Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

Small Favors, by Erin A. Craig

8 reviews

whenjessreads's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

Bees. Monsters. Madness. More bees. Yes please.

I love the way Erin A. Craig writes creepy atmospheres. In this book, like in A House of Salt and Sorrows, there’s this soft, almost lazy overtone with just an undercurrent of… wrongness. I would describe the book as a gentle horror, if such a thing exists. There’s a quiet solemnity, calmness, and feeling of isolation throughout - but also some MESSED UP mutant animals that come out of the forest, and several gruesome violent deaths 🤷🏻‍♀️ 

It showcases the idea that the monsters hiding in the dark may not be as destructive as the monsters within ourselves. There’s an aspect of the macabre in the mutated creatures that feature as the initial ‘villains’, but the real horror of this story is found in humanity itself, and in what happens when the dark parts of ourselves are magnified and unrestrained.

The book is told in seasons, with the plot building pretty slowly. I didn’t have a problem with the slow progression because the tension remained… tense… throughout, however it did make the final 100 pages or so seem quite rushed, and a little messy. To be honest though, everyone knows I love a good ‘descent into madness’ storyline, and sometimes that kind of chaos can’t be presented calmly and orderly. ACCEPT THE MESS!

The setting was fantastic, the characters were well rounded, and while the twist was pretty obvious, experiencing it from the perspective of the MC still felt new and devastating, so kudos to Craig and her beautiful writing.

I do prefer A House of Salt and Sorrows to Small Favors, but I still enjoyed this read a lot!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Gaslighting, Death, Violence, Misogyny, and Religious bigotry

ashlikes's review

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Injury/injury detail, Kidnapping, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, and Blood

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Animal death, Death of parent, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, and Pregnancy

Minor: Child death, Miscarriage, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Religious bigotry, and Alcoholism

ka_ke's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.75

Small Favours certainly has dark christianity based undertones. I’m not sure if this is intentional or if I’m simply projecting my own experiences on the story. Otherwise, Small Favours is a fun thriller. Watching the towns people slowly lose themselves to insanity is creative, dark and immersive. Another win for Erin A. Craig. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Violence, Body horror, Grief, and Misogyny

Minor: Colonisation, Alcohol, Kidnapping, and Pregnancy

krispy_reading's review

adventurous 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? Yes

4.0

I enjoyed this book, but the ending was definitely YA. I need to track down a similiar book but in adult. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury and Blood

Moderate: Violence, Abandonment, Body horror, Injury/injury detail, Religious bigotry, Murder, Medical trauma, and Animal death

Minor: Pregnancy

tkatt20's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark 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

4.5

Small Favors was everything I had hoped it would be and more. This book had the perfect amount of suspense and untrustworthy characters, I found myself completely unable to put it down. Every character had a story and role to play and different motives, it plays masterfully into the human condition and how some people will do anything in their power to help themselves or the ones they love. It makes you think twice about trusting anyone you meet or even your family. This was definitely more of a slow burn thriller with a lot of suspense leading up to the ending, but its so well written I never felt it was boring. There was always some sort of action or event going on, and I loved the descriptions of the bees added in between and how it weaves in with the darker aspects of the story. 
 While I did truly love this book, I do believe it could have used an extra chapter right at the end or an epilogue. Open-ended books can work in many cases, but I dont usually favor them, and there was one very glaring question I was left with that would have been resolved by this addition and would have made this book perfect for me. Any books by Erin A. Craig have been added to my must buy list and I'm looking forward to any future novels by her!
 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Violence

Moderate: Gun violence, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Misogyny, and Pregnancy

Minor: Religious bigotry, Vomit, and Suicide

elderflower's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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? No

3.25

I was expecting a sweet, historical romance, but got a horror novel instead. Horror novels are not my thing and this one was definitely creepy. It wasn’t necessarily a bad horror novel, but the advertising did not communicate the fact that it was a horror novel. It was a bit predictable and cliché though. 
Songs:

• Chelsea by Phoebe Bridgers- this one doesn’t fit very well, but I got the same vibes from this song and this book
• august by Taylor Swift- for Rebecca and Sam 
• Breakaway by Kelly Clarkson- for Ellerie

Similar reads:

• The Monster in the Hollows by Andrew Peterson- if you want a younger, cleaner, and more christian version of this book then The Monster in the Hollows is the book for you! 
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. R**ling (god I hate to write her name)- I was reminded of Ginny’s storyline while reading this book 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Gore, and Blood

Moderate: Murder, Pregnancy, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Violence

Minor: Suicide, Ableism, Sexual content, Miscarriage, Misogyny, and Gun violence

more content warnings: ableist language, cheating

britni_library's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Death, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Murder, and Religious bigotry

caidyn's review

dark mysterious 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

Erin does it again! A really creepy read that kept me wondering. I did figure some things out early -- just because I know the fairy tale this is based on -- but I kept wondering where it was going to go. Really enjoyed this read!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Religious bigotry, and Violence