Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James

35 reviews

librarymouse's review

dark funny mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.5

Overall, I really enjoyed this book! The setting, in particular, was really strong and the transitions between 1982 and 2017 were really tangible. Some of the characters were so pleasantly strange in a very human way. The juxtaposing of Nick, the former delinquent Carly meets as an under the table resident of a run down motel with Callum, the library volunteer who's way too invested in her search for what happened to her aunt is really well done.

This book was really fucking weird in a highly consumable way.

there was some things that felt like compulsory heterosexuality on my first read through, but to be honest, I think I've just been reading a lot of queer stuff recently, and all this book did was clearly characterize Carly as straight. Vic's cancer coming back at the end of the book, so close to her saying she's cancer free and learning her sister also died of cancer felt a bit out of place to me, but it's also real life and real life issues that do happen being presented within the frame of a thriller. I'm not a fan of the pro-cop rhetoric, but at the same time, I did like Alma as a character.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cancer and Domestic abuse

Major content warning for anyone sensitive to men abusing positions of power, sexual assault, and violence against women.

booklover_29's review

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

2.0

The predictibility in this book was astonishing.When you take the suprise element out of a mystery book,to me it becomes dull and monotonous,which this book very much was.
I liked the whole eighties vibe this book had plus the whole " being a female" experience shown hence the two stars.Because the spooky element in this book was very much trash.I was as scared as I am while going out to disneyland.
In short,this book put me in a reading slump and the title should have been -"Two amateur women who think they are just<different>and therefore would try to solve crimes they have no business poking their noses in and ultimately get themselves into danger because they are stupid too " would have made more sense.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Blood

Minor: Rape

steffi_23's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I did enjoy the story but there were several moments in the writing that made me go … was that really necessary. Yes a lot of the story is set in the 80s but some remarks were unnecessary

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Stalking, and Murder

Minor: Child death and Death of parent

thecriticalreader's review

mysterious medium-paced

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

The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James is one of the worst books I’ve ever read. I bought it because I’ve seen quite a few people give it rave reviews, but I have to seriously disagree with their opinions. 

 

The book is split between two perspectives: the first is Viv, a twenty-year-old who relocates to Fell, NY in 1982 and mysteriously vanishes that same year. The second is Carly, Viv’s niece who moves to Fell thirty-five years later to investigate her aunt’s life and disappearance. I kept mixing up whose point of view I was reading because they both lack a distinct voice or personality. They are practically indistinguishable, as their only distinguishing trait is that they like true crime. Carly makes it known that she’s “not like other girls,” because she likes to read and learn about true crime. Any depth they have to them is filled to the brim with pure stupidity. They practically beg to get arrested, attacked, murdered, etc. as they wander about “investigating” murders with a wanton disregard for safety (of themselves and others) and the law. They justify their misinformed and risky “investigations” by claiming that they are trying to bring justice to overlooked murdered women, which is the pathetic excuse thriller authors use to distract the readers from the fact that their protagonists have neither the right nor reason to irresponsibly play amateur detective. 

 

The only reason Viv and Carly get anywhere in their endeavors is that the author sets up every possible plot convenience for them, most of them so ludicrously implausible that my eyes got stuck in the back of my head from rolling them so hard. I could go into specifics, but I’m afraid I would lose brain cells from recalling such stupidity. 

 

If you have any respect for yourself or real murder victims, don’t read this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Violence, Grief, Stalking, and Murder

Moderate: Infidelity, Terminal illness, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Sexism and Sexual violence

mel_s_bookshelf's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Rape, Sexism, and Sexual assault

beholderess's review

mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking and Murder

Moderate: Rape and Sexism

Minor: Cancer and Child death

bookishbutch's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Sexism, Stalking, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

bxnnny's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

greatly enjoyed the pace of the story, the plot, and the two different timelines coinciding. though it was pretty predicitable, it was enjoyable and i read through it in one day.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Stalking

Minor: Cancer, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Sexism, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

murder, paranormal activity, and violence against women are main themes. rape is mentioned several times as well as some mentions of cancer. there are brief instances of homophobia and sexism. pedophilia is implied as well.

libraryghost's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, and Terminal illness

beckyremillard's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

Carly is looking into the disappearance of her aunt, Vivian, which occurred 35 years ago. Her mother died without ever discussing it and Carly wants answers. She goes to the town Viv disappeared from, Fell, to check it out. 

The story is told in 2017 from Carly’s perspective and in 1982 from Viv’s perspective. A lot of information is discovered twice, when Viv finds out in 1982 and when Carley finds out in 2017. 

This book definitely held my interest and I did not want to put it down. 

I didn’t expect there to be actual ghosts. Most thrillers I read, the “ghosts” are explained away by something else. I feel like the paranormal aspect of it should be more announced, I might have reached for the book sooner. 

Also, I was expecting there so be some tie in with the mother. She was so adamant about not wanting to discuss Viv, I thought she’d have known about her or something.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death, Rape, Stalking, and Murder

Moderate: Child death, Homophobia, Racism, Sexism, and Death of parent

Minor: Mental illness