Reviews tagging 'Violence'

On the Savage Side by Tiffany McDaniel

34 reviews

shelbybowers20's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense slow-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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Grief, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Violence, Drug use, Addiction, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Torture, Child abuse, Misogyny, Murder, and Physical abuse

Minor: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy

michelleklejmont's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Blood, Addiction, Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Torture, Sexual violence, Violence, Drug use, and Death

Moderate: Animal cruelty

marisasabino's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Cursing, Sexism, Rape, Infertility, Animal death, Child death, Death, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Murder, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Toxic friendship, Drug abuse, Addiction, Alcoholism, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Car accident, and Child abuse

briwithabook's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Body horror, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Abandonment, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Death, Drug use, Toxic relationship, and Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pedophilia, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Confinement

Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Miscarriage, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Bullying, Vomit, Animal cruelty, Grief, and Gun violence

So many content warnings for this book. If you have any triggers at all, I’d recommend researching content warnings before reading it.

layton93's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Child abuse, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Violence, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Stalking, Police brutality, Rape, Sexual content, Sexism, Animal cruelty, Murder, Miscarriage, Animal death, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Vomit, Death of parent, and Grief

lost_luna's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

5.0

This book has broken me repeatedly 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Car accident, Alcoholism, Addiction, Rape, Pedophilia, Miscarriage, Death of parent, Child abuse, Animal cruelty, Alcohol, Sexual violence, Torture, Sexual content, Grief, Drug use, Drug abuse, Animal death, Child death, Violence, Blood, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Murder, Emotional abuse, Death, and Cursing

Moderate: Self harm

mmccombs's review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

4.0

Just completely bleak from the beginning. Every terrible thing that can happen to a person happens in this book and it was pretty brutal to read. I didn’t love Betty but was inspired to read this one because the writing was just stunning. On the Savage Side was no different, and despite the deep sorrow of the book I felt that the writing elevated it and kept me going. I kind of wish that the river pov was used throughout the novel rather than being packed in the beginning, and I did find the twist at the end to be kind of cheesy. Something about the characters didn’t feel super authentic, but I also can’t really speak to the level addiction, poverty, and abuse that influenced these characters’ actions and style of speaking/thinking. I think the last chapter really captured the essence of this novel and made me go “oh, this is what she was going for!” and brought everything together. Ultimately, this felt like a much more together novel than Betty, though I still wished for a bit more cohesiveness at the end.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Animal death, Sexual violence, Addiction, Drug use, Murder, Child abuse, Animal cruelty, Grief, Pedophilia, Violence, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Miscarriage, Death of parent, Physical abuse, and Rape

brittonmc1221's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Police brutality, Violence, Child abuse, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Murder, Sexual violence, Drug use, Physical abuse, Child death, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Miscarriage, and Rape

serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

 

On the Savage Side was both beautiful and brutal, something that came as no surprise to me since I’d already read Betty. Knowing that this story is inspired by the Chillicothe Six it was clear that it was going to be bleak and brutal, that happy endings for the characters were unlikely. The book is a compassionate and unflinching look at the reality for girls and young women whose lives involve abuse, addiction, and prostitition, who live on the margins of society, and whom society (mostly) has given up on. Even though I’m well aware of the harsh realities of the world, the way the men in this story disregarded and abused women, that Arc and the others knew so many men who could realistically have been responsible for the killings, that some police were predators while others were complicit or did not care, gutted and infuriated me all the same. I credit McDaniel’s writing with that. It was lyrical and beautiful and she really made the reader care about her characters. They were daughters, sisters, wives, mothers and friends. They’d been children with talent, imagination, and curiosity, who had dreams for their futures and desperately wanted better for their children. The love and support especially between sisters Arc and Daffy, but also between Harlow, Imogen, Violet, Thursday and Sage Nell was another point of beauty. So too was the way the characters drew on the environment as well as local folklore and mysticism as sources of strength. Another source of strength was the concept of a savage side and a beautiful side which became an extended metaphor throughout the story and was an important legacy from Mawmaw Milkweed. I loved the way they referred to themselves as Queens, a poignant juxtaposition to the way society treated them.

McDaniel included a couple of innovative aspects in this book which enhanced my reading experience. The first was the short sections narrated by the river and briefly outlining the fate of a woman’s body. This won’t be to everyone’s taste but it worked for me. The second was her sketches. It didn’t take long for me to get a sense of deep dread every time I saw a spider, while the annotated sketches for each dead woman emphasised their uniqueness and the reality of their murder. Finally, I want to mention a twist that comes towards the end of this story. Some readers may be surprised and feel a little manipulated. I had suspicions but even had I not, I still feel the twist fitted the book’s theme, and added to the nuance and complexity of the characters and the bonds between them.

Highly recommended but only when you are up for a heavy read. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Pedophilia, Murder, Sexual assault, and Violence

_treatyoshelves_'s review against another edition

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and Drug abuse

Moderate: Sexual violence, Death, Miscarriage, Child abuse, Violence, Rape, and Pedophilia