Reviews tagging 'Gore'

Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley

15 reviews

rain_baby's review

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Rape, Death, Drug abuse, Grief, Kidnapping, and Gore

megob's review against another edition

I really loved the book, up until the part where I stopped.

I totally understand that books can't all have a happy ending, and that this ending--had I read it--probably wouldn't be *un*happy, but I'm disappointed that that's how it went. Yeah, I was surprised, but I wouldn't have read the book knowing the ending. And that kinda ruins it for me.

 

First half of the book gets 5 stars. Third quarter gets 4 stars. Last 6% gets a DNF 🤷

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Gun violence, Grief, Gaslighting, Addiction, Violence, Sexual harassment, Rape, Racism, Car accident, Confinement, Colonisation, Drug abuse, Death, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, Dysphoria, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Gore, Cultural appropriation, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, and Police brutality

If you're looking for spoilers based on content warnings.

the main character experiences or sees all the things listed above happen in her community. Multiple deaths throughout the book, many of which the reader is present for. Descriptions of her grief after these deaths. Neurodivergency affecting her experience of grief and understanding of the situations. A gun is directed at the main character. Descriptions of those in the throes of addiction. Graphic description of sexual assault with "fade to black" followed by internal and external gaslighting and the suggestion that this was not his first assault. Drugging and kidnapping resulting in confinement and forced compliance with illegal activity. Car accident follows which results in medical trauma and death.

At that point I stopped reading, so I'm not certain if anyone was brought to justice but it seems like they would be. Putting it all out there it seems like a horrible story, but it's really really not! The pacing and atmosphere of the first half of the book are very different from the last half.

emma3674's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug use, Murder, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Gore, Gun violence, Car accident, Cursing, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Vomit, Death, Drug abuse, Grief, and Suicide

grrrlbrarian's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective 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? No

5.0

This was an incredible read. The slow build of tension at the beginning gave the plot real emotional weight, and the ending had me sobbing. I was really glad that

Daunis and Jamie didn’t end up together, giving Daunis some control and agency in a situation with a massive power imbalance

.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Violence, Blood, Grief, Gun violence, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Death, Emotional abuse, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Vomit, Confinement, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Drug use, Misogyny, Sexism, and Gore

Minor: Body shaming, Car accident, Alcohol, Genocide, Suicide, Alcoholism, Addiction, and Child abuse

mseidl's review

4.5

I really enjoyed this book, I loved learning about a culture I had no knowledge about before and seeing Daunis' connection with her Native ancestry and community was amazing. It started a little slow but really picked up. I became really attached to Daunis, Jamie, and the other characters, especially those in the tribe. 

The only criticisms I have are that it seemed to wrap up very quickly after a much more drawn-out start which felt very sudden but was still very engaging. Daunis also went through several very traumatic experiences and her feelings about it and how she processed these traumas weren't really shown, which gave the impression that they weren't as influential or impactful on her as you would've thought. At the very end when court cases and charges are mentioned, I appreciated that it brought awareness to how Native women are mistreated by the criminal justice system, but it seemed kind of thrown in there as a quick explanation without showing any of how it happened or what effect that has or will have on Daunis mentally. 

For example, Lily's murder occurs very early in the book and is Daunis' main motivation for getting involved in the FBI investigation, but Lily isn't mentioned often after her funeral apart from brief mentions to remind us why Daunis became a CI. After she is raped by Grant Edwards she seems to acknowledge it and mostly move past it incredibly quickly, again with only brief mentions after. The fact that he and Dana will not be charged because of the lack of willingness of law enforcement agencies to support Native women felt like it was not developed at all; it was kind of just mentioned as a quick sum-up to wrap up the story quickly and simply after a long and complex plot, and to gain extra political awareness points.

 

However, I overall really enjoyed the story and it is one of my favourite reads. All of my criticisms are definitely not deal-breakers and I'll be re-reading this soon. I've become so attached to the characters and it encouraged me to learn more about Indigenous and Native American culture and history. I can't recommend this book enough

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Sexual assault, Rape, Gun violence, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Addiction, Toxic relationship, Racism, and Violence

Minor: Gore

amelia_dr's review against another edition

emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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: Colonisation, Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, Addiction, Death, Gun violence, Murder, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Blood, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gore, Grief, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, Violence, and Vomit

clevelandbookgirl's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Suicide, and Murder

Moderate: Rape, Racism, and Drug use

parkyparkpark's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Sexism, Cultural appropriation, Gun violence, Car accident, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual harassment, Murder, Grief, Gore, Abandonment, Medical trauma, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Dementia, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Drug use, Addiction, Medical content, and Cursing

savannah_c_dipasquale's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Addiction, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Violence, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Rape, Pedophilia, Alcohol, Blood, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death of parent, Drug use, Gaslighting, Grief, and Infidelity

maria_luciani's review

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Murder, Sexual assault, Addiction, and Rape

Moderate: Colonisation, Genocide, Hate crime, and Kidnapping

Minor: Religious bigotry, Police brutality, Misogyny, Cultural appropriation, Car accident, and Body shaming