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xennial_reader's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Happy Pub day!!
Thank you to netgalley & to Simon & Schuster for the eARC.
This was one of my most anticipated releases of the year and it did not disappoint! Although it did very much gross me out 😆 I’m not usually a fan of slashers, but if anyone’s going to get me to read one, it’s Stephen Graham Jones.
We’re back with our final girl Jade, 4 years down the road, freshly out of prison and most importantly, no longer going by Jade- she’s back to Jennifer. With no place left to go after being released, she has to abandon her dream of escaping her hometown and head back. And this time with a new (to us) serial killer on the loose and the whole town trapped in with him during a blizzard, of course.
This story goes off like a bullet and does not let up. SGJ is a master at weaving emotional depth with horror and social commentary. Jennifer/Jade is such a badass, flawed heroine you love to root for. She’s real, she’s angry, she’s sad and she’s just struggling to stay alive. Age, the forced time away and having been under trial for the past few years has made her much more toned down and self aware. With the escape of Dark Mill South (and possibly other killers in the mix??) it’s once again up to Jade to save her small town. She’s still insisting she’s not the final girl, yet again, even with all the signs she’s willfully ignoring. But, to save who she can, she has to tap into her old self which she’s been trying to forget and repress while she was away.
The growth of this character and the trauma processing (whether healthy or not) from everyone involved gave this story so much emotion and depth. I loved being back with my favorite final girl in Proofrock and being dragged along (honestly sometimes kicking and screaming it felt like) for this wild ride.
The only thing that didn’t make this a 5 star read for me was that, while I really liked the multi-POV, I absolute hated having to read the killers’ POV. The gore level was also well past my comfort zone, more so than the first book.
In any event, I’m simultaneously excited and terrified for the final installment of the Lake Witch trilogy. Stephen Graham Jones has become an auto-buy author for me and I can’t wait for the next one!!
Graphic: Gore, Car accident, Child death, Murder, Violence, Animal death, Torture, and Blood
Moderate: Suicide attempt
Minor: Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Vomit, Child abuse, and Rape
readingwithkaitlyn'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: Sexual assault, Blood, Misogyny, Death of parent, Pedophilia, Stalking, Ableism, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Violence, Torture, Gore, Death, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Sexism
Moderate: Medical content, Drug use, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Racial slurs, Addiction, Medical trauma, Animal cruelty, Suicidal thoughts, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, and Racism
Minor: Classism, Child death, Police brutality, Hate crime, Forced institutionalization, Colonisation, Drug abuse, Self harm, Domestic abuse, Confinement, Trafficking, and Emotional abuse
PTSD, privacy invasion, mention of animal torture, s slur, MO lynching, MO Dakota 38, MO residential schools, drowning, car accident.bookcaptivated'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? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Child death, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Animal death, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Stalking, Body horror, Confinement, Medical content, and Gun violence
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Drug use, Mental illness, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Classism, Colonisation, Car accident, Genocide, Pedophilia, Self harm, Addiction, and Fire/Fire injury
benreadshorror'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
4.5
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Animal death
enchantressreads's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.0
I gave Chainsaw a 4.5 star rating, and I’m going with a 4 star rating for Reaper. One of the biggest reasons for this is because I felt we didn’t get to see Jade as she truly was. She was (pardon the pun) quite jaded as she returned to town after her time in prison. However, Stephen Graham Jones is one of my favorite writers, and I loved everything about the story. I just wish we had more Jade.
I’m excited to read the third book and conclude the series. I think it’s possible my issues with the second will solve themselves in the third, as it tends to happen with middle books in a trilogy.
Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books/Saga Press for the advanced review copy! Don’t Fear the Reaper releases on February 7th.
TW for blood, gore, injury, death, murder, grief, trauma, racism, animal cruelty, animal death, and an adult/minor relationship
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Blood, Violence, Death, and Gore
Moderate: Self harm, Animal cruelty, Racism, and Animal death
Minor: Grief, Adult/minor relationship, and Suicide
grimdark_dad'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
5.0
Graphic: Death, Gore, Animal death, and Blood
Moderate: Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Death of parent, and Classism
ninjamuse's review against another edition
- 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? No
4.25
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Gun violence, Vomit, and Animal death
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Incest
edoherty'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
4.25
I have two main reasons for rating DFtR slightly lower than the first book:
1.
2.
Graphic: Death of parent, Animal death, Gore, Body horror, and Violence
Moderate: Forced institutionalization
Minor: Child death, Drug use, and Adult/minor relationship
starrysteph'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
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Medical trauma, Self harm, Addiction, Car accident, Physical abuse, Racism, Violence, Vomit, Blood, Cultural appropriation, Dementia, Murder, Pedophilia, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Chronic illness, Classism, Grief, and Mental illness
danaslitlist'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
Rounded up to 4 stars.
I had read My Heart is a Chainsaw (from here on abbreviated to MHiaC) and I really liked it. First time I rated it 5 stars, eventually brought it down to 4 after more thinking. But overall I thought it was wonderfully written.
The twists here were also full filing and entertaining. I think it’s easy to go “oh well that’s too cliche” but it worked for me.
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Gore, and Death
Minor: Drug use and Pedophilia