Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Dead Girls Walking by Sami Ellis

18 reviews

thissagreads's review against another edition

I wanted to like and enjoy this book SO MUCH!!!! I even really like the narrator (who’s read a few other books I’ve enjoyed). But the writing was so boring, and here were far too many characters to keep up with. Additionally, the story jumps right in and it can be a bit confusing to follow. I would be open to physically reading this book, but it doesn’t bode well in audiobook format. Really disappointed by how boring the story was.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Death of parent, and Murder

bookcaptivated's review

dark mysterious reflective tense fast-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Stalking, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Slavery and Vomit

honeymadison's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

bibarbie's review

dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore and Violence

shereadytoread's review

dark emotional mysterious tense

• 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

3.25

If you want a slasher story, it definitely gives you those pieces and they are strong throughout. One of the biggest issues was the story not deciding if it wanted to be a slasher or something else until it was too late imo. I wanted to love this book more than I did. It is a strong debut, but could have used some polishing for me. I think this would be a divisive read. I think if it lands for you, you will LOVE it. Our main character is not a likeable girl at all. Understandably so when your dad is a serial killer and it has ruined your life. This book follows an entirely queer, black cast as they navigate a horror fun weekend gone terrible wrong. The individual girls have their own issues with one another on top of the main plot of Temple trying to figure out the mystery of her mother's death at her father's hands. 

Pros: 
- very strong slasher elements
- the gore and imagery is great 
- Strong character depth
- Lots of queer rep 
- excellent slasher body count

Cons: 
- overcomplicates itself with multiple reveals 
- the supernatural elements felt a little far off 
- the cast was too big (great for a body count but hard to keep track of) 
- some very convenient additions 

Disclaimer: I received a gifted ARC of this book from the publisher. A review was not required and all thoughts are my own.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Violence

Moderate: Kidnapping and Death of parent

beccaglasserbaker's review

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Death, Torture, Violence, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

emily_mh's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

Conceptually, this book had a lot going for it. A horror sleepaway camp located at the site of the murders of an imprisoned serial killer is already super compelling, yet Ellis elevates even this by incorporating a supernatural twist. For me though, the execution needed to be better.

My first problem was with the tense/POV combo, which was present/3rd person, which always reads weird to me. To make matters worse, there were TONS of grammatical errors where the tense switched to past and then back again, sometimes even in the same sentence. This lack of quality was disappointing.

My second problem was that the supernatural elements didn’t always make full sense to me, or were inconsistent, in part due to sometimes being explained in a slapdash manner. The whole story depends upon these elements, so it did leave the book feeling weaker in places.

By no means do I think this is a bad book, though. While the story took until about a third of the way through for its inciting incident to occur, which is not ideal for a thriller, I was hooked from then on in. I thought Ellis did well at balancing quieter character moments with tense “run for your lives” scenes. I also think this book delivered on its promise of being scary.

There was some interesting character-work too. I mean, the MC’s set-up is that she is returning to where she used to live to find the body of her mother, who was killed by her serial-killer father. Some moments in her journey needed more emotional weight, but overall I was really taken by the way that Temple was desperately seeking closure, and that she was resolute in her values throughout. Her character development regarding trusting in others was a touch rushed, but the circumstances were admittedly exceptional!

I don’t think I’d recommend this book to everyone, but if you’re looking for a supernatural horror that will hold you in suspense, then keep this on your radar!

Rep: Black lesbian MC with asthma

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gun violence and Vomit

Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Biphobia, Bullying, Confinement, Drug use, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual content, Suicide, Police brutality, Dementia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment

Major: missing loved one Minor: loss of a loved one, imprisonment, insects, capital punishment, fainting, disordered eating

skypotion's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

3.5

The plot was a little wacky, which is why I can't give it over 3.5. I was occasionally confused, but I also skimmed at points, so that may be my fault. THAT BEING SAID, Ellis absolutely killed the proper "horror" elements here, and the last 1/3 of the book was a fucking fantastic read. I do recommend this if you're looking for a good "final girl" experience, and I'm signing up for anything else Ellis writes in the future. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Blood, Vomit, and Death of parent

raesreadingcorner's review

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

nrogers_1030's review against another edition

3.5

🎧 
I got a bit confused at times and had to rewind and listen again. Very creative.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Vomit, and Murder