Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Darling by K. Ancrum

10 reviews

readandfindout's review

dark fast-paced

3.75

Style/writing: 3.5 stars
Themes: 3.5 stars
Characters: 4 stars
Plot: 4 stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Kidnapping, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Murder, Death, Violence, Emotional abuse, and Police brutality

Minor: Child death

achay91's review

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• 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: Toxic friendship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, and Police brutality

Moderate: Cursing, Murder, Death, and Abandonment

Minor: Blood, Adult/minor relationship, and Child death

blissfuloctopus's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Cursing, and Murder

Minor: Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Violence, Blood, and Mental illness

foreverinastory's review

dark emotional mysterious 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

5.0

Damn what a ride.

Rep: Black female MC with anxiety, asexual Russian male love interest, bisexual white female side character with PTSD, bisexual Chippewa female side character, achillean BIPOC male side characters, male side character with hearing aids, male side character with a prosthetic.

CWs: Adult/minor relationship (not sexual), alcohol consumption, blood, child abuse/neglect, death, gaslighting/extreme manipulation, emotional abuse, kidnapping, mental illness (anxiety/PTSD), murder, panic attacks, stalking, violence, toxic relationship. Moderate: acephobia, gun violence, injury/injury detail, police brutality. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, Violence, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Acephobia/Arophobia, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Police brutality

writewithapendragon's review

adventurous challenging dark fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Murder, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence

theartsybookwitch's review

dark emotional fast-paced

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

4.75

DARLING is a peter pan retelling set in modern Chicago. 

I loved this retelling, I loved everything about it. It's so nice and inspiring to see all the different diversity from Wendy being Black, to every side characters of color (Black, Korean, Russian, Ojibwe), who are queer (lesbian, bisexual and asexual rep!) to characters with disabilities (hearing impaired and amputated hand). 

Don't get me wrong, I love the disney version of Peter Pan, but I always found myself drawn to the gritty version that most media tends to avoid. The intense idea of found family plays well throughout the novel and we follow Wendy Darling as she gets pulled into the crime life and

gets into something that she learns was set in twenty years prior.

I would caution readers that has experienced abuse, gaslighting, grooming or any form of toxic relationships to not read this book. 

4.75/5 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Police brutality, and Murder

Moderate: Child death, Kidnapping, and Gaslighting

Minor: Eating disorder

Grooming

solly's review

adventurous 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? It's complicated

4.5

I wouldn't consider this to be on the same emotional level as The Wicker King and The Weight of The Stars but it's still an excellent book with amazing character work and diversity, and K. Ancrum stays an autobuy author for me. 

It was a darker Peter Pan retelling that I'm used to, but I enjoyed it, the retelling is clearly recognizable in more ways than one, the contemporary setting doesn't detract from it, it's overall great. The tension is super present through the fear of all the traumatized characters. The plot can be a little weak and/or bonkers at times depending on how you look at it, but I'm a character-focused reader so it didn't bother me much. I wanted a longer epilogue though!!!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gun violence, Alcohol, Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, and Violence

Minor: Murder and Adult/minor relationship

booksthatburn's review

adventurous dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

DARLING follows a teenage girl named Wendy, brand new to Chicago, moving back to the city where her mother grew up. On her first night, barely moved in and with the boxes still packed, a strange boy comes in her window and promises her an adventure, or at least a great night out. But the other girl waiting on the ground is his ex, his idea of a good time involves ducking police on the train, and the kids on his "family" have fear in their smiles. Then the detective shows up. 

This absorbing thriller retells PETER PAN in a modern setting, paralleling the events of the original but placing it in a new context, wonderfully transforming it. Detective Hook is a great antagonist, getting in the way but not being the true villain of the story this time around. I love Ominotago, she plays a much larger role than the original Tiger Lily got to have, and it was great to find a retelling which gave her a bigger part rather than removing her in an attempt to address the racism in the original (or worse, not addressing it at all). She's very involved without being part of Peter's "family", and she's just a great person. TinkerBelle started out seeming like a life-sized version of the kind of nasty fairy I've known before, but here her standoffishness and distaste for Wendy have an actual reason and add so much to this version. The Lost Boys and Ominotago's friends are pretty cool and there's time to get to know most of them as the night wears on. My favorite new character is Fyodor, no contest. This retelling also figures out what to do with the "Never Bird", from a scene so bizarre that I haven't run into an other adaptation yet which features it.

I love this as a retelling which keeps a bunch of the inherent scariness of the original but draws it out in a way that shows how truly terrifying it always was. You don't need to know other versions of the story in order for this to make sense, but it is unmistakably about Peter and Wendy. Some of the chapter lengths get a little oddly-sized because the events are aligned with chapter divisions in the original book, but the pacing works very well. The tension built gradually at first before getting very scary in the finale. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Kidnapping, Blood, Police brutality, Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, and Death

Minor: Child death

kirani's review

adventurous dark emotional 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Kidnapping, Murder, and Violence

Minor: Alcohol, Blood, and Stalking

melaniereadsbooks's review

dark 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

5.0

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Fierce Reads for an arc of this book.

Wendy Darling's parents won't let her meet up with an online friend when she first moves to Chicago, but they will let her stay at home alone with a broken lock on her window? Okay, sure. So is it really that much of a surprise when she sneaks out with the charming and charismatic stranger that comes through her window?  Wendy has no idea that the party she is promised will turn into the scariest night of her life.  Darling takes the classic Peter Pan and turns it into a heart-stopping and insidious contemporary thriller set in modern-day Chicago!

I was immediately hooked when I started reading this book. It flew by so fast and I could hardly put it down. I was on the edge of my seat trying to figure out what would happen to Wendy, Tinkerbelle, and the rest of the characters!  I was so surprised by the directions that this book went into, but I absolutely loved it.  The characters are amazing and I absolutely loved all the different side-characters.  This is such a great book!

Pub Date: June 22, 2021

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Violence, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Murder, Mental illness, Gun violence, Gore, Emotional abuse, Death, Confinement, Child abuse, Blood, and Adult/minor relationship