Reviews with content warning for Sexual violence - The Sun Down Motel

Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James

47 reviews

harpoonholly's review

dark emotional hopeful 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

4.5

Audiobook read by Brittany Pressley and Kirsten Potter. The readers were both good at injecting unique characteristics--tone, inflection, etc--to the characters.

I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would, but what I thought would be shallow details underwent interesting change; the characters evolved pretty naturally, not because a lot of time passed for the respective protagonists, but via information we learned at the same time they did.

The paranormal action was fun, but the conclusion of the hauntings wrapped up offscreen and too cleanly, which always, always bugs me. I feel like that might be becoming a trend in current horror, but I really hope not (something similar happened in Haunting on the Hill by Elizabeth Hand, but that was much more egregious).

I hesitate to say this is a fun read overall, because the subject matter is pretty heavy, but the overall action and intrigue are entertaining.

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timidizzy's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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sehenry20's review

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challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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? No

5.0

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sea_tea_books's review

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I wasn't interested in a ghost story at the time.

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sunshine_sophia's review

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dark mysterious sad 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? No

4.5

this book had it all: mystery, suspense, serial killers, ghosts, and badass women 💪🏼

i was a little spooked, but not spooked enough to stop reading. this book, this mystery, this motel sucks you in and doesn’t let go. i was so enthralled by the story in it’s uniqueness and twists.

at times, i found it hard to remember which story i was reading: either viv’s or carly’s (which as another reviewer commented was intentional). it is like stepping into a time capsule back to 1982. both characters were meant to parallel each other, decades apart.

this was so close to a 5 star read, however, i did not love carly’s character. is was very much giving “i’m not like other girls, i’m just quirky and i wear glasses”. her energy was a little too “pick me” for me. i would have preferred different character traits, but it didn’t completely ruin the story for me.

overall, this was a fun, gripping, and chilling read. i loved all the twists and turns this book took me on. this book will definitely stick with me for a while.

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