Reviews tagging 'Gore'

The Honeys by Ryan La Sala

51 reviews

readingpicnic's review against another edition

3.75

This book kept me guessing the whole time, and I enjoyed being surprised by each new twist and turn that revealed itself as the story went on. I will say that this book was very slow for me to get through, which I think really slowed me down for the TRR unfortunately, and I considered DNFing it at certain points. It starts off really intense and then slows almost all the way down before picking back up around 70% through. However, I really enjoyed the ending of the book, so I'm glad I stuck through it ultimately. The bee horror in this book felt so creative and new, and I loved the drippy, rotten, and sweet imagery throughout. The depictions of grief were very real in this book and became all the more real after reading the author's acknowledgements section at the end. I appreciated how Caroline remained a presence throughout the whole story, even if just in the peripheral. I think that this book would make an excellent A24 horror movie honestly, going off of the trend on BookTok, as this book felt so cinematic and I could picture so much of it in my head. It reminded me a lot of both Wickerman movies, the original with its slow-paced disconcerting vibes and horror, and the remake with its bee horror. I was also reminded of Bunny a lot while reading this with the group of Honey girls, but I think this specific story hasn't been told before even though it reminded me of other horror. Overall, I enjoyed this and its explorations of gender, sexuality, and class. I think this story has so many layers to it and I wasn't necessarily patient at times with this slow method of storytelling, but I understand why it's well loved.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Deadnaming, Grief, Bullying, Violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Gore, Death, Transphobia, Homophobia, Blood, Murder, and Body horror

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Dysphoria, and Classism

erica_reads_things's review

adventurous mysterious 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? No

3.0

Not a bad YA read at all! And especially for this authors first novel. I liked the weird spin on the summer camp horror trope, but I was so confused most of the way through at where exactly this was going. It took me out of it a bit, but not enough to not enjoy it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Grief, Child death, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gore, Sexism, Dysphoria, Homophobia, Transphobia, Cancer, Hate crime, and Violence

Minor: Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Deadnaming, and Sexual content

dixiecarroll's review

dark mysterious medium-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? No

4.75

This surprised me. I’m not sure why i had low expectations for this except that maybe because I’ve had not great luck with YA books lately. But this BLEW ME AWAY. So unique and so mysterious. I didn’t predict everything and it was such a wild ride. I loved the representation and the humor through that representation without being preachy - it was very accessible. Definitely recommend to everyone! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death, Gore, Blood, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Suicidal thoughts, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Self harm

jjacobs1126's review

dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Child death, Body horror, Deadnaming, and Homophobia

readingqueerly's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Y'all this was so good and scary and I couldn't stop reading but I also kept going to bed wide eyed and breathing hard thinking something would get me in the night. It was so weird and every but it was so incredibly intriguing trying to understand what was going on and throughout the book the author does such a good job of luring you into a false sense of security along with the main character. But when you finally learn what's going on like AHHH dig its nasty little stinger in my and didn't let go (HA That will make sense if you read it).
In addition, the main character is non-binary and gender fluid and the way they were being treated was very relatable. 
"I'm openly out and telling you I use all pronouns" 
"ok cool I will only call you by your pronouns that fit your agab"
This was such a good book and I truly truly can recommend it. And the podcast of this author as well which is how I found them. Listen to Bad Author Book Club y'all. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Body horror, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Gore, Death, Violence, Transphobia, and Sexism

ellagant's review

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

2.0

This book was a fever dream. Idk if the author was drinking honey while writing this (creepy cult honey) but it had really no plot. Truly was all vibes. At least it was a quick read. Nothing felt fleshed out, it was all very surface level. If you think that this review sounds disjointed, you will probably be getting close to how I felt about this book.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood and Gore

Minor: Cancer and Homophobia

cluelessavian's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Grief, Body horror, and Bullying

Moderate: Transphobia and Misogyny

itsheyfay's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Transphobia, Murder, Body horror, Grief, Gore, Blood, Misogyny, Violence, Child death, and Death

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Sexism, Abandonment, Classism, Hate crime, Terminal illness, Bullying, Gaslighting, and Homophobia

Minor: Cancer, Ableism, Sexual harassment, and Sexual assault

itsapaxycab's review

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Because of books like Hell Followed With Us, I have been really interested in trans horror/thriller books, and this absolutely hit the spot for me. This world was so intriguing, and the plot really had me guessing and grasping until the end! As I look back, I recognize so much of the foreshadowing, and I loved the characters and plot development. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Mental illness, Transphobia, Grief, Gore, and Homophobia

Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Bullying, and Sexual harassment

exlibrisabigaillee's review

dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Murder, Grief, Blood, Bullying, and Transphobia

Moderate: Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Outing

Minor: Death of parent, Cancer, and Sexual assault