Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James

7 reviews

skeptic_hecate's review

dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

3.75

I couldn't put it down, at least until almost the end. The Viv parts of the book were thrilling and told from the perspective of a very interesting, deeply caring, missunderstood and likable protagonist. Ther Varly chapters were not so great. 

Carly reads like a run of the mill "pick me girl", with extra "not like other girls" sprinkled on top. Where Viv used her brains and worked hard, Carly got deus ex machinas in the form of Heather and Nick. The entire character of Nick read too much like a romance book, which is a genre I am not fond of. I found myself wanting to skip Carly's chapters just so I could read more about Viv.

All in all, a decent read, I would read more of the author. I heard this book in audiobook format, and the avllet girl accent of the voice of Carly only made me loathe that character even more. I do however recommend it as a fast and exciting read to get out of a reading slump.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, and Child death

Moderate: Gun violence and Sexual harassment

raavi's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Child abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Misogyny, and Cancer

Minor: Terminal illness, Torture, and Gun violence

genevieveokeeffe's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Violence and Sexual violence

Minor: Gun violence, Stalking, Grief, and Death of parent

marlireads's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No

3.75

The spooky, paranormal vibes in this are really good. They really did it for me. I was actually too scared to read this at night. The mystery, wasn't as shocking and revelatory as I wanted it to be, but it was still good. The story itself was a bit repetitve because of the two alternating timelines, the "this-happened-back-in-the-day-and-it's-happening-again-in-present-day" plotline. But the element I liked most was the portrayal of the fear of being a woman. What happened in this book is still the most real fear I, and every woman, has on a day-to-day basis. I think about these fears at least weekly and that's fucked up.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual assault

Minor: Misogyny, Sexism, Mental illness, Gun violence, Grief, and Cancer

brookey8888's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

I’m not going to lie this starts out slow, but then you want to know what’s going on. The thing I liked best about this was probably the commentary on women, and women being murdered. I also liked the ghostly vibes. I really liked both Viv and carly oh also heather. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Blood, Cancer, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Stalking, and Violence

dannybrown59's review

adventurous dark mysterious 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

3.75

I really liked this book. I loved how it went between what happened with Viv and Carly investigating almost the same thing. They were a lot a like and had never even met. There were so many twists and turns in this. As I read it just kept getting more interesting. I didn't think either of the plot twists were all that shocking though but still good. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, Rape, Murder, Sexism, and Gun violence

wordwilderness's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Murder, and Stalking

Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, Car accident, Child death, Confinement, Death of parent, Drug use, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Violence