Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

My Heart Is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones

25 reviews

libraryofdoe's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

I’m so very torn on how to rate this book.

On one hand, I found Jade’s story excellent and riveting and genre-defiant yet so obviously reverent of all the slashers that came before it and so, so raw. I found parts of myself in Jade that I almost didn’t want to see. I really like Jones’ writing style and the way he approached the story.

On the other hand I really didn’t like the whodunnit

which may be on me as I evidently hadn’t researched thoroughly enough to know that there was any supernatural aspect to the novel

and the end of the book felt rushed.

I may come back and change this rating on further thought, but for now 4 stars feels about right, if a lot lower than I anticipated 75% of the way in.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Violence, and Vomit

Minor: Abortion, Bullying, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Hate crime, Incest, Medical content, Pedophilia, Mental illness, Ableism, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Racism, Pregnancy, and Drug use

kadearang's review

dark mysterious sad tense 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Gore, Murder, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Cultural appropriation, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Rape, and Sexual assault

bedtimesandbooks's review

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Cultural appropriation, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Violence, and Vomit

albernikolauras's review

dark funny medium-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? Yes

3.5

There are some very deciding aspects as to whether you would like this book or not - you can tolerate stupid characters, tolerate slow pace, and you know a tiny amount about slashers. If not, then you might want to stay away. Jade is a character that is dramatic, in your face, makes highly questionable decisions, and has no true grasp on reality. She drove me nuts, but once I started listening to the audiobook and just let myself be like "Jade is also just a 17 year old who is obsessed with something and has nothing else to hold onto," it became almost an enjoyable experience. It helps that the second half of this book is full-bore tense, bloody, and keeps you guessing. I didn't see through the red herrings and was honestly surprised how everything pulled together (and really liked the ending).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Gore, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Sexual assault, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Murder, Car accident, Animal death, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, and Addiction

julied's review

dark emotional sad tense 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Rape, and Suicide attempt