Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

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

139 reviews

keely97mp's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape

Minor: Pedophilia, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Racism, and Suicide attempt

mirandaleighhhh's review

dark funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I have no idea how Grady Hendrix writes women so well….it was weird to read some of it knowing a man wrote it, when my main feeling about men coming out of this book was disgust. 

I love female friendship, sisterhood, and camaraderie!!!

I found the whole scene in which the women were ambushed and belittled by all of their husbands, collectively, all because those men love money more than their families, to be so infuriating I had to scream about it.
Carter was just awful and im so so so glad that Patrice finally divorced him! I was hooting and hollering for her the whole time. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Vomit, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Terminal illness, Violence, Mental illness, Rape, and Blood

dfram's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

the characters were well written and the plot was interesting! i absolutely hate men and i love that this book proves me right for it 😌 the full circle vibe on the last chapter was everything i wanted this ending to be! i was expecting more fantasy than i got

and i was expecting less girl boss energy than i got, that was a pleasant surprise

i liked the writing style and the longer chapters! i also am a big fan of all the foreshadowing!!! overall, a good pick for this month

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Gaslighting, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Murder, and Rape

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Vomit, Sexism, Suicide, Domestic abuse, and Mental illness

Minor: Infidelity, Medical content, Animal cruelty, and Drug use

hannahhmh's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Mental illness, Dementia, Suicide attempt, Infidelity, Classism, Suicide, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Rape, Sexual violence, Gore, Excrement, Blood, Animal death, Murder, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Death of parent, Sexism, Child death, and Child abuse

Moderate: Vomit, Body horror, and Alcoholism

apriltee's review

adventurous dark funny mysterious sad tense medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Murder, Mental illness, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Sexism, Gore, Rape, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, Racism, and Pedophilia

_cecilie_'s review

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-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

4.5

 If someone had told me this was written by a woman, I would have said 'of course, who else could portray such a story so believably', and that is the highest praise I can give in this context. I came to this book expecting a fast-paced, thrilling and ultimately amusing read like the title suggests. Instead, I was frustrated 80% of the time, cried twice and ranted to three seperate people about the absolute gall this novel had to be actually impactful, thought-provoking and indignation-inducing despite having peaches bleeding from puncture wounds on the cover!

I will not repeat all my rantings and ravings here but compile a few of the points I thought most important. First, I really respect that this story would work almost as well if it had no fantasy in it at all and that it is frustrating but in a good, a real way. Patricia (and the other women in this story) is undervalued, not being believed, made to feel small and helpless and if you have any semblance of empathy it will make you curse and seethe on their behalf while feeling as powerless as them. Not to say that these are unproblematic characters, oh no! If you have a problem with reading about sexist or racist characters then maybe skip this one entirely, especially if you have the feeling that you need to brush up on your media literacy skills. All of these characters are flawed but at the same time distinct, fleshed out and worthy of sympathy. 

I loved (hated, but it was a good kind of hate) that all of them had to sacrifice something, that nothing was sunshine and rainbows at the end but they had to deal with real consequences. Also, I'm not saying that chopping up poeple you hate is a great way to deal with them but some just have it coming.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, Gaslighting, Suicide attempt, Rape, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Violence, Body horror, Classism, Gore, Grief, Sexism, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Dementia, Infidelity, Religious bigotry, Racism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, and Stalking

kaitcope's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Child death, Blood, Death, Dementia, Gaslighting, Murder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Racism, Sexism, Classism, Kidnapping, Rape, Sexual assault, and Suicide attempt

emilywemily6's review

dark funny lighthearted tense medium-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? No

4.25

I really enjoyed this book and found it to have many more layers than I originally expected. It started off campy and hilarious, but turned more dark and serious. There is definitely both paranormal and more domestic-style horror elements and it felt like I read two different books between the first half and the second. I really appreciated the messaging about how no one listens to POC (specifically black people in this book), women, or children. And no one cares what happens to the black people in this book, many characters turn a blind eye and just say “oh well, that’s too bad” without giving it more thought. I feel like this book could have been a 5 star if it had been written by a black person and seen from Mrs. Greenie’s perspective. She was my favorite character!! I felt like the author did a pretty good job portraying Patricia in this book, but a lot of the other characters were more superficial. This book inspired a lot of unsettled feelings, both related to the paranormal and the relationships between the characters. It felt a little long and drawn out though, especially with Patricia getting back into the James Harris issue. I wish there had been more actual book club time throughout the book and that the friends could have been better friends to each other. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Classism, Gaslighting, Pedophilia, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Dementia, Sexual assault, Rape, Self harm, Racism, Religious bigotry, Violence, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Murder, Sexual content, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Pregnancy, Terminal illness, Domestic abuse, Medical content, and Infidelity

nerdie88's review against another edition

dark funny medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Adult/minor relationship, Gaslighting, Suicide attempt, Gore, Suicide, Body horror, Forced institutionalization, and Mental illness

ejlee111's review

Too dark and random. Gruesome descriptions. Violence that didn't seem to go with the plot. SA.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Misogyny, Child abuse, Death, Dementia, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Blood, Murder, Stalking, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Chronic illness, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexism, Body horror, and Cannibalism