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xennial_reader's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Happy Pub day!!
Thank you to netgalley & to Simon & Schuster for the eARC.
This was one of my most anticipated releases of the year and it did not disappoint! Although it did very much gross me out 😆 I’m not usually a fan of slashers, but if anyone’s going to get me to read one, it’s Stephen Graham Jones.
We’re back with our final girl Jade, 4 years down the road, freshly out of prison and most importantly, no longer going by Jade- she’s back to Jennifer. With no place left to go after being released, she has to abandon her dream of escaping her hometown and head back. And this time with a new (to us) serial killer on the loose and the whole town trapped in with him during a blizzard, of course.
This story goes off like a bullet and does not let up. SGJ is a master at weaving emotional depth with horror and social commentary. Jennifer/Jade is such a badass, flawed heroine you love to root for. She’s real, she’s angry, she’s sad and she’s just struggling to stay alive. Age, the forced time away and having been under trial for the past few years has made her much more toned down and self aware. With the escape of Dark Mill South (and possibly other killers in the mix??) it’s once again up to Jade to save her small town. She’s still insisting she’s not the final girl, yet again, even with all the signs she’s willfully ignoring. But, to save who she can, she has to tap into her old self which she’s been trying to forget and repress while she was away.
The growth of this character and the trauma processing (whether healthy or not) from everyone involved gave this story so much emotion and depth. I loved being back with my favorite final girl in Proofrock and being dragged along (honestly sometimes kicking and screaming it felt like) for this wild ride.
The only thing that didn’t make this a 5 star read for me was that, while I really liked the multi-POV, I absolute hated having to read the killers’ POV. The gore level was also well past my comfort zone, more so than the first book.
In any event, I’m simultaneously excited and terrified for the final installment of the Lake Witch trilogy. Stephen Graham Jones has become an auto-buy author for me and I can’t wait for the next one!!
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Car accident, and Murder
Moderate: Suicide attempt
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Vomit
readingwithkaitlyn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Ableism, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexism, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug use, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
Minor: Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Self harm, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Trafficking, Colonisation, and Classism
PTSD, privacy invasion, mention of animal torture, s slur, MO lynching, MO Dakota 38, MO residential schools, drowning, car accident.bookcaptivated's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Gun violence, Medical content, and Stalking
Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Drug use, Genocide, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Self harm, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism
edoherty's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
I have two main reasons for rating DFtR slightly lower than the first book:
1.
2.
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Gore, Violence, and Death of parent
Moderate: Forced institutionalization
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, and Drug use
starrysteph's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Dementia, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
danaslitlist's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Rounded up to 4 stars.
I had read My Heart is a Chainsaw (from here on abbreviated to MHiaC) and I really liked it. First time I rated it 5 stars, eventually brought it down to 4 after more thinking. But overall I thought it was wonderfully written.
The twists here were also full filing and entertaining. I think it’s easy to go “oh well that’s too cliche” but it worked for me.
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, and Gore
Minor: Drug use and Pedophilia