Reviews tagging 'Transphobia'

Lone Women by Victor LaValle

65 reviews

kylieqrada's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging 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? Yes

5.0

WHAT did I just read?! I LOVE HERRRRRR. Victor Lavalle is everything. 

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librarydare's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious 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

4.0


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cosmic333's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0


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ahhhreadzombiez's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

4.5


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nnnghhh's review against another edition

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dark 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

4.0


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jourdanicus's review

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dark hopeful 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? It's complicated

4.0

I'd heard of this book before, and once it was recommended to me by a friend I decided to give it a go.

I really enjoyed the themes of this story, the "casual" diversity (not bending over backwards to fit diverse characters in and not sacrificing their humanity for their identity aka tokenizing them), the character depth, and more. I loved the setting, both time and place. I think the 1910s need more attention in a world of historical fiction that focuses so heavily on the WWII era.

The plot was a little scattered I think, maybe it was more difficult for me to keep track of everything because I was listening on audio. It seemed like the depth of some elements of the plot was sacrificed for the sake of breadth, and the author's attempt at trying to give every character a backstory left me with some questions about the more main characters' motivations. The author did pretty well weaving together all the loose ends, but it took a little while to get there.

If you like a bit of horror, don't mind gore, and need your characters (even the monsters) to be deeply humanized, this is a book for you.

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amalas_bookstop's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense fast-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 absolutely loved this book. I did not think I would enjoy a western historical fiction but boy was I wrong. The way the author slowly unfolds the secrets of both Adelaide and the trunk she carries was masterful. Each character had depth and the secrets they carried were complex and unpredictable. The plot was delicious and he even opened my eyes to the black women who went to tame the frontier. This book is a historical fiction, fantasy, and horror rolled all into one. This did not disappoint!

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adiajamille's review

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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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kaiyakaiyo's review against another edition

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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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vexatiousbird's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • 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

Not so much a horror story, though the elements of horror are there - more a story about monstrosity and otherness and women who are unashamed of themselves and doing what they need to survive, with the horror elements giving those themes a hard push.

I liked Adelaide, who is brave and decisive though pragmatic to the point of sometimes seeming emotionally detached. Side characters were also compelling, though we spent more time with some than I would have liked while others were left more unexplored than they probably deserved. Good writing and overall enjoyable, though at times a little bleak.

Mostly what stops me from giving this a higher score is that I felt not enough time is really given to explore the relationship between Adelaide and her mysterious burden, once the truth is fully revealed, and the lead up to the climax felt rushed and flat (partly as a result of that) when it could have been revelatory and profound.

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