Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

This Thing Between Us by Gus Moreno

29 reviews

caroisreading's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

More than a horror story, this is a love story laced with tragedy and grief. There are supernatural elements that make this a creepy, wild read, and an unreliable narrator who makes us second-guess what is actually happening. 

This book is written from the perspective of Thiago writing to his wife, the love of his life who lost her life to a random accident, only a few months prior. He is still processing his grief and anger, and we sort through his memories together. Then the creepy elements start to appear, like the Alexa-inspired speaker that seems to be haunted. Only Thiago, his wife, and his mother-in-law seem to witness these strange events. As he makes the move away from Chicago and this mysterious darkness, he realizes he's being followed. Layered within this is his in-between identity, being Mexican and American, feeling like he carries the ancestral curse of any family wrongdoings -- racism and the polarizing discourse on immigrants as background themes. 

For me, this story was bleak (rightfully so?) and unraveled in a messy way, continuously confirming there's only darkness in the end, "life is life." I think any comedic undertone got lost on me.

I was so excited to read a Chicagoan author's work, and really appreciated Gus Moreno's writing style -- sparse enough to read with ease, but decorative and meandering where it needed to be. 

You'll like this if you're into horror and supernatural concepts, bicultural perspectives, stories that reflect grief and loss of loved ones.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Gore, Self harm, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Medical content, Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit

bedetterman's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Animal death, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Suicide, Animal cruelty, Medical content, and Abandonment

fearsickness's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Death, Suicide attempt, Medical content, Gore, Suicide, and Body horror

chelly_reads's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content

sxndaze's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Your grave turned into a bookmark we couldn't get past. That we kept going back to. 
You.

An exploration of grief that really hits so fucking hard. I’m obsessed with how Moreno talks about Thiago finding Vera’s hair in his clothing constantly even after her death. Those little reminders of how someone is always there. Like most, the ending confused me, but it also kind of didn’t? I liked it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Grief, and Gore

Moderate: Medical content and Suicidal thoughts

kassiebee's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-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

4.5

grief, loss, family, and a some pretty cool mexican supernatural elements. 

i was creeped out, my heart was heavy, i was taken to another world.. totally immersed, i finished this booked totally jaded. and i loved it. 

a bit slow in the beginning but with a purpose. i sensed the slow descent of his mental health, still with a possibility that nothing is really happening. until its not. 

im going to go watch some cartoons now ..

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Murder, Death of parent, Death, Gore, Grief, Body horror, Blood, and Alcohol

Moderate: Confinement, Cancer, and Medical content

Minor: Racism and Drug use

kather_doc's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Gore, Medical content, Grief, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Racism

mlewis's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Grief, Suicide attempt, Violence, Xenophobia, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Suicide, Vomit, Blood, Body horror, Death, Gore, Medical content, and Alcohol

Moderate: Terminal illness

Minor: Miscarriage

kaiyakaiyo's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I liked this! The ending was predictably unsatisfying but I think that’s what makes it good horror!

Thiago was in turns pathetic and frightening and saddening and my god does that cook give me the willies. 

In the best of ways, this reminded me of SGJ, and Neil Gaiman specifically in OATEOTL and American Gods

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, and Murder

Moderate: Body horror

Minor: Alcohol, Murder, Violence, Medical content, Death, Car accident, Racism, Xenophobia, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Gore, and Deportation

cuddlygryphon's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Death, and Blood

Moderate: Alcohol, Body horror, and Medical content