Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Lost Girls by Sonia Hartl

53 reviews

clovelatte's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

alexfromistemor's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

 So, I really enjoyed this book, I did. However I need to preface that praise with a caveat...I had trouble seeing the appeal of that the girls ever had in Elton, regardless of the how many times the author stresses over and over that 'he's so beautiful'. Every time he's on the page he's almost comically, over-the-top skeezy that it was difficult to believe he ever had enough charm to score 1 of these interesting girls, let alone 4 of them, so I had some issues with buying the central antagonist that was supposed to tie the plot together. 

With that out of the way, even with skeezebag Elton, I did really enjoy the book and most of the characters. The 4 main girls were all interesting, I really liked the depths in Ida and Rose that come across as we get to know them better, and Holly and Parker were fun and honestly cute together. Also, I found Stacey's story possibly even the most interesting of all of them. Maybe because she was the one character that didn't buy into the appeal of Elton, and yet still ended up a vampire. The things she had to go through, alone, while also stuck following along after Holly. 

I also really enjoyed this fairly original take on vampires. At once very destructible (if feels like they get ripped to pieces so incredibly easily, to the point where Holly accidentally rips off her finger when she's at a diner with Parker), and yet at the same time so indestructible that any damage heals within minutes, even the loss of limbs and/or heads (though they still feel the pain). Also, the heirlooms, and the eventual loss of their mortal memories to gain their freedom was really interesting.

The book wrapped up differently that I expected (and if I'm honest, differently that I kind of hoped), but at the very least, it was satisfying finally seeing the skeezebag get what was coming to him.

Definitely worth the read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, and Gaslighting

Vampires with a very casual opinion on mortal lives, they kill a lot of people, sometimes very graphically

btorsi's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective tense 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

4.0

if i had a nickel for every book i read in 2022 so far that mentioned ripping out someone's eyes and eating them, i'd have two nickels. which isn't a lot but it's weird that it's happened twice.

a fun read. super engaging. interesting world building. a check off my tbr. not the kind of book i'm going to be thinking about nonstop after i finished it, but not bad. just. good. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Emotional abuse and Grief

Minor: Confinement

metaparadox's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Stalking, and Murder

bradleygiselle's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

betweentheshelves's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny 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? Yes

3.0

A story about a group of girls who team up to take revenge on the vampire that turned them? Such a great premise for a story. At times, I wish the world and the relationship would have been a bit more fleshed out. The pacing also felt a bit off at times, which kind of pulled me out of the story.

But the references to traditional vampire stories throughout will really make it fun for vampire fans. Holly is a great narrator, and her snide comments about vampires and people's views of vampires just make the story more fun to read.

All in all, if you're looking for a quick, entertaining vampire story, this one would fit the bill!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, and Violence

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Blood, and Murder

Minor: Child death, Chronic illness, and Dementia

vaniavela's review against another edition

adventurous challenging funny 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? No

3.5

Sapphic book with 'john tucker must die' vibes but with vampires? This book completely thrilled me. Let's start with the cover; from the color to the design, everything about it is fascinating and appealing. Just seeing it was enough to add this book to my TBR. The plot seemed super interesting to me and I would have loved to see more plot development. I have a pretty big problem here, and that is: having immortal characters in romantic relationships with teenagers. It's grooming at its finest. Other than that, I was hoping for more of their romance; I wanted to feel more of a connection between them.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Blood, and Murder

ednam0dewannabe's review

adventurous emotional funny sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Torture, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Gaslighting

Minor: Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Torture, Dementia, Death of parent, and Abandonment

mollyanne624's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Moderate: Emotional abuse and Dementia

Minor: Vomit

banrions's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted fast-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

4.0

I love teenage girls. They deserve all the revenge on shitty boys that exists.

What a fun lighthearted friendship vampire story with a little sapphic romance to boot. Utterly delightful. (And some interesting twists on vampire lore!)

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Death, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Sexism and Violence