Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Night's Edge by Liz Kerin

8 reviews

aparker89's review

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Lesbophobia, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Blood, Medical trauma, Grief, Outing, Mental illness, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Gore, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Stalking, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Drug use, Alcohol, Death, Physical abuse, Trafficking, Death of parent, Violence, and Self harm

Minor: Religious bigotry

aubreyhi's review

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

I really liked this exploration of emotional abuse from a parent using a vampire metaphor. It’s very difficult and triggering, and also a visceral way to imagine this sort of abuse. Thoughtful and deep. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Emotional abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Physical abuse, Addiction, and Panic attacks/disorders

Definitely emotional abuse from a parent.

jamieleepilk's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Pandemic/Epidemic, Physical abuse, Murder, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Death, Drug use, Alcohol, Blood, and Body horror

Minor: Infertility, Gun violence, Stalking, and Violence

gorybmovie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Violence

Moderate: Child abuse, Death of parent, and Gun violence

alreads13's review

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Violence, Gun violence, Pandemic/Epidemic, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent

Moderate: Forced institutionalization and Death

monsterofidaho's review

challenging dark emotional fast-paced

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

5.0

Oh boy, this book stung my mommy issues real bad. I was not prepared for what I would be getting into with Night's Edge. While this is a 'vampire book,' Night's Edge isn't so much about vampires as it is about what they represent -- dangerous, unpredictable, manipulative individuals who seek out vulnerable people around them to feed off of in multiple ways. This is where the aforementioned mommy issues come in and, oh boy, they are intense. Night's Edge will entrance anyone interested in a truly unique rewrite of vampire lore as well as a tale of tangled familial love, but it will truly stand out to anyone who has experience a relationship like Mia and Izzy's.

Honestly, I personally thought the ending was an interesting but relatable choice. I expected the story to wrap up in the cliche way these kinds of stories normally do i.e. with Izzy getting shipped politely off to a facility to 'recover' while Mia finally gets up the gumption to run off with Jade. But that isn't what happens. And Mia doesn't stay in a conflicted, highly codependent, toxic relationship with her mom either. Ultimately, Mia ends up alone and /that/ is what feels so real about it. In my opinion, people who have experience this kind of abuse often end up feeling alone even if they're surrounded by people they know and/or love. That early inability to form regular or even natural relationships with other people lasts for the rest of the foreseeable future. Go to therapy everyone! However, the bittersweet tone - to me - here is that Mia will somehow deep down always feel alone and that's just the way of things.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Blood and Violence

amobrien's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

A worldwide pandemic called Saras spreads, allowing people to turn others into vampires. Though treatment centers pop-up, there is no cure, and Mia's mother Izzy, who was turned by an abusive ex, worries that the treatment centers are a cover for medical testing. At the age of 10, Mia suddenly becomes solely responsible for taking care of her mother.

For over a decade, Mia has been drawing her own blood for her mother, avoiding making any relationship that might alert people to her mother's condition. When the man who turned her mother starts coming back into their lives, Mia's strained relationship with her mother begins to crumble and she starts searching for an escape.

Night's Edge is a fantastic story about toxic relationships and the difficulty in leaving them as well as the feeling of obligation. Mia's anxiety is contagious — I was so stressed while reading! This was a fantastic horror with an amazing premise. Please check content warnings before reading though and be warned that this is not a good book for you if you're squeamish.

Thank you Netgalley for providing a digital ARC.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Violence, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Gun violence

Minor: Medical content

grimdark_dad's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Violence, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Child abuse, Grief, Gore, Gun violence, and Pandemic/Epidemic