Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

The River Has Teeth by Erica Waters

4 reviews

displacedcactus's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

• 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? Yes

This book was fine. I suspect it will hit better with its target YA audience. As an adult reader I found it a bit predictable and found the character work a little rough. I do always appreciate a bit of feminine rage in a book, though, and I liked how the murder ballads were worked into the story. Plus the story is sapphic and I believe one or both of the female MCs are bi.

Like many books I've read recently, I also felt like the pace really could have used a little tightening. This book had a pretty soggy middle (like a river?). Or maybe it's just me. Maybe I'm feeling extra impatient with books this summer.

By the way, depending on which site you see this book on, it'll be listed as either a mystery, a dark fantasy, or a horror. For me, it read the most like a horror. There's some horrific things going on here, the setting has real Southern Gothic vibes, and while they are trying to solve the mystery of the missing girls, it definitely feels less like a "whodunnit" and more like a "creepy things in the woods" vibe.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Murder, Kidnapping, Cursing, and Abandonment

Minor: Animal death, Sexual assault, and Drug abuse

pan_to_ffel's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Abandonment, Death, Death of parent, Murder, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Racism, Alcoholism, Rape, Trafficking, Animal death, Classism, and Gun violence

christinefredrickson's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexism, and Violence

Minor: Animal death and Drug abuse

emsim's review

adventurous dark sad tense medium-paced

• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, and Violence

Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Animal death, Confinement, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Child abuse