Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

White Horse by Erika T. Wurth

6 reviews

crazybooklady91's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Mental illness, Chronic illness, Alcoholism, Addiction, Sexual harassment, Drug abuse, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Rape, and Death of parent

foldingthepage_kayleigh's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Alcoholism, Addiction, Murder, Gore, Gaslighting, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Blood, Pedophilia, Death of parent, Death, Chronic illness, Incest, Body horror, Violence, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Sexism, Racism, and Gun violence

Minor: Sexual violence and Sexual content

mfrisk's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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

4.0

White Horse is a book about family history, addiction, friendship, and growing up. It is not necessarily a horror/thriller book which will throw action at you from the very beginning but is more of a character study and slow build. I really enjoyed getting to learn about the characters and their motivations as I felt it was very important to the main characters journey to find her mom. To me it showed she needed the support of all those around her to face what occurred towards the end of the book. 

While there were some aspects I didn’t love such as Debby accepting Jake back into her life and the dismissiveness of his bad behavior I think at least leading up to that there is commentary around their relationship which shows how toxic it is. Otherwise loved where this story takes us and it’s discussion of tougher topics. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Drug abuse, Drug use, Addiction, Death, Child death, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Gun violence, and Car accident

Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault

Minor: Ableism and Forced institutionalization

blackcatkai's review against another edition

dark emotional slow-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

3.0

I don't think I'm the biggest fan of the ending overall and the story was a bit slower paced. the descriptions were pretty great & I enjoyed the horror aspects. it had some fun nods to Stephen King & his work and I was definitely uncomfortable & tense in a few different moments so bravo! I would definitely pick up more of Wurth's work in the future.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Drug abuse, Gore, Violence, Alcoholism, Death, Death of parent, Body horror, Alcohol, Addiction, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Domestic abuse, Blood, Child abuse, Ableism, and Gun violence

Moderate: Medical content and Sexual assault

bandysbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-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

4.0

White Horse is a spooky horror novel about a Native American woman trying to find out why her mother went missing many years ago. It's set in Colorado and seamlessly merges Indigenous culture, horror, death metal, and Stephen King references with a suspenseful dark story that will have you at the edge of your seat. 

Kari, the main character, has been sort of operating in the shadows, doing her best to never really stand out. She works as a bartender and spends evenings drinking at her favorite dive, The White Horse. Though she's talked about buying it, she's never actually applied for a loan. Outside of her handicapped father and her cousin, she doesn't have much of a social life and she mostly ignores the disappearance of her mother when she was a child. She is at once likeable and frustrating. You simultaneously want her to live up to her potential and also understand the fears and anxieties that are holding her back.

There is a sort of magical realism element to this story that involves Kari having visions upon handling some of her mother's old jewelry. I really liked how this was incorporated and thought it was a bit more unique than just the typical haunting. My only critique of this aspect is that I wish it was tied a bit more into the ending. 

All in all, I really enjoyed this story. The creepy vibe increases at a nice pace and the who dunnit kept me engaged with the story. I also really enjoyed the focus on Indigenous culture and the overall development of the character.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Blood, Car accident, Chronic illness, Violence, Toxic relationship, Death, and Death of parent

careinthelibrary's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Blood, Gun violence, Murder, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Violence, Alcohol, Death, Drug abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Colonisation, Racism, Chronic illness, Incest, and Sexual violence

Minor: Gaslighting and Car accident