Reviews with content warning for Blood - Darling Girl

Reviews tagging 'Blood'

saramoser's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

TW: SA, Rape, drugs, child death, child abuse, injecting children with drugs

After reading a lot of reviews, I was so worried I would not like this book. But the book is exactly how it’s described-a dark and twisted Peter Pan, while I think the author could’ve done more to give back stories and further some character development, I still was stuck wanting to find out what’s next. I was deep into the book by the first chapter, and was wanting to do nothing but read the book and find out what happens by the end.

I would suggest for someone who wants the dark and twisted (not just dark) side of Peter Pan.

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ocean_the_reader's review

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dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

I don't like Peter Pan, so I didn't have high hopes. However, this is a dark and somewhat twisted retelling that I really enjoyed. The author included a mystery/thriller aspect along with not making the MC Wendy. Its Wendy's grandchild. It was so well done and I think I'll check out her other work.

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trippalli's review

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dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

A thoughtful modernization and continuation of the Peter Pan legacy with now deserves, sadness and the struggles we see in modern society, business, anti-aging and beauty products industry, drugs, school competitions and sports, money and family drivers, research and ethics, survivors and family tragedies Los and coping. Overall a thoughtful family drama.

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greek_book_wanderer's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

Sometimes it’s easier to remember sorrow than joy… Sorrow doesn’t hurt as much.

When I heard about this novel, I was very interested to read it. I was curious to see how the author handled the story, considering that she gave a darker tone to the classic one. The premise sounded intriguing and I dived into the book rather quickly. I must warn you that the book contains scenes or mentions of sexual assault and r*pe so please, if you want to read the book, do it at your own risk.

The story was overall very interesting. The mystery aspects made the book more engaging and I wanted to find the answers to the secrets behind the Darling's family's story. As sick as it sounds, I liked the idea of portraying Peter Pan as a sexual predator and that was an interesting take on the original story. There was something twisted, yet appealing about his character that motivated me to continue reading the book in order to discover more about him and his past with the Darlings.

The writing style was simple and atmospheric. I could almost feel Peter's presence, whether it was faint or not and there were some parts which made me pause for a moment before I continue my reading. At times, the writing became kinda dull and bland but all in all, it was easy to get into.

Although the book, for the most part, was enjoyable, I expected something more. The idea to turn a classic children's book into such a dark story was clever, but the execution was not good. During the middle, the plot became repetitive and lackluster. Holly tried to find ways to protect her children, she had to face her own demons, she reflected on her past and so on. There's nothing wrong with plots with books that follow the same structure, but because of that, the book was boring and monotonous. When I reached the ending, I was underwhelmed and even though it was not bad, it felt rushed and poorly written.

The way the author revealed some of the secrets behind Holly's family and Peter Pan was lackuster as well. Throughout the book, she was building suspense but the answers that were given were poor and the revelations were anticlimactic. Until the very end, there were still some questions left about Neverland and the Darling family, which were never answered. It's not bad if an author chooses to leave something to the imagination of the readers and interpretation of different topics is very welcome. However, in this book it seemed like the author didn't know what answers she should give in order to explain all of the queer events that happened and thus, and many questions were left unanswered. There was more telling that showing and unfortunately, the reveals did not live up to the suspense. Such a pity since I was invested to the mystery and I realy wanted to learn more about Peter Pan, the past of the Darling family and Neverland.

The characters were overall poorly written. As much as it hurts to say this, I couldn't feel anything towards Holly. No, I do not say that she didn't suffer and I am aware of her mentally state and her grief, but she was very bland. She cared deeply about her children, which was understandable, but beyond that, she was nothing more. Some of her decitions were irrational and although they could get excused to some degree, it was frustating to see her behaving in a stupid and immature way for the most part of the book and she irritated me alot. It is clear that she is not supposed to be a good character and I appreciated her gray-moraliy aspects, but that doesn't change the fact that she was a poorly written protagonist. Had she had written more in depth, I would have found her far more interesting.

As for the other characters, I don't have much to say, with the exception of Peter. Holly's son, jack, was a typical teenage boy with almost no personality, Jane was bland as well and she was also quite irritating (it seem that it runs in the family) and I couldn't form a full opinion about the others. There was a character who was a resemblance of Hook and although he was the most entertaining character in the book, he was a wasted opportunity. So much could have been done with his character but he was not fleshed out, just like the rest of the others.

Although it may sound sick and I may seem like a weirdo, the only character who picked my interest was Peter Pan. I don't have to clarify that I by no means support him in the book, but his dark nature intrigued me and I wanted to discover the reasons behind his motives. When the plot would center around him, it became more interesting and I was more invested to it. He was brought up many times in the book and the author placed great emphasis on his name, but I was let down when I saw that he appeared only a few times. Considering that Holly was supposed to be after him, the story didn't focus on him as much as it should have and despite him being described as dark and twisted, he too suffered from the poor characterisation.

All in all, the book was entertaining and I did not regret reading it. I admit that I expected more from the plot, but nevertheless, this was an interesting retelling with suspense and mystery. I would recommend to someone who is looking for a dark Peter Pan retelling, however, proceed with caution and make sure to check the trigger warnings before you dive into it.

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