Reviews tagging 'Murder'

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

560 reviews

ursimae's review against another edition

This book is a 1.5/5 stars.

The premise is sounds so good, but the execution was terrible. It's so bad that I dont think I'll even try reading another book by this author.
It's laughable that this book was supposedly written as like a love letter to his mom considering what happens in it.

Sorry for the rant, but I can't with this book.
Let me list out a few of the transgressions:

• Weak writing. Outside of the horror scenes, the prose felt sloppy.
• So many racist stereotypes. The only reoccurring black character is given the "mammy" role. The next mention of other POC are shown as servants to the rich white people of the town during parties. From there, the stereotypes just continue. At points, it seemed like Grady was opening good dialogue on how racism impacts black communities in regards to their valid concerns being downplayed and ignored. However, he kept dropping the ball with it. It's like he placed the talking point in front of us then swept it aside before we could fully digest it and have a meaningful talk.
• Why the hell does the son love Nazis? The kid is obsessed and idolizes them. It literally plays no part in the story. Why'd you add that Grady? It wasn't necessary. Why you keep bringing up Nazis. Also, why was the MC totally cool about it? Huh? Grady, why was everyone okay with Nazis? It wasn't plot relevant.
• SO MUCH GASLIGHTING. Omfg, it made me want to rip out my hair. 
• Hey, Grady...why did you write about the MC gaining 11 lbs as if she gained 200????? You just threw that part in there for what?
• Hey Grady... What's with the graphic retelling of a rape scene? Why?
• Hey.... Grady... Why did you have to include so many child sexual assault scenes... Story would've been totally cool without that. Really wasn't necessary.
• The MC attempts suicide and its treated by everyone (even the MC) like some petty "fuck you" to her husband.
• Also, there's just a lot of domestic abuse.
• I was 64% through when I DNFed and literally, never once was there a part about women becoming empowered and badass, taking on vampires. It was just 7+ hours (audiobook listener here) of a woman being severely abused.
• Not one character is likeable.
• All the other women in this book are just misogynistic stereotypes. None of them have any actual depth of character and feel very flat.
• The biggest horror wasn't the vampire stuff, but the husband, omfg they were the real villains.
• apparently at the end, she only gets a divorce from this dude... I feel like she should get to kill her husband for the shit he did to her. Also, none of the other women get to fix their abusive relationships?

There is probably more than I could say, but I've ranted about this long enough.
There is very important commentary to be had with the topics of this book that would be awesome to explore further, but it only comes across as 400+ pages of women being repeatedly abused, racist, sexist, and outright terrible characters.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Death, Body horror, Blood, Domestic abuse, Toxic friendship, Dementia, Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Racism, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Self harm, Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, and Grief

Minor: Bullying, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, and Fatphobia

theraindiary's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Sexual violence, Death, Cannibalism, Gore, Murder, Child abuse, Misogyny, and Blood

gaylelabreche's review against another edition

4.75

Genuinely terrifying. Delightfully creepy as hell. I loved all the characters SO MUCH. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Dementia, Racism, Sexual assault, Blood, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Suicide attempt, Gore, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Child death, and Death

drpeeper's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I would say check trigger warnings before reading this. not sure if it’s due to personal life struggles or the nature of the book, but this was a rough one. interesting characters and plot and some funny moments, but a pass for me. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Murder, Misogyny, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Blood, and Gore

Moderate: Animal death, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Sexual violence

Minor: Grief, Addiction, Hate crime, Religious bigotry, Cancer, Alcoholism, and Death of parent

beetsbydwight's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

1.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Gore

kedaniels28'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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Blood, Murder, Death, and Body horror

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Addiction, and Alcoholism

crystalb0058's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Rape, Gaslighting, Blood, and Adult/minor relationship

gspear's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective 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? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Torture, and Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Child death

mushymargo's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

2.0

Lots of gross details you can tell it’s a man writing women. Lots of unnecessary naked women with WAY too many details and the sexualization of a minor

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Body shaming, Blood, Body horror, Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, and Sexual assault

mommacusses's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

2.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Gore, Pedophilia, Rape, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Medical trauma, and Mental illness