Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson

124 reviews

schausjk's review against another edition

emotional inspiring medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Grief, Sexual assault, Sexism, Pregnancy, Colonisation, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Murder, Biphobia, Police brutality, Racism, Rape, Terminal illness, Violence, and Abandonment

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Misogyny

3littlewordz's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious sad 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

What a beautiful, haunting story. Multiple POVs but it flowed so well that I never felt lost. I have a special affinity for the black cake at the center of the story and have baked it many times over the years with my mother and always knew it was special even when it took all day. This story illustrates the shared experience of so many Caribbean descendants. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Abandonment, Murder, and Sexual assault

estherk809's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

one mom’s kids realize that their present is heavily molded by their mom’s past. i started crying long before i was halfway through the book

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Bullying

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Biphobia, Murder, Death of parent, Xenophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, and Racism

Minor: Sexual assault

jennifer_bush_73's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Murder, Sexism, Death of parent, Rape, Racism, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Biphobia, Death, and Homophobia

Forced adoption

readingwithgoose's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Child abuse

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Murder

Minor: Sexual assault and Rape

saramoser's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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

4.0

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I was fully engrossed in the characters lives and wanted more story. While heartbreaking at some points, and more than hopeful at others, this story was a rollercoaster of emotions. While fictional, it felt as if these characters were real, and I’m sure their experiences while fictional, were close to those of real people’, and the story felt so real.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Addiction, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death of parent, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, and Death

angievansprang's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

4.5

This is a fantastic historical fiction exploring the importance of heritage and our cultural roots, as well as celebrating our collective humanity. Black Cake details multiple generations of a family of individuals who have all face steep adversity and have had to develop strong senses of self. I felt as though the characters were well-developed, extremely vibrant, and most importantly, believable. I really enjoyed the expansive timelines and locations in this book, it takes you across time and across the Atlantic. I am very excited to watch the Hulu adaptation to see how it compares. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Classism, Racism, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Alcoholism, Biphobia, Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Rape, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Murder, Hate crime, Sexual harassment, Abandonment, and Police brutality

jjyork's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape and Murder

Forced adoption

jennabeck13's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4/5)

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

About 380 pages

Eleanor Bennett’s family has been in shambles for years. Eleanor and her son, Byron, haven’t seen her daughter, Benny, in years. Including at her husband’s funeral…. So when Eleanor is determining her final wishes and her will, her biggest priority is to get her children back together. But when Byron and Benny are called by Eleanor’s lawyer, they get the last two things they would have expected, their mother’s signature black cake and a recording detailing family secrets. These family secrets completely re-write the past and leave the family reeling. 

Contemporary fiction has become one of my favorite genres over the past year! I think whether I like them is heavily influenced by my ability to connect and empathize with the characters. Charmaine made that quite easy in this book. I loved all of the characters and the complexities of their stories. I think she did a terrific job of meshing the past and present timelines. And everything was beautifully woven together by the end. The pace was a little slow for me, but that is my only complaint! 

Favorite Quote: “The beauty of a thing justified its plunder. And nothing was more beautiful than a girl who was fearless.”

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Content Warnings

Minor: Abandonment, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Medical content, Classism, Domestic abuse, Cancer, Murder, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Racism, Suicide, Death, Cultural appropriation, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Alcohol, and Alcoholism

amandas_bookshelf's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Racism, Sexism, Classism, Bullying, Murder, Biphobia, Colonisation, Death of parent, and Grief

Moderate: Police brutality, Domestic abuse, Rape, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, and Pregnancy