Reviews tagging 'Gore'

All the Little Raindrops by Mia Sheridan

10 reviews

lee_nuhh's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Sometimes the dark is beautiful, and without it, we wouldn't see the moon.

A thrilling story of two teenaged abductees surviving and unraveling what happened to them over time. Some twists I didn't quite predict, some false leads, a little romance. Could've used a little more editing, as some of the prose and plot felt discombobulated at times. Overall enjoyed it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Violence, Trafficking, Sexual assault, Gore, Sexual violence, Murder, Medical content, Confinement, Body horror, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, and Death

summerc_reads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense fast-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

4.5

“We leave here whole. We leave here together.”

Noelle Meyer and Evan Sinclair are enemies and have been at odds since Evan’s dad shot and killed Noelle’s mom. Now, both have been kidnapped and are being held captive in adjoining cells as part of a twisted online game run by an unknown syndicate who enjoy torturing their captives. Noelle and Evan must choose whether to be tortured themselves or whether to escape torture by inflicting it on the other. Despite their past, they work together to escape and, years later, come together again to try to unmask the person behind the syndicate known only as The Collector.” 

This book is INTENSE and is often very dark but it is so unbelievably good. It’s like the DaVinci Code meets Saw meets the Notebook (seriously) and I could not put it down!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Trafficking, Gore, Violence, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Sexual assault

mayawata_'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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

4.5

The only thing I was caught up on was how the main characters came to loving each other. While it was clear they had a connection and they discussed how their shared trauma could interfere with a healthy relationship, the admission of love felt almost rushed and lil out of place. But the plot had me on my ass trying to finish it, I was hooked. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Trafficking, Gore, Torture, Kidnapping, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Sexual content and Rape

This book did not graphically describe the rape that occurred; however, it is confirmed various times that both characters had been raped/sexually assaulted.

abookbitch's review against another edition

adventurous dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Child abuse, Grief, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Murder, Self harm, Slavery, Gore, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Torture, Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, Rape, Violence, Confinement, Death, Sexual content, and Trafficking

linsliterarylove's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

OMG. This whole book is a trigger warning. Read with caution.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Grief, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Rape, Sexual violence, Body horror, Child abuse, Blood, Trafficking, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Murder, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Gore, and Death

astoriareader's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

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

2.0

SYNOPSIS

• Two seniors in high school, Noelle & Evan, have been kidnapped. They are locked in cages, and they are part of a sadistic game. It also turns out that Noelle & Evan know each other, and their families don’t have the best past. This portion covers about the first third of the book.
• After they get out, some time passes in the book, and they reunite to try to figure out who was behind it all.

MY THOUGHTS

• This was actually pretty bad. I wouldn’t call it a psychological thriller. It fits more in horror genre mixed with romance.
• Definitely check out trigger warnings because this book is A LOT. 
• If you’re into gratuitous violence & torture, this one may be for you. That’s not my thing, so I didn’t enjoy it.
• There isn’t much character development either. Characters felt very one-dimensional. Overall, the whole book fell flat for me. Not a satisfying ending. The romance between Noelle & Evan is just weird & based on trauma they went through together.
• So many tropes & cliches in this one. 
• About 99% of the plot is completely unbelievable.
• I also have a personal pet peeve with how many times the author used the phrase “took her virginity” re: Noelle. Virginity is a social construct. I mean, JFC, can we please stop using this phrase in 2024, particularly in reference to a teenage trafficking victim being raped?! 

TL;DR: ⭐️⭐️skip it, unless you’re into gratuitous violence & misogynistic writing.

Thanks to Montlake and Netgalley for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book is out now.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Torture, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Misogyny, Trafficking, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Sexual content, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Pedophilia and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Alcoholism and Pregnancy

yazzy_annalise's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

I got this book as an Amazon kindle freebie. I am glad I got this book, I don't read too many mystery thrillers, so it was a nice change of pace. I feel pretty neutral about this book. I liked how the author, for a very small moment, made me doubt myself and think the wrong answer was the right one, but it would have been a very silly/trite book if that was true. I really loved that this author didn't try to pull some big bait and switch on who the culprits are, it was a natural flow and if you figured it out it still was a surprise when it all came together. I'm really tired of that sudden change as if the audience isn't supposed to figure the mystery out in popular media now. It is gory at times, but that is the nature of the plot. 

However, I will say that the story was a lot more compelling up until they

were together for two weeks and especially on the overnight trip during those two weeks. I didn't find their romance very compelling either. I still very much wonder if their trauma bond played a huge role in it and think they should do so much more counseling to figure out if their love is something that is safe and healthy for each other.

I think the process of the climax was a little rushed and could have been more realistically spread out. I understand why there was some action surrounding their relationship, but the relationship also felt forced at times. 

Overall, I recommend this book for someone looking for a mystery thriller that you don't have to be invested in. It does have some gory sections, but it is also sweet in other ways. I think it is a good reset read if you're in a slump.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Rape, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Torture, Pedophilia, Kidnapping, Violence, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Death of parent

roseyposeyreads's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Trafficking, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Torture, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Rape, Blood, Sexual assault, and Murder

jillwedemeier's review against another edition

challenging mysterious tense fast-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

2.0

CW: human trafficking, rape, sexual assault, abduction, kidnapping, confinement, physical abuse, murder, torture

The premise of this book sounded very intriguing, but unfortunately it just wasn't for me. At 390 pages, this book could have been condensed to create a compelling mystery about two victims solving their own kidnappings. Instead, the first 25% of this book is a pure horror novel with vivid and graphic details of human trafficking, including rape, sexual assault, physical assault, and confinement in cages. This book was so much more disturbing than I had anticipated, and it was very difficult to get through. The next 25% of the book was more of a romance, which felt too unbelievable and forced. Fortunately, I found the second half of the book much more captivating and enjoyed how Noelle and Evan worked together to solve their case, although it was still quite dark and twisted. Fans of "Verity" and "Local Woman Missing" will likely enjoy this book, but it was too gruesome for my taste.

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Sexual violence, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Murder, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Confinement, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Trafficking

brittonmc1221's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Trafficking, and Violence