Scan barcode
jessileemiller's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
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? Yes
4.5
nimeneth's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Warning: do not read this book unless your stomach is iron-clad, or you're okay with skipping big chunks of pages. Seriously, pay attention to the tags.
I wanted to be kind to this book. I wanted to accept that this was going to be a difficult book club read that was gritty and uncomfortable and dark. The blurb was amazing, had a great hook, interesting title, the whole nine yards. Objectively the dialogue was a little flat and the characters felt a little wooden at the beginning, but it would get better, right? I would get through this even if I had to skim or skip scenes, it would be fine, right? Right??? I was optimistic. I was open-minded.
I did not like this book. I did not enjoy this book. The first 100ish pages were fine, mostly. I could accept the racism and homophobia as just part of what it's like in parts of Virginia. The middle is where it started to sour. I especially did not like the last 100 pages of it where it turned into full-on revenge porn. It's graphic, folks. There's no art, just blood. No redemption arc, just death. I think Cosby wanted the final scene to be profound or something, but by that point there's no tying it up into a near little package and calling it hunky-dory.
I wanted to be kind to this book. I wanted to accept that this was going to be a difficult book club read that was gritty and uncomfortable and dark. The blurb was amazing, had a great hook, interesting title, the whole nine yards. Objectively the dialogue was a little flat and the characters felt a little wooden at the beginning, but it would get better, right? I would get through this even if I had to skim or skip scenes, it would be fine, right? Right??? I was optimistic. I was open-minded.
I did not like this book. I did not enjoy this book. The first 100ish pages were fine, mostly. I could accept the racism and homophobia as just part of what it's like in parts of Virginia. The middle is where it started to sour. I especially did not like the last 100 pages of it where it turned into full-on revenge porn. It's graphic, folks. There's no art, just blood. No redemption arc, just death. I think Cosby wanted the final scene to be profound or something, but by that point there's no tying it up into a near little package and calling it hunky-dory.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Racial slurs, Transphobia, Blood, Murder, Misogyny, Gun violence, Racism, Cursing, Death, Alcohol, Hate crime, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Deadnaming and Cancer
bigbuttandabook's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
I was not expecting to enjoy this as much as I did. This was a book club read and not in my preferred genre but it really was good. The actor did a really good job of making subtle changes to his voice to denote different characters and they all fit each character. Buddy Lee was excellent comedic relief. Ike was one of the best anti-hero’s I’ve read. I appreciate that everything was addressed and wrapped up. I would have loved to hear how the conversation between Slice and Ike went though. And I thought it was kind of sweet how they basically adopted Tangie. This is just further proof that book clubs and the willingness to read diversely is always a good move!
ghiblireads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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
This book was so good and it made me cry like a baby. I wasn’t prepared for how much I would love this book - it was so much more than the generic thriller I was expecting. It was emotional and full of really good lessons on homophobia and prejudice in general. The way these serious, heavy issues were written into an exciting and violent revenge thriller was just perfect. It was written really well, fast paced and action packed which balanced out the heartbreaking moments. Aside from all the action, the characters really carried this book for me. Ike and Buddy Lee were flawed individuals but I loved following their journey. I felt the love they had for their sons and I felt their pain. The mystery was great - I actually predicted it correctly on page 131 but it didn’t bother me. I still loved the reveal of the ‘twist’. I loved how explosive the ending was and the drama throughout was a lot of fun to read. It was dark, gritty and atmospheric throughout. I could talk all day about how fantastic this book was and how much I loved it. It was a just a beautiful story about revenge and love without judgement. I cannot wait to read more from this author.
sam_el's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
tense
medium-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
read2_escape's review against another edition
5.0
Action packed, suspenseful and funny. I DNF'd My Darkest Prayer because I didn't like the banter. This book was flawless. I felt like I was watching a Quinten Tarrintino movie. Go read this! (Not sure if I spelled his name right lol)
gabepants's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
medium-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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Racism, Homophobia, and Racial slurs
Minor: Transphobia
alaspooryorick'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
3.5
triplebriiii's review against another edition
4.5
This is a difficult book to read for a lot of reasons. Neither of the MCs can be described as "good people" they were both incredibly homophobic to their children. And one of them is just the classic Southern Boy racist. But the character growth for both of them is *chef's kiss* excellent.
We also kind of needed them to be terrible people at first bc that's what makes the the tragedy of their father/son relationships, well... tragic. They do go through tremendous growth but it took the death of their son's and the total loss of the chance to heal those fractured relationships for this to happen. and the loss of that chance, and the sadness and other feelings that are evoked from that loss, is so prevalent throughout the book.
As I said this can be difficult to read, for me it was a lot to do with the blatant homophobia and racism throughout the novel, from both the MCs and the side characters. For some examples: A little girl (like 3 or 4) is called a "mongrel" a distressing amount of times, simply because she is mixed race. One of the MCs goes into a gay bar to investigate, gets hit on by a man, and then assaults that man, even tho it was the MC who was intruding on that space. There are multiple instances of both the MCs remembering how they treated their sons when they came out as gay, and how dismissive and angry they were whenever they were reminded that their sons were gay.
But as difficult as some parts were to read, I think it's incredibly important, especially for white readers such as myself, to be reminded about how society still treats black folks. (And queer folks, but as a queer person I never need a reminder of that). I thought this brought up a lot of interesting topics, including homophobia in the black community and how, even if we are subject to some oppressions, we can still be the oppressors in other situations.
There's a lot to think about here. There were two main reveals here, one between the two MCs, which I did not guess, and the other was a key plot point, which I totally called. As for characterizations, I'm not super familiar with the thriller genre so not sure what is the norm. I did feel like the antagonists in this weren't super fleshed out, but also, they kind of didn't need to be for the purposes of the story.
Overall I enjoyed this and will be reading more by this author.
We also kind of needed them to be terrible people at first bc that's what makes the the tragedy of their father/son relationships, well... tragic. They do go through tremendous growth but it took the death of their son's and the total loss of the chance to heal those fractured relationships for this to happen. and the loss of that chance, and the sadness and other feelings that are evoked from that loss, is so prevalent throughout the book.
As I said this can be difficult to read, for me it was a lot to do with the blatant homophobia and racism throughout the novel, from both the MCs and the side characters. For some examples:
But as difficult as some parts were to read, I think it's incredibly important, especially for white readers such as myself, to be reminded about how society still treats black folks. (And queer folks, but as a queer person I never need a reminder of that). I thought this brought up a lot of interesting topics, including homophobia in the black community and how, even if we are subject to some oppressions, we can still be the oppressors in other situations.
There's a lot to think about here. There were two main reveals here, one between the two MCs, which I did not guess, and the other was a key plot point, which I totally called. As for characterizations, I'm not super familiar with the thriller genre so not sure what is the norm. I did feel like the antagonists in this weren't super fleshed out, but also, they kind of didn't need to be for the purposes of the story.
Overall I enjoyed this and will be reading more by this author.