Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

38 reviews

queergoth_reads's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-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

I wanted to like this book much more than I did. There were a lot of things I loved about it but I just found it didn't grab my attention the way I wanted it to.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Confinement, and Drug use

Minor: Misogyny

macknificent's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Suicide, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Drug use, and Vomit

meggs1005's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny reflective 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Violence, and Death of parent

Moderate: Drug use, Sexual content, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Cultural appropriation, and Colonisation

arce's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative mysterious tense fast-paced

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

2.25

Oh good Lord, where do I start?
It definitely was not, what I was expecting from the blurb. There it sounded like Domingo was 12 years old and Atl more like 30+, and they were forming some sort of makeshift family. Very disappointing to read about two stupid teenagers (yeah, I know, Atl's 23, but her behaviours tells something different).

I hated nearly everything and everyone in this book, but least of all Bernardino, which makes him my favorite humanoid character. My favorite character was by far Cualli, the dog. At least the dog didn't get killed, else I'd have thrown the book out the window.
Chapter 32 was very bad, but chapter 34 was way worse, but the worst by far was chapter 40. Atl's now suddenly trying to behave like an adult? I'm not buying it.
I definitely wasn't sad about anyone's death, every single one was deserved.

The idea behind the different vampire species is however very interesting, and I liked the appendix.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

stormywolf's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

4.0

 This month's pick for Maven's Vampire Book Club is a recent reprint following the author's wildly successful Mexican Gothic, which I admittedly haven't read yet. So, other than knowing that this author has gotten a lot of praise for her suspenseful and beautiful writing, I had absolutely no idea what I was getting into. I'm not one who usually enjoys gritty stories (I'm a bit put off by the mention of "narco-vampires"), but a kick-ass vampire on the run with a charming human sounds like it could be fun, right? Right?

Read my full review at The Wolf's Den

Overall, it took a while, but like the puppy that is Domingo, this story grew on me. It's definitely not for everyone, with dark and adult themes very much overwhelming the 'vampire romance' vibes, but so long as you're prepared for a somewhat gritty vampire noir, I think you'll enjoy it as much as I did. The fast-paced writing and unique world made it easy to fly through, though you may, like me, need more time added to the end to fully digest everything, but luckily the newer version offers just that with its Encyclopaedia Vampirica, author interview, discussion questions, and more. So if you're in the mood for a stand-alone vampire book with unique lore, strong female characters, a bit of sci-fi punk, and a lot lurking beneath the surface, then try sinking your teeth into this one. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Torture, Xenophobia, and Grief

Minor: Addiction, Animal death, Drug use, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Police brutality, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation

Adult is 23, Minor is 17. Hate crime & Xenophobia is against vampires as a race. Dogs are injured

The main dog gets shot, but survives

There is mention of various crimes being ignored by the police - either from corruption or from sexism - but none appears directly in the story.

womanwill's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Gun violence, Blood, Murder, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Vomit, Police brutality, Kidnapping, and Medical trauma

hanz's review

adventurous dark mysterious 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol

Moderate: Drug use and Kidnapping

jmross10's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• 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: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail