Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'

Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

14 reviews

styx_the_gremlin's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

3.5

I really like this books take in vampires and the setting in a slightly cyberpunk Mexico City. Definitely something fresh in the realm of vampires, easy to read too and very gritty. 
However some of the characters come a bit short and the ending is quite abrupt, with some storylines hanging loose or seemingly just ultimately there to advance plot for Atl and Domingo. 
Also their love story is very icky considering he's underage. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship

ford_defect's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Abandonment, Child death, and Violence

Moderate: Vomit and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death

featherwoman's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

4.5

It was definitely a dark read, a different flavor of horror than Mexican Gothic. It's a neo-noir starring an Aztec vampire trying to escape Mexico City while keeping a teenage garbage-collector safe. It's a breath of fresh air compared to other vampire books just because vampire lore outside of Europe is explored! While Certain Dark Things had me at the edge of my seat, I feel like the ending was rushed, or maybe anticlimactic for certain side characters but the disservice was not enough to ruin the experience. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship

raavi's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, and Torture

Moderate: Xenophobia

Minor: Grief and Adult/minor relationship

maresuju's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gore, Adult/minor relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Addiction, Grief, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Death of parent, and Death

Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Animal death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Kidnapping, Rape, and Trafficking

ecn's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

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

3.0

Not gonna lie I’m pretty disappointed by this book and I really wanted to love it :/  To start, the MC is extremely annoying and the reader doesn’t learn ANYTHING about her as a person. The same can be said for the other MC. We learn almost nothing about him and I just feel bad for him whole time. Also, their AGE GAP romance is absolutely disgusting and NOT AT ALL NECESSARY!? He literally could have been 18 (and she 23(?)) but he had to be 17? 
Also, the pacing felt so choppy and like I was missing something and this became especially apparent whenever new characters were introduced.
Lastly, the ending was the most anticlimactic thing I’ve ever read? I kept seeing how little was left of the story and thought SURELY things must start getting crazy soon? But they never did and the story didn’t end on… any note. It just kind of ended.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Sexual harassment, Grief, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Death, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Medical trauma, and Gun violence

booksthatburn's review against another edition

dark tense 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

4.5

Atl is a vampire hiding out in Mexico City after her family was murdered. Domingo is a former street kid, now working as a scrap picker for a rag and bone man. When he has a chance encounter with Atl on the subway, she invites him to her home to drink from him. What Atl intended as a single meal turns out to be the beginning of a partnership as they work on fleeing Mexico City together. They're pursued by Nick, a Necros who is obsessed with Atl, and Ana Aguirre, a detective who thought her transfer to Mexico City would mean dealing with fewer vampires than she used to.

The rapport between Domingo and Atl is excellently-written, driven by Domingo's adoration of Atl, and Atl's need for Domingo's help but distaste for feeling weak. Atl is using up every one of her mother's contacts along the way, relying on wisps of goodwill and loyalty from humans and vampires who assumed their obligations died long before Atl's mother did. This results in a tangle of one-off and repeating characters as Atl and Domingo navigate this loose network of contacts, just trying to get out of the city alive. 

The worldbuilding is immersive, built through stories, buildings, and how the characters move through this alternate version of Mexico City where not only are vampires real but there are several kinds of them. Some (like Atl) are Tlahuihpochtli descended from Aztec blood drinker temple priestesses, but human colonization and the encroachment of other vampires, like Necros and Revenants, have made things more complicated for recent generations. Several decades ago humans found out vampires are real, and many places promptly tried to legislate them out of existence. Mexico City is one such "vampire free" zone, a situation which causes problems for Atl.

The plot is a web of pursuers and pursued, beginning in earnest when one of Atl's pursuers gets sloppy and the police find a dead human. It's a dance of obsession, violence, and death, as Atl tries to use Domingo without him spooking, while Domingo finds himself falling in love with her and not minding being used.

I loved every minute, and am extremely happy with the ending. Don't miss this one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death, Misogyny, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Vomit, Blood, and Violence

Moderate: Animal death, Suicide, Cannibalism, Bullying, Police brutality, Classism, Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Ableism, Xenophobia, Sexism, Alcohol, Torture, Murder, and Child death

Minor: Excrement, Drug abuse, Pregnancy, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Animal cruelty, and Sexual harassment

rbash2391's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

I found the MC's relationship to be weird because of an age gap with a minor. The substance of their relationship was one of power and control, and the typical gender roles being subverted as each struggled with who they were and who they wanted to be based on a fantasy. The plot was really slow in the first half, it didn't pick up until about 60% and afterwards I was able to finish the book in one sitting. There was a lot of lore that wasn't explained until a glossary at the end that was hardly mentioned at all in the story. SMG's writing seemed so rich and elegant in The Beautiful Ones that I was a little disappointed to not find that here. However, I'm not a noir fan so that may have something to do with it as the story didn't really call for that style. I liked the urban, fantastical elements. I would have liked some more character development but in the end they are each not too much better off than how they started. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Violence, Body horror, Alcohol, Blood, Gore, Gun violence, Slavery, Bullying, Classism, Death, Misogyny, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Murder

Moderate: Dementia

Minor: Torture

perditorian's review against another edition

adventurous dark fast-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore

Moderate: Sexual violence and Adult/minor relationship

theomancy's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense 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? Yes

3.25

I was just so not sold on the central romance of this book and the conclusion of it left me really dissatisfied. There were a lot of world building concepts at the beginning I found really interesting that I didn't feel like really went anywhere either, unfortunately.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Classism, and Colonisation

Moderate: Xenophobia, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Stalking, and Police brutality