Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James

66 reviews

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.

---

Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Sexual assault

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

madlock18's review

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Blood, Death, Violence, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Stalking

meremesch's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Blood

Minor: Cancer and Death of parent

owlliecat's review

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Sexual assault and Child death

jessie_roz's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, and Stalking

Minor: Death of parent and Cancer

taelights's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I loved this book so much. Both Viv and Carly's POVs held my interest throughout and I enjoyed seeing the connections between their stories. Listening to them piece together the same basic mystery but at different times and using different clues was actually really interesting! It never made me bored or felt repetitive at all. Also this book had so many twists I didn't see coming. 

Also the mix between mystery, crime thriller, and supernatural horror was perfect. The author did an amazing job writing all of these elements, especially the creepy spooky ones. Adding in ghosts just added to the story and setting so well. 

The only thing I didn't like was one element of the ending.

I was disappointed with Viv's ending. I don't think she should have confessed. Between her confessing and having cancer I thought her being revealed as alive was pointless. It's like oh cool this character I got attached to but thought was dead is actually alive! Yay! Oh wait… she's now either going to die soon from cancer or rot in prision for the rest of her life when she literally could and should have kept getting away with this crime.

But overall this was a very amazing read that I deeply enjoyed! I can't wait to check out more books by Simone St. James now as I definitely loved her writing style in this book. 

Edit:  I just looked up the author and saw she's cis het so it kind of makes me uncomfortable and not like her because she used lesbian slurs in her writing. Using the word dyke in her writing was unnecessary to begin with but knowing she's heterosexual and using it leaves a bit of a nasty taste in my mouth. I'll still read Book of Cold Cases through the library but I'm glad I didn't pick it as my BOTM like I almost did because I won't be financially supporting her. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Sexual violence, Stalking, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Death, Grief, Cancer, Child death, Death of parent, Infidelity, Rape, Mental illness, Murder, Racism, Misogyny, Sexual assault, and Sexism

Homophobic and lesphobic slurs written by a cis het author.

paulrichard's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad 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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Stalking, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, Mental illness, and Child death

Minor: Cursing

beetfuse's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder and Sexual assault

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. 

---

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

exlibrissum's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.5

---

Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, and Death of parent

Minor: Eating disorder, Mental illness, and Cancer