Reviews tagging 'Incest'

Scorched Grace by Margot Douaihy

39 reviews

abhirupa's review

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-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

4.0

This was such a refreshing take on the mystery genre. I liked Holiday a lot as a narrator, even when she was talking about her mistakes and transgressions I still wanted to hear her out. I also really liked the descriptions of New Orleans and the secondary characters, who all felt like three-dimensional real people. The main negatives were that I felt like the plot kind of dragged on and there were a few too many red herrings for my liking. The ending was cathartic enough but I still felt like there were unanswered questions. Overall, I really liked this book and I’m excited to read the next in the series—I do hope it’ll be a little more punchy than this one. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Incest and Sexual assault

bmbriar's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

3.0

I heard "queer nun detective" and said "give it to me" but I didn't enjoy this book as much as I anticipated. The homage to Chandler-esque mysteries almost veers past homage and into parody. Sister Holiday is a character I know I would like under other circumstances, but her narration is so indulgent and over-written that I was not able to be submerged in the character and the story. 

I did enjoy Holiday's relationship with Riveaux, and the overall plotting picks up towards the end, but the ending nonetheless felt rushed, with characters' attitudes towards each other turning on a dime.

I also called the murderer/arsonist early on, not because of breadcrumbed evidence (the main case-solving clue was presented right at the end of the book), but because she was the only character that Sister Holiday didn't suspect for a moment, thus making my correct call much less satisfying.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Animal death

Moderate: Alcoholism, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Suicide, Rape, Pedophilia, and Incest

knicke's review

funny lighthearted mysterious fast-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? Yes

2.5

There’s not a whole lot of mystery-solving that happens here, it’s mostly slow-developing exposition and revelations. Scorched Grace seems to be focused on introducing the protagonist, Sister Holiday, for the launch of a series. 

Also, Sister Holiday has too many contradictory interests and characteristics. This made it pretty difficult to understand/get-on-board with the character.

There is a stained glass motif that is not particularly emphasized, but is really good!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Cancer, Addiction, Suicide, and Rape

Minor: Incest

aliciavalenski's review

dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Rape, Death, Drug abuse, Addiction, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Animal death, Blood, Emotional abuse, Grief, Murder, Religious bigotry, Self harm, and Child abuse

evadaisy's review

dark medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

So unnecessarily traumatising. Maybe it's a good book if you don't mind that sort of thing, but please take care of yourself and check the content warnings. This book is so much darker than I expected and I wouldn't have read it if I'd known.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Bullying, Sexual violence, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Cancer, Homophobia, Cursing, Grief, Incest, Sexual content, Death, Drug use, Drug abuse, Pedophilia, Self harm, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Child abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Medical trauma, Pedophilia, Rape, Addiction, Bullying, Cancer, Death, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Medical content, Murder, Drug use, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Alcohol, Drug abuse, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Alcoholism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Outing, Pedophilia, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Classism, Emotional abuse, Blood, Bullying, Addiction, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, and Violence

simkei's review

adventurous emotional funny informative mysterious tense fast-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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Addiction, Police brutality, Grief, Animal death, Classism, Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Hate crime, Self harm, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Rape, Biphobia, Abandonment, Misogyny, Terminal illness, Suicide, Pregnancy, Drug use, Drug abuse, Lesbophobia, and Incest

laketwentytwo's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense medium-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? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Murder, Sexual assault, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Death, and Sexual content

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Animal death, Rape, Incest, and Pregnancy

erosabsens's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Violence

Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, and Incest

rafritz1's review

adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing

Moderate: Addiction, Religious bigotry, Suicide, Rape, and Incest

Minor: Suicide, Death of parent, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Bullying, Cancer, Rape, Fire/Fire injury, Alcoholism, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Self harm, and Lesbophobia

This book made me laugh out loud several times. I really wish I would have known

the fire investigator was high on pain meds through the entire book

because that would have made her dialogue style make a lot more sense. Besides that, I loved this twist on a murder mystery and I will definitely be checking out more Sister Holiday books if the author writes more.

charlieeee's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Drug abuse

Minor: Sexual harassment, Incest, Rape, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, and Animal death