Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

Lone Women by Victor LaValle

14 reviews

brookiet1220's review against another edition

adventurous dark slow-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? Yes

1.25

Maybe it was the genre not being my go to….Maybe I didn’t understand how the horror elements were supposed to be scary…Maybe I didn’t connect to any of the characters….Maybe the pacing was too slow for my taste…But I’m surprised this novel didn’t put me in a reading slump.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia and Transphobia

finalfires's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-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? Yes

3.75

I really loved the mix of genres in this book, the setting, the mystery and the concept. However, the pace sped up too much in the last 150 or so pages, and I feel like the story wrapped up too neat and perfect. I’d give the first half of the book 5 stars and the second half 2. The first half feels like a really cool, well written feminist western horror. The second half feels a tad fanfiction-y. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Religious bigotry, Emotional abuse, Ableism, Deadnaming, Murder, Kidnapping, Homophobia, Gun violence, Sexism, Alcohol, Colonisation, Racial slurs, Misogyny, Child abuse, Transphobia, Slavery, Pregnancy, Hate crime, Grief, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Death, Child death, Animal death, Racism, and Gore

adiajamille's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Deadnaming, Child abuse, Murder, Racism, Child death, Classism, Death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Transphobia, Death of parent, Kidnapping, and Racial slurs

kaiyakaiyo's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective 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

I really liked this! 

Ominous build-up, creature horror, found family, realistic portrayals of racial dynamics on the “frontier”, heartwarming ending; the author put it all in here without it feeling too jumbled or heavy. 

will definitely be reading more by this author; the prose was lovely!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Racism, Racial slurs, Child abuse, Transphobia, Deadnaming, Child death, and Animal death

Moderate: Animal death, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Gun violence, Xenophobia, Ableism, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Murder, Misogyny, and Colonisation

axel_p's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Ableism, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Transphobia, Violence, and Xenophobia

storyorc's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

A woman facing down the Wild West with nothing but a trunk full of monster is a premise like no other. The pacing lags at times and LaValle cuts away from the violence too soon to have proper satisfaction, at least to this sick soul. However, there is many a wonderful turn of phrase to be found (short buildings that 'hardly trouble the horizon' and wind that 'sculpts' the town residents) and the overall length remains very reasonable. It calls out the many historical wrongs of the era but does not get mired down by them. The women themselves make up for any other faults by managing to be intensely admirable not  or lack of flaws but for their manner of facing them.

Also the central woman is (mostly) unapologetically a big, tall, strong woman. Love it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Transphobia, Racism, Homophobia, and Misogyny

Minor: Child death and Rape

librarianjennifer's review

adventurous challenging dark hopeful mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

I was so surprised by this book! Loved this fantastical, female-centric, Western horror story. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Gore, Transphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Lesbophobia, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Child death, Murder, Xenophobia, and Homophobia

sarah984's review against another edition

dark informative reflective tense 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? Yes

5.0

I really liked this book - the history is interesting and the characters are well drawn. I didn't think the horror was that scary and a few parts were a bit silly to me but overall this is a great story about family, revenge, and the meaning of forgiveness.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Deadnaming

Moderate: Confinement, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Xenophobia, Colonisation, Grief, Racism, Transphobia, Violence, Gun violence, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Classism, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Ableism, Abandonment, Child death, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Homophobia, Medical content, Pregnancy, Slavery, and Misogyny

minervacerridwen's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

"Lone Women" is a masterful take on the old theme of "Who is the real monster here?". I loved the writing style, which kept me rushing through the pages far past my bedtime. Those short chapters are dangerously tempting!
While the first half left me a little underwhelmed and thinking it would all play out rather predictably, it turned out to be the setup for some brilliant storytelling and interesting twists.

I loved the ending, and not only because Elizabeth was actually named a dragon after all the hints!

I even learned some history.

I was happy that the book club suggested this book because I must admit this would never have been on my radar otherwise, as a western horror story isn't something I would naturally gravitate towards. I'm afraid that is also the reason why I personally can't give this a higher rating: it was a lot to stomach sometimes, and not a book I think I'll easily reread myself. In some parts, it became too real for me to work as a relaxing read. I definitely think the book club discussion will be interesting, as the reader is left with a lot of food for thought.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Transphobia, Violence, Ableism, Confinement, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Body horror, Death, Murder, Racial slurs, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Alcohol, Animal death, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Gun violence, Hate crime, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, and Homophobia

minimicropup's review

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Suspenseful, grim, sincere. 

We are following our MC on the run after an incident at their family homestead in California. They are planning to start fresh in Montana with nothing but the clothes on their back and a weighed down steamer trunk. We follow their adventures setting up, meeting the surrounding homesteaders, and developing new friendships. 

• Set in 1915 Montana

🎧 Excellent narration. Immersive, expressive, and listenable at various speeds.

Growls, Howls, and Tail Wags 🐺🐕: 

• The beginning half of the story contains more supernatural suspense and the second half evolves with IRL horror elements. It's a smooth transition that unravels mysteries while building them.  
• Near the end (60% +) I was getting some reader fatigue. This was likely because of the increased action adventure, fight-for-your life parts of the story that I generally struggle with in books. 
• In the last third of the book we get less about what is going on with Adelaide and more about what is happening with other characters. It feels like dramatic literary fiction vibes replace the suspenseful mystery vibes for a bit, and I just wanted more of Adelaide.
• Historical fiction is usually not for me, but I didn't have any problems keeping up here. The author gives historical context in a natural, show-not-tell way, so I was never lost (but also didn't feel like I was reading a textbook). I was also able to relate to the characters and their dilemmas. 
• If you're here for the homesteading part of the plot, it may be disappointing. A surprising number of characters emerge once our MC arrives on their plot of land, so we don't read much of how she's prepping the land over the years. 

Cred Rating 👍😈: Supernatural magical realism

Mood Reading Match Up: 

• Starting over from scratch in a new land adventure plots
• IRL horrors with symbolic supernatural elements
• Mysterious historical fiction (early 1900s)
• Action-adventure stories with a creature feature
• Commentary/themes around disability, disfigurement, and rejection

Content Heads-Up: Transphobic, homophobic, ableist, and racist characters (also includes supportive characters and good rep). Home invasion and theft. Parental rejection.

Format: Library Audio via Libby

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Ableism, Homophobia, Racism, Colonisation, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, and Animal death

Animal deaths involve horses during attacks and escapes.