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erebus53'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
The story is weird, mysterious, supernatural, and bleak. It felt like there were actually 2 stories stitched together.
People are going missing, and one of the police officers investigating is a Muslim man who is getting flack from his husband for pulling long hours. They are a sweet couple, but continually on guard due to micro-agressions from their neighbours.. which escalate to macro-agressions and ultimately extreme violence, as someone in the neighborhood is trying to pressure the men into leaving.
The other protagonist is a depressed young man who is grieving the loss of his wife and unborn child in a motor accident that permanently damaged his own leg. He has this niggling voice that continually disparages him. It belongs to an actual demon (is it real?) with whom he has an oddly codependent toxic relationship. (Nowhere near as friendly as Calcifer in Howl's Moving Castle). One day he meets a fancy old man with a swanky mansion who offers wishes.. this gives me real "Needful Things" vibes. The guy is about as suspect as you can get even before he introduces himself as Heart Crowley.
Mumble mumble, magic, cult, demon / God, zealots, creepy, blood and rituals etc. (step 4: profit!... or prophet?)
Meanwhile sadistic homophobic violence, rape, multilation, and all that bad stuff
Kinda liked the whole Clockwork Orange feel of stumbling into the mansion in the middle of the night though. ("HOME")
I liked that most of the characters are gay or pan. Interesting to hear the widow character voicing experience of biphobia. I realize it's supposed to be gritty and horrific but the whole rape angle just felt awful rather than creepy. I kind of feel like the whole story might have had more going for it if it was either a supernatural horror with a paranoid anxiety sufferer OR the horrible side of be what can happen to a sweet gay couple just trying to live their best life, but trying to tangle the two together is just not quite doing either justice.
Graphic: Biphobia, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Islamophobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Car accident, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
julesbarthe10's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Car accident
mraible18's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? No
2.0
I get that horror can be nature be very violent. One of my favorite horror novels is insanely, grotesquely violent, not necessarily in dissimilar ways from this book. But all of the violence and the trauma here felt entirely gratuitous,
Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Islamophobia, and Car accident
Moderate: Ableism, Gore, Kidnapping, and Religious bigotry
mindysbookjourney's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, Rape, and Grief
Minor: Ableism, Biphobia, Child death, Death, Pedophilia, and Car accident
owlribbon's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Death, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
aparker89'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
Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Grief, Stalking, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Blood, Excrement, Islamophobia, Car accident, and Pregnancy
Minor: Biphobia, Body shaming, Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Kidnapping, and Gaslighting
caidyn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, Rape, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Excrement
Moderate: Biphobia and Car accident
riflelizards's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Blood, Excrement, and Car accident
Minor: Biphobia, Child death, Death, and Medical content
mikepalumbo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Rape, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Car accident
Moderate: Pedophilia
rhiannonafternoon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Drug use