Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

White Horse by Erika T. Wurth

23 reviews

chelsearae87's review against another edition

• 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Drug use, Drug abuse, Child abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Violence, Murder, Alcohol, Body horror, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Death, Abandonment, Alcoholism, and Blood

ofbooksandechos's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Grief, Death of parent, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Moderate: Child abuse, Toxic relationship, and Pedophilia

Minor: Abandonment, Sexual assault, and Gun violence

Additional CWs: intergenerational trauma

bambooboy's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense 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: Addiction, Pedophilia, Murder, Grief, Alcohol, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Blood, Gun violence, Body horror, Cursing, Death of parent, Death, Violence, Sexism, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug abuse, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Incest, Sexual content, Medical content, Classism, Racism, Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, and Colonisation

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

dahlia_boo's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious reflective tense 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Murder, Addiction, Blood, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Drug abuse, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Cursing, Incest, Colonisation, Abandonment, Ableism, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Rape, Self harm, Gore, Grief, and Pedophilia

Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Car accident

wai's review against another edition

dark emotional 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: Ableism, Death, Gun violence, Grief, Alcohol, Gore, Alcoholism, Abandonment, Drug use, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Cursing, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Blood, and Colonisation

Moderate: Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Incest, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, and Pedophilia

Minor: Medical content and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

oversherin's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment and Domestic abuse

dailywaffle's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Murder, Alcohol, Drug use, and Gaslighting

apworden's review

challenging dark funny 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Suicide attempt, Grief, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Xenophobia, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Colonisation, Sexual harassment, Violence, Pedophilia, Murder, Misogyny, Alcoholism, Police brutality, Gun violence, Child abuse, War, Racism, Cursing, and Emotional abuse

savvyrosereads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-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

3.5

Out now! [Thank you to  Book Sparks for providing me with a gifted copy as part of their November Book Sparks Book Club!]

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Kari James has a difficult past, and when her cousin Debby brings her an old bracelet belonging to Kari’s long-vanished mother, that past might just come back to haunt her…in more ways than one.

White Horse is a captivating blend of literary fiction and horror, with a sometimes frustrating, but ultimately charming, protagonist, and a fascinating mythology centered on Native American lore and history. The chapters are short, and the book was a quick read overall, though I sometimes wished the plot had a bit more action.

The reviews and blurbs made me think this one would be gritty and gory, and while it definitely had its creepy moments, I wasn’t particularly scared. But I loved the mystery elements, all of the characters were well-developed and interesting, and in the end I am always a sucker for a good ghost story.

If you love horror, and particularly diverse voices and perspectives in horror, you’ll enjoy this book!

Recommended to anyone, but especially if you like: literary horror; ghosts; Native American mythology

CW: Murder/blood; mentions of pedophilia; alcoholism/drug abuse/overdose; suicide attempt.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Pedophilia, Self harm, Abandonment, Blood, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, and Murder

Minor: Car accident