Reviews with content warning for Grief - Crossroads

"The first time Chris buried a part of herself by her son's roadside cross, it was an accident."

From its ominous opening line to the holy shit finale, Crossroads by Laurel Hightower is a wild ride. This short novella has plenty of tension-building and “oh, no what in the hell, is what I think is going to happen ohmygodwasishappening” moments but it also has some really meaningful meditations on grief and motherhood. This fucked with my head, but it had me desperately turning the pages until the very end.

This is a lot, so I wouldn’t recommend this to people who don’t really read horror and, if you do read horror, still check out the content warnings on this one. But it was a good horror novella.

Content Warnings

zombie_loves_books's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

A great book surrounding grief, desperation, the difficulty of moving forward and the dangers of not being able to let go.

I knew it wasn't him from the get go but it still broke my heart in the end more for him. She went after what she wished to see and didn't listen to everything showing her the reality and in the end instead of helping her son the choice she made is making him suffer. It was a 4 star simply because there wasn't enough exploration into the boyfriend and why he was so chill with everything. There is supportive and there is this man. I wish there was some more I to his thought process or even if he himself was under a spell.

Content Warnings

vixenreader's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Both a cautionary tale and a tribute to motherhood and grief, this novella examines the dangers of sacrifice with empathy and humanity.

Content Warnings

ankita1996's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Content Warnings

skogsheks's review against another edition

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I’m normally ok reading all sorts of vile horror books but something about the descriptive self-harm in this one was really making me feel sick and I’m just not going to do that to myself.

Content Warnings

sargasso_c's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.75

A piercing and essential exploration of maternal grief.

Content Warnings

kennerzo's review

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4.0

Content Warnings

mfrisk's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.0

This is a tough book to rate because it’s a short read. Chris our main character perfectly embodies the cycles of grief and attempting to find some way to move forward in your life. This author does a great job of delving into emotions through horror and portraying characters that are strong willed and complex when facing uncertainty. I didn’t love the ending which is the only reason I’m taking off one star. It was interesting but didn’t quite feel complete. Look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

Content Warnings

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