Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Boatman's Daughter by Andy Davidson

22 reviews

llsburg's review against another edition

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

This book is reminiscent of many things, with traces of Flannery O'Conner, Dean Koontz, Clive Barker, and Delia Owens' <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4829834185"Where the Crawdads Sing</a></i>. But, it is still something unique and all its own. A little bit Southern lit, a little bit horror, a little bit female heroine adventure. You are never quite sure what is happening in our world and what is happening in some spiritual realm.

Davidson's language is rich and spooky, full of metaphor to set the tone. The sky can be a "cage"; trees have "bones." His characters are still more strange, not just mentally but physically as well. The visuals in this story are vibrantly weird. The language can also be somewhat obscure, leaving the reader disoriented and unsettled. All of this sets the stage for a creepy, startling read. And I loved it!

Young, orphaned Miranda Crabtree is making a life for herself on the Texarkana bayou. An impressive archer, she lives off the land an dmakes extra money ferrying drugs for a has-been cult leader who is going dangerously insane. Miranda, along with a witch who interacts with several powerful spirits, helps raise a disfigured boy who may or may not have once been dead. Things become complicated when she rescues a clairvoyant young girl from the corrupt and corpulent sheriff, a giant with a skull face, and the mad preacher. Can she trust the hard up dwarf she has been working with?

A completely new reading experience for me. The supernatural doesn't overtake the real-life story, but it is eerily there. I 10/10 recommend this book, with a trigger warning for violence and extreme gore.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore and Violence

marrowandmoss's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

4.25

This one is definitely a challenge. If you're a fan of the Southern Gothic style, this is definitely for you.

It can slow down in parts, but to me it felt like a reprieve. This is a story of trauma, family, magic, and the secrets that can hide in the bayou. 

The descriptions are vivid, I knew exactly the kinds of places he was talking about. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, and Grief

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Blood, Car accident, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Sexual violence

pinkalpaca's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence and Violence

Moderate: Death

pollycocktail's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Sexual violence, and Violence

Moderate: Ableism, Drug abuse, and Racism

btaylorb's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Drug use, Gore, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Sexual assault, and Murder

sorrel29's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture and Violence

Moderate: Child death, Sexual assault, and Murder

lexcellent's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

terrik_409's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Sexual assault and Death of parent

momewrath's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Violence, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Excrement, Kidnapping, Grief, and Abandonment

Minor: Sexual content

blacksphinx's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

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

1.0

I only finished this book due to a reading challenge and having nothing else to listen to at work. Why did everyone wanna fuck the protagonist so bad? T_T

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Terminal illness, Torture, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Body horror, Confinement, and Trafficking

A main character is a little person who is always called, even by the narration, "the dw*rf" and occasionally "the m*dget." Explicit whorephobia, including the mass murder of full-service sex workers.