Reviews with content warning for Suicidal thoughts - Staden

Okay, if you're looking for a spooky read, this book definitely fits the bill. It's the kind of book that I would not be able to handle in movie form—I couldn't stop listening to it because I just had to know what was happening or I wouldn't be able to sleep haha.

The narrator did a good job too. The blurb compares this book to two movies, and I think if I'd been familiar with those movies I probably wouldn't have read this...but honestly did not know what those movies were about lol. So this rating is my own fault; this genre is just not one that I particularly enjoy and, though I'm entertained while reading, I'm left with a "meh" feeling and a desire to start a different book immediately.

I was disappointed in the characters in this one. I never felt like I got to know any of them, not really. Even the main character doesn't have any tangible development. So I didn't really care about the characters as much as I would've liked. They made stupid decisions which of course had consequences and I just shrugged and kept reading.

Also, the "answer" to the mystery...was too unbelievable for me. I was left with a lot of questions about plausibility that I feel like were just ignored for the sake of the plot.

But like I said, this genre just doesn't do it for me—if you enjoy a good plot-focused mystery with spooky/creepy/horror elements, you'll probably like this one!

Content Warnings

amandas_bookshelf's review against another edition

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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? Yes

3.0

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nightmare_maven's review against another edition

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dark mysterious slow-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

4.5

Content Warnings

henrygravesprince's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

2.5

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casslibraria's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense 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

4.0

Content Warnings

madarauchiha's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious sad fast-paced

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

3.0

❤️ 🧡 💛 💚 💙 💜 my about / byf / CW info carrd: uchiha-madara 💜 💙 💚 💛 🧡 ❤️

It's a passable horror story. It's not so much supernatural horror as it is religious and human horror. It's definitely tense, with some scary parts. There's more gore-horror than scary-horror, if that makes sense. I felt like it could have used more paranoia inducing stalking / hunting scenes. Otherwise it was pretty satisfactory. The ending was solid and answered every question posed. Despite the content warnings, this isn't too tortureporn-y. The writing and translation was clear and enjoying too.

Content warnings.

minor alcohol use, alcoholism, asphyxiation, blood, bone fractures, cancer, child abuse, confinement, death, emetophobia, infertility, jonestown massacre, mass suicide, miscarriage, murder, pedophilia, pregnancy, rape, self harm, sexual violence, smoking tobacco, suicide ideation, whorephobic language [used twice]

medium ableism towards person with autism, child abuse, childbirth, cults, emetophobia, medical content, mental illness, pregnancy, psychosis, sexual assault, suicide, suicide attempt

major ableism, arson? / explosions, cults, death, gore, murder, religion catholicism

Content Warnings

dgrachel's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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? It's complicated

4.5

Billed as Blair Witch meets Midsommar, this is not a graphic slasher-horror novel. Instead, there is a quiet menace the permeates each page, so the reader turns each one on high alert. It’s creepy, atmospheric, sad, but brilliant. I do think that if you liked Laws of the Skies by Gregoire Courtois, you’ll enjoy this, too. It has a similar tension to it - a slow relentless building of fear and paranoia then BOO! I loved it. But maybe don’t read it at night

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creepycrawlybookworm's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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? Yes

4.0

This was a great audio read, that had me hooked quickly. There were some more predictable plot points, but others that I didn't expect too! I became more invested in the characters as the story progressed, even though not all were loveable, that isn't an issue for me particularly, as I'd rather read about flawed, interesting characters, than sugar-coated ones.
There was also a good mix of creepiness and suspense amongst the characters themselves, as well as in the town, and it worked well alongside the group dynamic and documentary parts of the story.

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