Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

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

111 reviews

wickedgrumpy's review against another edition

slow-paced

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

2.0

This book made me so uncomfortable at points because the writing is very visceral.  The fact that there is a time jump made everything so much worse.

I’m glad that I read it because I was interested in reading a few books by this author but I don’t think they will be for me after all.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Grief, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Body shaming, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Torture, Animal death, Classism, Gaslighting, Gore, Terminal illness, Vomit, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Excrement, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Stalking, Bullying, Chronic illness, Dementia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, Racism, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, and Violence

carbinara's review against another edition

adventurous 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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

How did our girl Miss Mary raise a bitch like Carter? I enjoyed this book as a whole, but there were quite a few slower paced moments which made sense, but dragged on a little bit. Specifically, with everyone taking so long to believe Patricia. That being said, some of the gory scenes made up for it; there was some fantastic horror locked away in here.

I’ll say two of my favourite scenes were the rats killing Miss Mary (RIP queen fly high) and Patricia hiding in the attic and the cockroach crawling in her ear. Made me physically cringe (and reminded me of that one lady on I’m a Celebrity who got a cockroach up her nose). That being said, I think the women of this storys suffering was broadcast in a very explicit way, compared to the main villains death. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not signing up to be taken apart, but the book writes it in a way that seems more palatable than the other two instances. That being said, I loved the detail of Patricia saying she still felt like she could hear his body moving in his grave. P.S I didn’t only read for the gore lol!

I also wish they had more clarity on the vampire lore of this book, as we have our one villainous vampire and seemingly thats the only insight we get, with very little confirmed on what his vampiric nature allows him to do. I say this specifically as the ‘feeding’ scenes are so different to what we imagine for a classic vampire novel, and I wish it was expanded on more, although it makes sense as it’s from the perspective of Patricia, who has no way to know.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Gore, Sexual assault, Addiction, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicide, Violence, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Dementia, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Racism, Sexism, Death, Terminal illness, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Forced institutionalization and Physical abuse

decie's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.25

I have so many issues with this book, but I was slipping into a reading slump before I started reading and it pulled me back. and kept me up until 2am because I couldn't put it down. (REALLY hated the [spoiler and tw:

rape

] plot at the end though.)

it reminded me of the show good girls, but a southern 90s version with a vampire. couldn't stop picturing the main character as beth. do with that what you will. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Adult/minor relationship, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicide, and Terminal illness

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Kidnapping, and Forced institutionalization

melodyseestrees's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

2.75

This is a book full of tediously bland and aggravating characters. All members of the book club turn on each other the second someone perceived better disagrees with them. Especially if it is the husbands. The only reason the book club experiences any success against the vampire is because of Mrs. Greene who embodies the 'magical negro' trope. She is also the only person of color who is a part of the story. You see a few younger people, embodying a gang type behavior in Mrs. Greene's home community. You see a mother of one of the victims immediately lose her child- because she is a Person of Color and her daughter has what turns out to be a telltale mark on her inner thigh. Other POC characters are all victims that died via suicide, save for the one that was presumably murdered due to an interrupted feeding.
Patricia's son spends the majority of the book unhealthily attached to WW2 and Nazism. All he talks about prior to

his mother's suicide attempt

is Hitler and Nietzsche. 
There are 2 notably gory scenes. One involves rats and features dog vs rats violence and also rats snapping at the two people involved like a stereotypical school of piranha. I was not at all pleased to read about the snapping of necks and chunks taken out. The other gory scene is at the end of the book and I won't spoil it. If you can handle the rat scene you will be able to handle this scene too. It is slightly more 'meat processing' than medical. One other scene that is a bit intense is

Slick

recounting her SA by way of the antagonist. 
I did not appreciate how the majority of the victims were children, especially at the reveal that the bite creates a sexual euphoria that leads to addiction. This is described in detail for two characters, one who is an adult and the other who is in their late teens or early twenties. 
Just about all the male characters embodied stereotypes and were as present in the story as they were in their kids' lives. They either drank, beat their wives, had an abusive amount of control over their wives, or gaslit the ever-loving joy out of their wives. 
The book club are all fair-weather friends. The husbands band together to gaslight and call Patricia crazy and despite the proof they had in their hands at the time, all of the rest of the book club agree. Then at the end while four are struggling in the fight against evil one of the others shows up like she is the saving grace, despite doing next to nothing to help for the entire book. By the end all the surviving book club members seem to still be meeting up as if all were normal. There was small implication that something is going on with the dog, Patricia, and her daughter but it may have been meant as a 'some wounds never heal' kind of thing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Gore, Rape, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Sexual assault, Child death, Gaslighting, Suicide, Antisemitism, Violence, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Vomit, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Racism, Confinement, Medical content, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Drug use, Dementia, Death, and Classism

Minor: Toxic relationship, Fatphobia, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship

Several characters are stated to have committed suicide in minor detail. One character attempts, also in minor detail.

ashlynregan's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense 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? Yes

2.0

I absolutely love it when a male author writes from a woman’s point of view about women’s societal struggles and manages to create female characters that can never do anything right. I simply love it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Rape, Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Violence, Racism, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicide attempt

ludwijag's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Terminal illness, Blood, Sexual violence, Chronic illness, Animal death, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Death of parent, Dementia, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Toxic relationship, Body horror, Murder, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, and Gore

jhaneveauguste's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Gore, Pedophilia, Sexism, Terminal illness, Child death, Classism, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Rape, Blood, Misogyny, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, and Suicide attempt

amycam's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Murder, Racism, Excrement, Sexual assault, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Death, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, and Violence

morgangd's review against another edition

challenging dark sad medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Rape, and Terminal illness

r_o_s_e's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Racism, Sexism, Child death, Classism, Dementia, Gaslighting, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Death, and Misogyny

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Blood, Toxic friendship, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Infidelity, Medical content, Toxic relationship, Rape, and Violence

Minor: Excrement, Gun violence, Vomit, and Stalking