Reviews tagging 'Gore'

Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby

136 reviews

middleagedbookworm's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

Loved this book. Made me cry like a baby. So much beauty amongst such violence and hard truths. S.A. Cosby is a gifted writer, and his humor definitely shines through in this story. Overall, just a great book with lots of thought provoking & heart wrenching content! Also, I didn’t know there was so much (very descriptive) violence throughout, so just be prepared 😉

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Alcohol, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Cancer, Murder, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Violence, Death of parent, Racism, Blood, Chronic illness, Death, Racial slurs, Injury/Injury detail, and Terminal illness

d0505's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gun violence, Homophobia, Gore, Kidnapping, and Murder

Moderate: Racism

taylor13's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Cancer, Deadnaming, Homophobia, Infidelity, Gore, Racism, Transphobia, Blood, Addiction, Alcoholism, Abandonment, Violence, Gun violence, Alcohol, Car accident, Death, Torture, Cursing, Murder, and Racial slurs

maryjames's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional reflective sad tense fast-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? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Grief, Homophobia, Blood, Hate crime, Gun violence, Racism, Murder, Racial slurs, and Violence

Moderate: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Cursing, and Transphobia

Minor: Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Deadnaming

kaseymkelley's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Alcoholism, Blood, Grief, Death, Deadnaming, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, and Transphobia

anastasia_raf's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.75

I liked this book very much. I found it entertaining, dark, realistic, hard and raw. It is very well crafted and interesting. The characters were complex and I appreciated how nuanced was the presentation of grief. It was very well handled in my opinion.

I also think that people give Buddy Lee too much gredit when he rarely stops himself from being an asshole.
Ike, I think you need to start appreciating your wife more.

There was one of many sentences that rubbed me the wrong way... But this one? Not a fan. ''Buddy Lee leaned against the sink. His chest was as tight as virgin pussy." Huh.

I want to believe that this book is supposed to be a punch in toxic masculinity's throat since all this happened because Cis-het (especially white,) man are insecure in their own sexuality and very existence,
BUT, I felt like queer people were just there to serve the plot. I felt their presence was "over-exploited." I get how and why they were important to the plot but they were also used as an excuse for "character growth." This book goes out of its way to show how these fathers were educated on these topics by their gay sons and queer people in general and yet does nothing to educate its audience and to lift up queer voices. Another perspective on the plot is that these two homophobic fathers used revenge as a way of absolving themselves of the guilt (about the awful treatment towards their sons and their ignorant ass towards queerness.) And yet, was it intentional? Or just...there? I think that's where the book lacked in a way. It's not clear on where it stands.

"Still, some of Cosby's other choices render this novel something short of a triumph. Queer people are central to the investigation and the story, but not a one has a particularly strong, fully realized voice of their own..." "Cosby also has straight people talking about LGBTQIA+ marginalization in conversations that sometimes sound preachy rather than organic. It's a jarring juxtaposition — having straight characters gain this growing awareness of and sensitivity to discrimination when the queer characters are marginalized in the narrative." By Carole V. Bell, a cultural critic and communication scholar focusing on media, politics and identity. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Terminal illness, Medical content, Physical abuse, Death, Homophobia, Murder, Racism, Torture, Violence, Car accident, Cursing, Grief, Gun violence, Racial slurs, and Transphobia

Moderate: Body shaming, Death of parent, Car accident, Fatphobia, Lesbophobia, and Sexism

leosthetics's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Violence, Racism, Murder, Death, Alcohol, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Blood

kennedybullen's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective sad fast-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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Hate crime, Homophobia, Grief, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, and Violence

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Kidnapping, Classism, and Addiction

Minor: Car accident, Blood, and Cancer

mcdermotte1639's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-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? Yes

3.75

The beginning and the end made this book for me. That and the honesty that was brought to the characters, Ike in particular. For the most part, these are not lovable characters (Mya excluded), but I still found myself rooting for them in the end. And not just to see them grow and accept their sons, and come to terms with their failings, but to actually see them grow and find a path forward. 
The story/plot, overall, was pretty standard and there were very few surprises in the 'who-dun-it' category. But I still found this story very satisfying. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Grief, Homophobia, Racism, and Murder

Moderate: Racial slurs, Transphobia, Torture, and Alcoholism

Minor: Gore and Deadnaming

mustreadmorris's review against another edition

challenging dark tense 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence and Gore