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shansreadsbooks's review against another edition
- 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
3.25
but the idea of putting our main character in a ten year old's body (while she is 53, but that's still considered too young to mate in their species) definitely did its job of making me very uncomfortable throughout this book.
but the plot was very interesting and gripping, and i really enjoyed this new take on vampires and how much we get to learn about their species!!
probably not her best work but ily octavia <3
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Racism, Violence, and Sexual content
Minor: Racial slurs
swaldman's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Moderate: Murder, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Death of parent, Xenophobia, and Death
Minor: Gun violence and Racial slurs
another_dahlia's review against another edition
3.25
Graphic: Slavery, Rape, Death, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Biphobia, Child abuse, Colonisation, Racial slurs, Racism, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Sexism, Animal death, and Child death
nixter's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The vampires very much fit established vampire lore in some capacity. The experimental part of it wasn’t well explained, in my opinion. I didn’t connect with any of the characters or have any affection for them, which includes our MC, Shori. She was just bumbling around clueless the whole book, which tracks because she suffered from amnesia, but for once, I wanted her to be in the know or have some clue as to what the hell is going on. There were also too many complicated relationships and dynamics to keep track of in such a short period of time, and I often found myself confused and having to think back and remember who is who in relation to someone else.
Finally, my biggest issue was the most glaring part of the book for me — the thing I could not simply get over — which is the fact that she is a literal child, engaging in these sexualized behaviors with adults. Not only is she child appearing to humans, but even by vampiric standards, she’s a kid. So the whole thing made me uncomfortable from the beginning, which may have been a goal of Butler, but I didn’t enjoy it. There were multiple times when I had to put it down and take a break because reading it forced me to imagine a 10 year old appearing person in these compromising situations when I simply rather not.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Pedophilia and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Racism and Racial slurs
readingwithcoffee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.75
Graphic: Murder, Sexual violence, Racism, and Racial slurs
antitheticaldreamgirl's review
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Racial slurs
axel_p's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Minor: Genocide, Hate crime, Incest, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Death, Racial slurs, Violence, Xenophobia, Racism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Murder, Gore, Mass/school shootings, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Pedophilia, Body shaming, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Classism, Pregnancy, Ableism, Blood, and Gaslighting
charrlee's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
This is a text that will have you traversing the themes of blackness & fugitivity and hybridity & "naturalness" while questioning who assumes the role of monsters. Humanity is found in unexpected places as Butler subverts, complicates, and rewrites the expectations and rules of the common Western vampire trope. There is much to discuss about the moral quandaries this book offers. It was a challenging read and probably one of the more horrific books I've read to date.
Graphic: Murder, Sexual content, Body horror, Child abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Racism, Abandonment, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Pedophilia, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, and Hate crime
Moderate: Blood, Genocide, Classism, Gore, Torture, Physical abuse, Addiction, Slavery, Colonisation, and Racial slurs
nevenolson's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
I loved this book. It is amazingly written. I absolutely love the way Butler wrote vampires(Ina). The ending felt unfinished, unfortunately the author passed away before she wrote a sequel.
Graphic: Violence, Sexual content, Racial slurs, and Racism
amberleefowler's review
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
2.5
I could not get over the appearance of Shori and despite understanding that Butler was attempting to discuss the shift of power dynamics in this book (age, race, sex), the level of description of Shori's prepubescent body and her sexual encounters with other characters is revolting. I think this aim could have been achieved without the outright and glaring pedophilia throughout the entire book.
There were also some other disappointments where the book did not live up to the hype, including the plot and dialogue.
I did love the unique take of vampire families and symbiotes as well as the discussion around race and identity but yeah pretty disappointing for how eager I was to read this book.
Graphic: Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Animal death