Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix

38 reviews

delilahreads's review

dark

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body horror, Death, Gore, and Misogyny

Moderate: Animal death, Biphobia, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, and Vomit

Minor: Suicide, Pregnancy, Murder, Infidelity, Gaslighting, Animal cruelty, Drug abuse, and Car accident

inkdrinkermal's review

dark tense fast-paced

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

3.5

The Good: The take on vampires drew from some of the less savory aspects of the lore, which upped the creepy factor. The story was compelling - halfway through I couldn't put the book down. James Harris was creepy AF. 

The Bad: The rape. It was unnecessary to the story and felt like a bad attempt to use rape as a horror device. It alone dropped the rating from 5 to 3.5. 

The Ugly: The descriptions of women's bodies, especially breasts. They are scattered throughout the book and made me roll my eyes every time. Also, the inclusion of "she gained 11 pounds and could feel her tummy and hips sagging." *insert massive eye roll here*

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Gore, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Violence

Moderate: Murder, Racism, and Suicide attempt

lorinew1's review

dark lighthearted 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Cannibalism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit

cana_worms's review

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Toxic relationship

dorianlecter's review

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Murder, Rape, Suicide, Violence, and Vomit

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Sexism, Racism, Medical content, Kidnapping, Infidelity, Emotional abuse, and Drug abuse

ohkmurr's review

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

One of the best books I've ever read and officially my favorite book of all time. In fact, I read it twice this year: once in September and again in December. 

Hendrix does Stephen King better than Stephen King does. His portrayal of women's greatest fears is nuanced and realistic, especially the gaslighting and unfortunate marriage dynamics (reflected in both the main character and most others in the book club). Plus, who doesn't love a book that's basically Steel Magnolias x Buffy the Vampire Slayer x Dracula?

Kind of a spoiler, but not really: I will say Hendrix dips his toes into racial inequality, but in sort of a passing mention, not so much deep analysis into the institution itself. I don't know if that was part of the point of the book, like meta-commentary, because the text focuses so much on the affluent white characters and how they react when their safety is threatened, but I'd still like to point it out.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, and Stalking

Lots of gaslighting. The sexual content is somewhat dubious.

cp_frey's review

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Did becoming a mom this year make me bias to believe this book was perfection? I absolutely loved Patricia and her will to not stop until she knew her kids were safe. That “Mom,” at the end had me sobbing.

Ugh! You go mama! Be terrified, but go anyway!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Medical content, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, and Vomit

sachikoriddle's review

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Racism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Infidelity

Minor: Fatphobia and Panic attacks/disorders