Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix

163 reviews

averageawkwardasian's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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? No

3.5

Listened to audiobook narrated by Bahni Turpin. 

Overall fun and entertaining with a enjoyable imprecation of the vampire troupe. Love the female lead and female centric supporting cast. 

Narrator basically saved the book for me. Around the 75% mark it feels the story is dragging too long too much.

Putting a 3-year gap in the plot before the plot twist makes it difficult to stay engaged to the book.

If it wasn't for the entertaining performance of the narrator I would have dropped it. Huge kudos to Bahni Turpin.

Upon review I realized it is littered with triggers. While most are relevant to the plot, some are graphic enough I found mildly unsettling. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Gore, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Gaslighting

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child death, Death, Infidelity, and Suicide

hannahhmh's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Blood, Excrement, Dementia, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, and Vomit

apriltee's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious sad 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

_cecilie_'s review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad 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? Yes

4.5

 If someone had told me this was written by a woman, I would have said 'of course, who else could portray such a story so believably', and that is the highest praise I can give in this context. I came to this book expecting a fast-paced, thrilling and ultimately amusing read like the title suggests. Instead, I was frustrated 80% of the time, cried twice and ranted to three seperate people about the absolute gall this novel had to be actually impactful, thought-provoking and indignation-inducing despite having peaches bleeding from puncture wounds on the cover!

I will not repeat all my rantings and ravings here but compile a few of the points I thought most important. First, I really respect that this story would work almost as well if it had no fantasy in it at all and that it is frustrating but in a good, a real way. Patricia (and the other women in this story) is undervalued, not being believed, made to feel small and helpless and if you have any semblance of empathy it will make you curse and seethe on their behalf while feeling as powerless as them. Not to say that these are unproblematic characters, oh no! If you have a problem with reading about sexist or racist characters then maybe skip this one entirely, especially if you have the feeling that you need to brush up on your media literacy skills. All of these characters are flawed but at the same time distinct, fleshed out and worthy of sympathy. 

I loved (hated, but it was a good kind of hate) that all of them had to sacrifice something, that nothing was sunshine and rainbows at the end but they had to deal with real consequences. Also, I'm not saying that chopping up poeple you hate is a great way to deal with them but some just have it coming.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Classism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Racism, Dementia, Religious bigotry, Stalking, and Death of parent

leegray's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense

• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

At no point was this story boring. The narrator did a wonderful job bringing each of the characters to life. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Rape, Suicide, Terminal illness, Blood, Dementia, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

emilywemily6's review against another edition

dark funny lighthearted 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? No

4.25

I really enjoyed this book and found it to have many more layers than I originally expected. It started off campy and hilarious, but turned more dark and serious. There is definitely both paranormal and more domestic-style horror elements and it felt like I read two different books between the first half and the second. I really appreciated the messaging about how no one listens to POC (specifically black people in this book), women, or children. And no one cares what happens to the black people in this book, many characters turn a blind eye and just say “oh well, that’s too bad” without giving it more thought. I feel like this book could have been a 5 star if it had been written by a black person and seen from Mrs. Greenie’s perspective. She was my favorite character!! I felt like the author did a pretty good job portraying Patricia in this book, but a lot of the other characters were more superficial. This book inspired a lot of unsettled feelings, both related to the paranormal and the relationships between the characters. It felt a little long and drawn out though, especially with Patricia getting back into the James Harris issue. I wish there had been more actual book club time throughout the book and that the friends could have been better friends to each other. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Medical content, and Pregnancy

sar_she_her's review against another edition

adventurous challenging tense

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

3.75

Entertaining, angering, and gory.

~ Entertaining at x1.2 speed. 

- Fyi LOTS of gore and Trigger Warnings for many themes. In addition to numerous ones cited below, also creepy/crawly/gross out factor. (Albeit, worst gore is mostly in isolated parts of book: earlier in book as impetus for some call to action, and 1/2-2/3 through book with family endangerment, and 3/4-end with more of the same.)

+ I used to have to skip any books narrated by the much celebrated Bahni Turpin bc her performances of immature, catty, or complaining/whiny characters was too grating. But her array of performances for this book's variety of personalities and ages really impressed me and even converted me as a new fan. impressive performance!

~ While surely part of the author's intentional commentary, his representation of the male partners and how dismissive, condescending, and unaware they were was enraging. His tipping of the scales, whether feeling odds were against certain characters, or the resolution of certain conflicts, felt too steep and stacked, left unfinished or too tidily wrapped up.  I wish these scenarios or interpersonal conflicts were more mixed and balanced.

~ Similarly, for better or worse, predictable. which can be helpful with scary horror, depends on readers' preferences.

+ That said I REALLY enjoyed the main protagonist, appreciated the representation of different aged women and black women, and glaring commentary around racism and classism and their effects. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Gore, Pedophilia, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Blood, Dementia, and Classism

Minor: Bullying, Death, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, and Sexual harassment

torismazarine's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism

gg_reads41189's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship

ariana3's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I was really excited to read this book, especially given the hype I've seen around it for so long. I was pretty disappointed in it, and I just don't think it was my kind of book. This is the first bloody horror book I've read, and it didn't mind that so much as the gaslighting, misogyny, and explicit descriptions of sexual violence. I think a book can be really good without all of that. I'm glad I gave it a shot, and I did read it pretty quickly (mainly because I was hoping it would turn around at the next chapter...).
Plot summary:

Set in this utopia-like southern town near Charleston, SC, weird occurrences start to happen when someone new moves in. Patricia, the main character, sees a man in need and with her southern hospitality helps him out. He immediately ingrains himself into the community, despite Patricia feeling weird about him and trying to make him leave. All of the men, including her terrible husband, gaslight the group of women friends into thinking it's just one of their true crime books affecting them. Turns out Patricia is right, and James Harris is a vampire and has lived for 400 years, and Mrs. Greene (the only person of color and of course the cleaner for the community) is the only one who believes her and wants to help. Gaslighting and misogyny continue, Patricia tries to kill herself because no one will listen. Several years go by and Patricia finds out her now teenage daughter is serving as a "food source" for James Harris, and her son is obsessed with him as well. James Harris attacks one of their friends, and they decide to kill him. Patricia serves as a sacrifice while the others knock him out, dismember him, and burn him/drop him down a pit where ashes are stored (I'm not super clear on if he's ashes or if the several bags that are his body are just down a big hole). Their friend dies and decides to be cremated so the "thing" that James Harris impregnated her with also dies. Things seem to go back to better situations, despite the community now being poor. Patricia thankfully wanted a divorce and the kids decide to live with her. I am glad it had a happier ending. I was waiting the entire time for the other shoe to drop, saying that James Harris found a way to continue living and that he'd be back for Patricia's kids or grandkids or something. But it didn't!! And I liked the little additional notes and letters at the end, I thought they were clever and a nice touch to the book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Excrement, Vomit, Kidnapping, and Classism

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol