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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
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
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Violence, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Gun violence
Minor: Medical content
ruthlessreads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-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
4.5
A beautiful & brutal novel, I loved this new take on the vampire trope. Mia's mother is turned into a vampire (called Saras) one night when she's 10. She spends the next 13 years helping her mother stay hidden & fed, subsuming her entire existence in a toxic death spiral. This is where our book starts.
I found this story compelling & thoughtful, a realistic imagining of toxic family relationships compounded by supernatural (& natural) threats. It uses the lens of the supernatural to focus on childhood abuse and neglect, parentification and enmeshment, showing the negative consequences of that kind of relationship and the way it can stunt the growth of everyone involved. However, it's also a deeply queer story, recounting the risks we are willing to take when we start to taste our true selves and the freedom that comes with it.
I really liked the writing and the story never felt boring or stale, despite the use of familiar tropes. The characters, especially Mia & her mom, feel very real and I found myself very wrapped up in what was happening in their world. The only thing I didn't like was that the vampires are called Saras, after the first people discovered to require blood to live, the Saratovs. I did think the history of how "Saratov Syndrome" spread throughout the world was very interesting and I was glad that was included because, otherwise, giving the vampires a different name just feels like it's trying too hard to *not* be a vampire book.
Overall, I loved the book. I highly recommend for horror fans, vampire aficionados, and anyone who wants to feel so stressed out by a book that they can't sit still (seriously, in the last 20 pages I had to set it down and pace around my house at 3:30am to get rid of some of my nervous energy). Definitely check trigger warnings, as there are a LOT of sensitive topics that I could see being incredibly difficult for someone to read.
I found this story compelling & thoughtful, a realistic imagining of toxic family relationships compounded by supernatural (& natural) threats. It uses the lens of the supernatural to focus on childhood abuse and neglect, parentification and enmeshment, showing the negative consequences of that kind of relationship and the way it can stunt the growth of everyone involved. However, it's also a deeply queer story, recounting the risks we are willing to take when we start to taste our true selves and the freedom that comes with it.
I really liked the writing and the story never felt boring or stale, despite the use of familiar tropes. The characters, especially Mia & her mom, feel very real and I found myself very wrapped up in what was happening in their world. The only thing I didn't like was that the vampires are called Saras, after the first people discovered to require blood to live, the Saratovs. I did think the history of how "Saratov Syndrome" spread throughout the world was very interesting and I was glad that was included because, otherwise, giving the vampires a different name just feels like it's trying too hard to *not* be a vampire book.
Overall, I loved the book. I highly recommend for horror fans, vampire aficionados, and anyone who wants to feel so stressed out by a book that they can't sit still (seriously, in the last 20 pages I had to set it down and pace around my house at 3:30am to get rid of some of my nervous energy). Definitely check trigger warnings, as there are a LOT of sensitive topics that I could see being incredibly difficult for someone to read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Blood, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Mass/school shootings, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Gore
Moderate: Cursing, Medical content, Drug use, Medical trauma, Alcohol, and Infidelity
Minor: Religious bigotry and Bullying
I want to be very clear that the depictions of child abuse and toxic family relationships are a huge part of the book. I tagged part of this in the content warnings but didn't want to spoil anything butclairebonney's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Blood, Medical content, Pandemic/Epidemic, Physical abuse, Body horror, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, and Vomit
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