Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Tripping Arcadia by Kit Mayquist

3 reviews

nithya_natalya's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This was a very fun novel, and once I got into it, moved very quickly. Very dark and bitter, and a satisfying portrayal of the decay beneath the glitz of capitalism and celebrity.

The only reason that I didn't give this five stars is because I wanted it to go further than it did. While the atmosphere and general mood of the novel felt gothic, the climax and resolution didn't feel grisly and tragic and destructive enough. It felt like eat the rich, except we only got the appetizer before the novel was over.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Medical trauma, Emotional abuse, Death, Death of parent, Chronic illness, Child abuse, Addiction, Abandonment, Gaslighting, Drug abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Grief, Ableism, Medical content, Vomit, Self harm, Murder, and Confinement

eviecate's review

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

2.5

Honestly it was incredibly mediocre.  Maybe it's just not my type of book but I found the plot very slow paced and repetitive. I didn't find the reveal to be particularly compelling and didn't enjoy the hindsight way it was written. I think I expected it to have more horror elements due to it being lumped in with books like Mexican Gothic but it was more of a dark mystery/high society read without horror involved. I think I understood what it was trying to say about the arrogance of the mega-rich but it didn't say anything new or particularly compelling. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug use, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Death of parent, Death, and Suicide attempt

caseythereader's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

Thanks to Dutton Books for the free copy of this book.

 - TRIPPING ARCADIA is quite the ride! Blending gothic horror with modern nightmares and a heavy dash of queerness, it's visceral and gripping at every turn.
- I found myself quite invested in the Verdeaus in an unexplainable way just as Lena was.
- Some of the plot machinations were a bit tidy and predictable, but I still quite enjoyed the trip. I'll be interested to see what Mayquist does next. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Cursing, Drug use, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Gun violence, Murder, Violence, and Death