Reviews with content warning for Deadnaming - Razorblade Tears

First of all, this needs to be made into a movie, for sure. It's giving part Equalizer, part late 90s/early 2000s crime thriller movie. You've got 2 ex-cons that you would think are past their prime, easily proving that they're not, on a quest to avenge the death of their sons who were brutally murdered in a hate crime. Their sons were in an interracial gay marriage, hence part of the motivation for their murders.

The fathers didn't exactly agree with their sons' relationship, but ultimately loved them and in avenging their deaths, found a way to accept and come to terms with who their sons loved and realized that they were living their own lives wrongly in how dismissive they were.

It showed some pretty significant character development for both Ike and Buddy Lee. They were also a truly unlikely team.

The story was fast-paced and compelling, while also diving into many difficult topics. Please be careful when reading and check your triggers for the content, because there are a lot. Racism, homophobia, transphobia, slurs, on page gore/violence, discussion of the prison industrial complex (specifically the fathers' experiences while incarcerated in Virginia prisons), kidnapping, and others.

The only thing was that the identity of the big bad, the person truly behind everything, seemed a little predictable, at least to me.

Content Warnings

taylorfield's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional funny sad 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

4.0

January 2024 Book Club read

Long Story Short: Two fathers, Ike and Buddy Lee, are brought together by grief after the cold blooded murder of their sons, Isiah and Derek. Despite their differences, the two unite in search of answers and redemption, and discover they have more in common than they realized along the way.

A tense, action-filled page turner full of agony, reckoning, and somehow, humor. In a very short time frame, Ike and Buddy Lee learn from one another, confront their mistakes, and expand their mindsets. Despite the growth, they also rely on old habits as their quest unveils a complicated, dangerous web of deceit and conspiracy. Though the plot went very Liam Neeson's Taken, the threads of racism and homophobia were handled tremendously. It's hard to elaborate without spoiling, so I'll just say I really enjoyed this novel.

I am dying to know why Grayson didn't have a nickname like the others in Rare Breed. It is a question I can't stop thinking about.

Enjoyment: 4/5
Craft: 4/5
Overall: 4/5

Content Warnings

rei_reads's review

Go to review page

dark emotional 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

Content Warnings

nattie_moff's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark tense fast-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

This was a very difficult and uncomfortable read, as both a woman and a queer person. There are definitely a lot of vulgar descriptors (i.e “his chest was as tight as virgin pussy” 🤮) that made me reflect on why I don’t like or trust men. But my biggest criticism is the feelings I’m left with about the father duo.

I’m glad they were developed into more thoughtful people. However, there is a QUICK turnaround here from abusing and cutting off their sons to suddenly becoming an ally and avenging their death. It just feels a little too predictable/obvious/played-out. Maybe I’m just too tired of real life parents being assholes and then when it’s too late or they’re finally affected in a significant way, they try to backtrack and salvage their own image or soul?

With that being said, it’s a thought-provoking and emotional story that touches on a lot of sensitive topics aside from the lgbtq+ community. Racism, class disparity, addiction, and criminal history all play an important role in shaping the narrative. Hopefully this book can make someone who needs it stop and think a little deeper about these issues and the people they look down on.

Content Warnings

brandilovesbooks's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

4.0

Razorblade Tears is the story of two polar opposites with two things in common- they are both ex-cons and they both lost their sons to a hate crime. The men set out to discover who killed their sons.

I almost quit about a third of the way into the book. I found the book to be very violent. I am not the targeted audience. I continued reading because it was a book club book. I am glad I did.

The characters are very well developed. Even if you didn't agree with their choices, you found yourself caring for Ike and Buddy Lee. I cried at the end.

S.A. Crosby has a beautiful way with words. He is able to create vivid images to go with his words. The name of the book comes from a description of Ike's tears after his son's funeral.

The genius of this book is that it has a very specific, very important, message that is probably uncomfortable for the targeted audience. There are many guys just like Buddy Lee and Ike who are going to pick up this book for the vigilante justice and the war with a biker gang. They are going to read it and they are going to hear that message over and over, starting out subtly but getting more direct by the end.

I wasn't a fan of the almost omnipotent point of view that happened during fight scenes. Although there were multiple points of view throughout the book, they were separated by scenes. During the fight scenes I was overwhelmed by knowing what too many characters were thinking and feeling. (Could be that I'm not the targeted audience.)

I recommend this book to people who like to read about vigilante justice and biker gangs. Sons of Anarchy fans should pick this up.

My content warnings-
Violence
Murder
Kidnapping
Torture
Racial slurs
LGBTQ slurs
Dead naming

Content Warnings

m_ren_watson's review

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-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

3.5

Content Warnings

ryankaybee's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark sad tense medium-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

4.0

Content Warnings

More...