Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Near the Bone by Christina Henry

69 reviews

aparker89's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Ahhh! Ms Henry has done it again! Damn! I'm shook!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Death of parent, and Murder

skranz's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Miscarriage, and Death of parent

sabrinz's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

The story starts with a young woman living at the top of a mountin in an isolated cabin with her husband. She stumbles upon a killed fox that raises some alarm bells, her husband, however, dismisses the fox initially and is more than angry with her for dallying in checking the snares - the task he had set for her.
As we follow Mattie and discover that her husband is far, far from loving and caring and that there is more to the dead fox - a huge beast roaming the mountaintop that will draw people and endanger the isolation William, Mattie's husband has created.

The story is quite gripping and the tension is high throughout. In addition to the monster, the story of how Mattie (and William) came to be on this mountain top is shown as well, picking up on important topics of blame and guilt along the way.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, Blood, and Death of parent

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Miscarriage, and Vomit

cyris_reads's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, and Gaslighting

darquedreamer's review against another edition

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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Blood, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Murder

nadiajohnsonbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Trafficking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, and Gore

Minor: Rape and Blood

eva_rebolledo's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

I really enjoyed it until I reached about 80% of the book. It's a good story with good writing. And still, there are just so many things left unanswered, and I'm not saying that every aspect or plot of a story should always be explained, but there were so many missed opportunities here; for once, the origin of the creature or

the fact that C.P. doesn't remember Heather being mentioned on the news.

There were a couple of disappointing events, too, 'cause, seriously, what was the point of the creature ripping C.P.'s arm? In my opinion, it didn't add a single relevant aspect to the story. Also, the creature taking away Griffin and Jen when they were the ones who cared the most about Mattie/Samantha? I don't dislike C.P., but I think the story would have been more interesting if we had a group of people helping Samatha instead of just being back to having two characters to focus on.

In other words, the story is good, but the ending is just... pretty meh.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Blood, Kidnapping, and Murder

Moderate: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Rape, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

mandi_lea's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

graceev's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, Kidnapping, and Death of parent

Moderate: Drug abuse, Miscarriage, and Rape

sydneythekydneybean's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

4.5 terror-inducing stars ⭐

Samantha has always, will always be that final girl. Not only dealing with and battling physical danger at every turn but also dismantling the mental distress she has been forced to endure for over a decade. I loved piecing together her story and watching her becoming something new, not totally Samantha, not totally Mattie. I don't think that the creatures in the woods were as fleshed out as they could have been. I understand their necessity from the plot narratively, but other than as a plot point, I'm not totally sold as to why they are in the story. I always felt a true sense of fear and anxiety from William, always watching, stalking and waiting for the right time to strike, but I didn't feel that way from the creatures.

But, the creatures in the woods, are on the lowest tier of why this book worked for me. For me, the other characters in the story (besides William, but that should be obvious) were so endearing to me that even though they were only introduced halfway through the story and we didn't spend a ton of time with them, the time I did spend with them they dug their way so deep into my heart,

I felt like I was more distraught by Griffin's and Jen's death than C.P.

In another life, Griffin, Jen, C.P., and Samantha all escaped William and the monsters in the forest and lived happily ever after as the best of friends, Mattie finding a family in these strangers who showed up in her forest one day and refused to leave her behind.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, and Murder

Moderate: Confinement and Grief

Minor: Miscarriage and Sexual violence