest. I really loved it up until the climax. Leslie and Stevie's romance felt particularly forced and unnecessary. So did the

monsterfucking

. That really took me out of it. 

Overall though, impressed with this and the level of historical research done here. Would read more of this author.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia

Minor: Racism and Sexual violence

The main character is essentially girl moding, so they are misgendered a majority of the time. If that's too much for you, probably not the read you're looking for.

coffeypot_'s review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Transphobia, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Sexual violence, and Abortion

charlesbiglythethird's review against another edition

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Homophobia, Sexual content, Transphobia, Violence, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Sexual violence and War

naomidanae's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

3.75

 The writing in this book is immediately engaging. Mandelo knows how to paint a picture. I felt unsettled from the start, too. Spar Creek, as is true of many settings in stories that I love, is a character of its own. The human characters in this story are cast in the strange light of the town itself, and there's a seething queer rage at the heart of this story.

I wasn't expecting sexual explicitness in this novella, and I do think those scenes have a place, but the juxtaposition of that with everything else that happens in the book is a bit off-putting. Being a survivor of sexual assault is not incongruous with still having desire by any means, but these scenes happened so quickly and suddenly that I wondered if they could have been handled a little more carefully or with a bit more nuance instead.

Some quotes:
"The forest whispered around him with a thousand holy mouths. As Woolf had written, Everything, in fact, was something else."
"He'd been a raw-blooded young thing once, and he understood the sweetness—the genuine security—of revenge. He even understood the desire to keep one's hometown, but the thing was, he also understood how dangerous Stevie's path of resistance would be. Sometimes survival meant ripping loose those domestic roots." 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Blood, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

meagan123's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Deadnaming, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Transphobia, Violence, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Rape, Medical content, and Abortion

Minor: Sexual violence

acrosstheskyinstars's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Abortion, Murder, Lesbophobia, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail

cmd586's review against another edition

At about 2/3 of the way in this became too much like porn for me. I put it down as not for me. I was there for the horror, not the graphic sex. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Outing, and Sexual harassment

erin0999's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Angry, vengeful, bloody, gay, and SO horny. I really enjoyed the setting and there’s a definite catharsis to the ending. This book was a fast and wild ride and if you just want to read something short and angry that takes place in a particularly interesting point in time and involves a particularly interesting group of healthcare workers in America, the Frontier Nurse.

I attended Lee Mandelo’s lecture in Richmond, VA a couple weeks ago where he discussed the inspiration for this book, the explanation for certain scenes, and the overall sex positivity/horniness he wants to bring to queer art. All of which I massively enjoyed and support and comes through super honestly in this novella. Anyways, sometimes revenge fantasies are fun ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Abortion, and Lesbophobia

radlizareads's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Transphobia, and War

Moderate: Pregnancy

devh8su's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Murder, Pregnancy, and Lesbophobia

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, and Fire/Fire injury