Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

All These Bodies by Kendare Blake

11 reviews

paigestilwill's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

2.75

Blake’s writing is quick-paced and spooky, and she does well to build tension and mystery over the course of the book. What I was less impressed with, like many other reviewers, was the sheer amount of unanswered elements left hanging at the end.

Additionally, for it being a piece set in the 50s, Blake wrote about the teens in a very modern way, a couple of times mentioning soda pop shops or drive-ins, but not really framing the language in any concrete way to make you FEEL like you were in that time period. In fact, many times I had to remind myself that it was set in the 50s, because the writing style and diction didn’t reflect that. Once I thought, why not check security cameras, completely forgetting that was not an option in the 50s 🤦🏻‍♀️

I also found many parts of this story unbelievable—how a 17 year old was allowed to investigate the most prolific serial killer in the country,

Marie being covered in blood from throwing up on herself (what??? The physics don’t add up)

, the lack of depth and complexity afforded many of the characters, including the Nebraskan DA,

Steve’s friends threatening to shoot Michael for trying to get to the truth about his murder

… the clarifications we do get seem half-baked and not well thought through. 

In all, it was quick and the fast cadence of the plot made it a more gripping read, but it felt like much of the building action was pointless, and I expected and wished for more answers, even if it hadn’t been all of them. There’s nothing wrong with leaving readers wanting more, but this one had more loose ends than seemed necessary. I understand wanting the reader to make their own conclusions, just like the public had to when similar cases actually occurred in history. However, after 300 pages, the reader deserves some semblance of an explanation, rather than a half-hearted ending that raised its own questions more than answers. 

I’m not sure if I’d return to Blake’s work in the future. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Blood, Physical abuse, Gore, and Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Sexual assault

Minor: Gun violence

vismyth's review

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

2.5

It's a 2 and a half for the interesting setup and initial ambiguity that really does drag you into the story wondering whether there is a supernatural twist or not and what happened to end up with a teenage girl drenched in blood surrounded by bodies
but that ambiguity is never resolved and the ending isnt satisfying enough to make up for it

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Alcohol, Sexual assault, Sexism, Confinement, Gun violence, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, and Cannibalism

implied sexual assault, implied grooming of a minor

bookwormsandcoffeestains's review

dark tense slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood

Minor: Sexual assault

vixenreader's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

The ending is anti-climatic, but the story still has an interesting perspective in how individual view and rationalize their own truths, despite never really knowing the truth. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Grief, Misogyny, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Torture

Moderate: Alcohol, Medical content, Gun violence, Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Sexual content, Vomit, and Cursing

Minor: Car accident, Animal death, and Animal cruelty

There is also scenes of imprisonment and guilt, as well as disturbing mythology.

makenna_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Death of parent, Child abuse, and Child death

Minor: Sexual assault

emmoeller's review

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? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder

Minor: Sexual assault and Child abuse

kjn1329's review

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Torture, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Animal death, Stalking, Alcoholism, Cannibalism, Child death, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Physical abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, and Violence

vinsynt's review

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-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

5.0

At first, it reads like a slow-burn psychological thriller in YA style, but bit by bit this story becomes even more sinister.

Somehow Blake makes the ending explicitly predicted by the characters in the novel into a completely unpredictable ending.

Might want to read this one with the lights on; you probably won’t sleep tonight.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Murder, and Blood

Moderate: Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Sexual violence, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

sunsetcity's review

dark mysterious tense slow-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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Gore, Gun violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Violence

bnelson13's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Really great story. I read most of it in a day. It was hard to put down and so so captivating. The ending wasn't really what I wanted, but it was a good ending all the same. I loved the characters of Marie and Michael. Such a good story, I could not say it enough.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, and Violence