Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker

28 reviews

shesflippinpages's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

evancanteven's review

dark emotional

3.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Cancer, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Abortion, and Alcohol

literary_liv's review

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Emotional abuse, Incest, Misogyny, Rape, Suicide, Terminal illness, Medical trauma, Stalking, Abortion, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Body shaming, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and War

hannah_hearts_books's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

Well, I didn’t see myself giving this 5 stars, but here we are. First of all, I think this book has been placed in the wrong genre category. All the Colors of the Dark is definitely a literary fiction story with a crime story subplot. This book is not a mystery and not a thriller. Instead,this is a book which allows the reader to follow the aftermath of three kids who were in the cross-hairs of a serial killer.We watch the kids grow up over the course of 30-ish years dealing with their issues the best that we can they can. We see how violence and trauma can affect people and how it can be people’s driving force for the remainder of their life. This book is expansive and sweeping. A beautiful story of friendship and love, beekeepers and pirates. IYKYK. Would this ever be a book that I would normally pick up? No. Was it long as hell? Yes. Was it daunting when I picked it up? Yes.Was every page worth it? Yes. What a beautiful read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Drug abuse, Terminal illness, Violence, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Incest and Rape

ashleyjean6's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

A book impossible to describe. It is exquisitely written; meandering but always with intent and meaning. You will find few specific details, but it is written in such a way as to paint a more vivid whole than would be possible with conventional prose. The themes are dark and difficult, but the story is beautiful and complex and nuanced as are the characters. Absolutely amazing!! I didn't want it to ever end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Kidnapping, Grief, and Alcohol

Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Rape, Blood, Vomit, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

louisekf's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad slow-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? It's complicated

2.75

 This could have been a really great book, but for me, it was merely a decent book. I almost gave up on it at around 55%, but so many people loved it that I pushed on, skimming a bit, to get to the end. Whitaker had a great start, but then it really, really dragged in the middle. All The Colors of the Dark is overly long, at about 600 pages; a good editor could have done wonders for it by cutting it down to a more manageable length. 

 

The two main characters, Patch and Saint, were well-drawn individuals. We don’t really get enough on the third main character, Misty, to say the same about her. There’s also a great side character, Sammy, who owns an art gallery in the small Missouri town where much of the action takes place. (I kept wondering how there could be a viable art gallery in a place that could barely sustain a movie theater, but oh well.) I’m glad I didn’t DNF midway because then I wouldn’t have met Charlotte, a feisty character I loved. 

 

This is not a thriller, although there are a couple of “action scenes” here and there, and there’s definitely a mystery. It’s more of a literary character-driven drama. 

 

Another thing a good editor should have caught was a glaring Britishism, even though the book takes place in the United States. (The author is British/English.) The phrase “fell pregnant” was used a few times; this phrase is not used in the US. We say “I/she got pregnant” or “I am/she is pregnant.” (I checked the published audiobook and these phrases were still there, just as in my review copy of the book). 

 

There is a lot of talk of religion in this book, specifically certain Christian religious beliefs. That’s something I don’t care for in my reading, but other people may not have the same issue. It overlays a lot of the story. 

 

The audiobook, which I thank my public library for, is narrated by the wonderful Eduardo Ballerini, but even he couldn’t save this one. It was just too long and meandering. 

 

Thank you to NetGalley and Crown for the opportunity to read a review copy of this book. All opinions are my own. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Murder, and Alcohol

mysterymom40's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Torture, Blood, Kidnapping, and Alcohol

Moderate: Mental illness, Terminal illness, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

sarahfischer's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

“the 13-year old pirate, and the beekeeper who saved his life.” 

Wow. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Abortion, Murder, Gaslighting, and Alcohol