Reviews tagging 'Rape'

All These Bodies by Kendare Blake

10 reviews

maralrose's review

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dark sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

3.25

It was alright. The middle part kind of dragged, but it was overall an okay book.

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r0bin_05's review

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dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

2.75



a string of murders in the US in the late  fifties, characterised by the chilling lack of blood at the crime scenes. a murder in a small town, the sheriff's son, and a girl.


supernatural / murder mystery / historical fiction

one of those that you read in one night [although that might have something to do with my scaredy-cat-ness lmao]. i did to try to reach a satisfactory not scary conclusion which was not reached. [on both counts to be honest]


so a) not my favourite genre because of the supernatural-ness 
but b) well written on the most part, loved the world building 
c) found the centering of romance annoying to be honest and unnecessary- i am a straight romance hater
d) ending fell a bit flat. a non-ending. 
e) enjoyed the characters though





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mandkips's review against another edition

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

3.25


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vaniavela's review against another edition

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

3.0

Sixteen bloodless bodies. Two teenagers. An impossible explanation.

Michael was an interesting narrator. He was able to separate his emotions from the investigation at such a young age and with no prior experience, which is impressive.

This book focuses on someone who doesn't talk at all, either to defend herself or plead guilty, which was somehow boring and annoying. There are no breakthroughs or investigations, there is just Michael trying to get Marie to talk and Marie refusing to do so.

We never find out what really happened. I wanted answers and instead got an ambiguous ending. The pacing was also slow, which didn't help.

In the end, I'm not sure how I felt about this book. I couldn't even tell if the story included paranormal elements or not. I would have liked some action moments in the story, but that wasn't the case. 

This just disappointed me, it had so much potential, but in the end it was poorly executed.

tw: murder, blood, death, adult/minor relationship, animal death, physical abuse, child abuse, rape, sexism, abandonment, underage alcohol consumption, child death, confinement, death of parent, grief, misogyny,  violence.

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kjn1329's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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taryn_g's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5


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raslowrie's review

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

5.0


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monalyisha's review

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dark mysterious reflective sad slow-paced
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Not at all what I was expecting. This YA murder mystery, with a Criminal Minds meets SVU vibe, is more about the Horror(s) that people are capable of when they’ve been hurt than it is about jump scares or supernatural beings. Though it’s true that vampires have always been about power & sexual politics (which is why it was so thrilling that the first vampire featured on Buffy was female…but I digress). 

A slow read with some style issues. I’ve never read Kendare Blake before…& I wasn’t bowled over. This felt pretty dry with a lot more telling than showing. I also wonder about the choice to only write from a male character’s POV when part of the problem *is* the male gaze. Does Blake’s authorial choice help to drive the point home? Or, is it a cop out to maintain the mystery?

I appreciated Marie’s insistence that *she* be the one to decide which parts of her story were important and which weren’t, & Blake’s overall focus on the dangers of womanhood (both as victim and perpetrator). Her message about the public’s limited imagination (when it comes to gender & other, equally fictitious topics) is a strong one.


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insidious_toxins's review

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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? Yes

5.0


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lucinda_lee's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? Yes

3.75


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