Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

The River Has Teeth by Erica Waters

10 reviews

lostinworlds's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious 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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gore, Murder, Grief, Confinement, Death, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Gore, Violence, Alcohol, and Sexism

mediocremasen's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Great premise, interesting characters, fun setting/world, boring execution.
I had so much hope for this book and it just fell flat. I was so bored for the first half of the book, maybe more.
It felt like stuff was always happening but none of it really matters. It felt like the entire first half was setting the stage for the book instead of actually being the story.
The characters were also a bit inconsistent and I think if she had committed to making them a bit more sinister like some of their actions showed, it would have been very compelling.
Shifts in the story and in the characters were very abrupt. There wasn't a lot of transition from point A to point B on several different things, it was just suddenly it changed with no real build up of any kind so it didn't really feel satisfying either.
Not a bad book, just a lot of lost potential.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Violence, Physical abuse, Death, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Grief, Forced institutionalization, Sexism, Gaslighting, Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Confinement, and Alcohol

Minor: Blood

corriejn's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Witchy, magic-laden young adult mystery fiction. It's hard to say too much about this book without spoilers, but it's a creative and engaging book for the genre.

A few non-spoiler-y notes: the LGBTQIA+ tag is not inappropriate for this book, but I will say that some of the earlier introductions of queer characters felt a bit self-conscious/gratuitous. By that I mean going out of the way to establish queer identities of characters in ways that didn't seem natural as part of conversations in the narrative, and felt more like pointing out those identities to tick a representation box than presenting characters naturally as whoever they were (i.e., them presented matter-of-factly in the ways they went about their lives and relationships). (Same with race; there is a Black character among the supporting roles, but that does not seem to a real/impactful part of the character's identity and life, but mentioned occasionally to remind the reader of the fact.) This is all still well ahead of books that treat all characters as white/cis/het by default, of course, but there are also books (including within YA fiction) that handle diversity better.

Another theme that felt a tad ineptly handled (again, without any major spoilers here) was one of the main character's pasts, as a child who was adopted later in childhood. The descriptions of the character's feelings about/relationship to their biological parents and adoptive family read as a bit trite and simplistic. Representation of a variety of life experiences is great, but again this was not dealt with with the greatest nuance or depth/complexity of characters (indeed, the adoptive family/said character's relationship to them get only the briefest of coverage).

All that being said, I'm still rating this 4.5 because for the genre/intended audience the inclusion of various identities and life experiences is still a plus and may not have been encountered in a lot of other fiction texts, even if they could have been more skillfully addressed. This remains an engaging and creative book (though do check the substantial CWs if any of those are a concern), and a recommended read for late-teen to adult readers. (The positive aspects of the story are more difficult to outline with plot spoilers!)

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Murder, Violence, and Torture

Moderate: Alcohol, Classism, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Drug abuse, and Vomit

Minor: Child abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Lesbophobia, Addiction, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Outing, Biphobia, Racism, and Trafficking

indigoreadingcollective's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? It's complicated

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Gore, and Gun violence

Moderate: Abandonment

Minor: Alcohol

spiritedfaraway's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Torture, Stalking, Racism, Police brutality, and Panic attacks/disorders

aqulia's review

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.5

This is book is pretty good, but there are some flaws.  Jake is dropped from the storyline with little follow-up, which felt unfulfilling.  The main characters, Delia and Natalie, come across as jerks too many times to be very sympathetic.  Also, this book is misandrist in parts.  While I understand that there are horrible men out there, and that the patriarchy is a serious problem, this book goes too far with it's message.  The message seems to be that all men are evil and monstrous, when there are plenty of good men out there in reality.  The author is more sympathetic toward the women then the men, and gives women excuses when the men don't get any slack.

Who do I recommend this to?: Honestly, not many people.  If you're a big fan of witches, maybe, but the problems with the book's message discourage me from recommending it more.
Will I read more by this author?: Maybe.  The writing and plot was good, and there are strong characters, but the way the theme is handled is off putting.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Death, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Sexism, and Violence

Minor: Alcohol, Drug use, and Toxic friendship

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

---

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

ashleycmms's review

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Drug abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, and Sexism

Moderate: Domestic abuse

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Racism

melaniereadsbooks's review

adventurous dark slow-paced

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

4.25

This book was very atmospheric and dark and I loved the vibes. It was a little too slow paced for me and I felt a bit like it was covering too much or trying to, but overall I really enjoyed it. The relationship is cute and I liked the way things turned out in the end!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual assault, Body horror, Drug use, Drug abuse, Alcohol, and Emotional abuse

thereserose's review

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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This book is beautifully (and sometimes horrifically) atmospheric. I felt drawn into the woods along with the characters and wanted to get lost in it.

I also loved the magic in this book. It was so woven into everything that I didn’t find myself questioning it.

My only criticism was that the end was a bit heavy-handed. It seemed like the author was spelling out the moral of the story rather than trusting the readers to understand. Despite this, the ending is still pretty satisfying.

I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Blood, Violence, Death, Toxic relationship, and Grief

Moderate: Alcohol and Emotional abuse

Minor: Trafficking