Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

Lone Women by Victor LaValle

17 reviews

ohhthehorrors's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful inspiring mysterious slow-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Child death, Death, Violence, Racism, Sexism, Grief, Gun violence, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, and Racial slurs

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

nrogers_1030's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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? It's complicated

3.0

I am a little disappointed with this book. I was really looking forward to it, but it didn't live up to my expectations. That being said, I still think it's a good read. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator does a very good job.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

Moderate: Gun violence, Classism, and Confinement

Minor: Child death, Racial slurs, and Sexual content

peachani's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Animal death, and Violence

Moderate: Dysphoria, Sexism, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Murder, Deadnaming, and Confinement

Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Infertility, Alcohol, Kidnapping, Lesbophobia, Cannibalism, Alcoholism, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Racism, and Transphobia

dogearedbooks's review against another edition

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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Death of parent, Gore, and Murder

Moderate: Confinement

Minor: Slavery, War, Sexism, Child death, Colonisation, Deadnaming, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, and Racism

morethanmylupus's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

4.0

"History is simple. [...] The past is complicated."

I enjoyed this gothic story about Adelaide, a woman saddled with a heavy familial burden and her attempts to carve out a life for herself in the Montana wilderness. The way these women build a community, help each other through this difficult life, and find their paths forward were so compelling  - especially in the context of such a difficult life and Adelaide being one of a very limited number of Black individuals. I I would have loved a deeper view into the lives of the other women beyond Adelaide. I also felt there were some loose ends and some unnecessary plot deviations that didn't add to the story. 

Overall, if you enjoy gothics and books about surviving in the wilderness, this is an excellent choice. 

A huge thank you to the author and the publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Sexism, Lesbophobia, and Gun violence

allapaz's review against another edition

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

2.0

You know how in some books, the beginning is kind of slow, but then as things get revealed the pace picks up and you can't help but get sucked in? This was like the opposite of that. 

I think it was just me. Reading the other reviews and discussions of this book, maybe this just isn't my genre. I do think this was overhyped and the reviews calling this 'Jordan Peele-esque' are misleading. you have to be into a bit of the absurd to get into this, and something I learned about myself is I am definitely not. There were about 5 different stories going at the same time here, and not in a good way. I had a real tough time with this one, honestly I read it so fast because I wanted to be able to move on from it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Racial slurs, Sexism, Transphobia, Xenophobia, and Racism