Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Vértestvérek by Ania Ahlborn

156 reviews

oliviagwynne's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

3.5

Been on my list for a while, finally getting to it. 

Right away it’s giving the Firefly family from Rob Zombie’s House of 1000 Corpses. 

It’s told from the perspective of Michael, a boy raised in a rough family and then flashback chapters that are his brother Reb’s perspective. Reb’s chapters really add to the depravity and depressing circumstances you see in Michael’s chapters. 

Such a broken, miserable home. The cannibalism was a surprise but also not. 

I feel like a lot of it was fairly predictable. the poor MC is not as smart as the reader so it takes him longer to put things together 

It’s definitely gory. And has animal cruelty, murder, sexual assaults. 

The end is a gut punch but I don’t know how it could have ended any other way. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gore, Animal cruelty, Cannibalism, and Rape

jully_bean's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book destroyed me emotionally <3 and I love it. What an ending! The kind of story that keeps you thinking about it long after you've finished the book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Animal death, Blood, Animal cruelty, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Violence, Death of parent, Grief, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Murder, Stalking, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Death, Incest, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Cannibalism, Child death, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Cursing, Homophobia, Vomit, and Ableism

lchoinski's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Kidnapping, Gore, Torture, Death of parent, Violence, Blood, Murder, Physical abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

thejwq's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Rape, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Cannibalism, Emotional abuse, Death, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Child death, Sexual violence, Stalking, Misogyny, Animal cruelty, Murder, Gore, and Blood

gretchlikestoread's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

4.5

Super dark but such a good read if you like horror 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Cannibalism, Murder, and Violence

pkatrinaanne's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Animal cruelty, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Torture, Pedophilia, Violence, Animal death, Cannibalism, Vomit, Incest, Murder, and Stalking

diannemarini's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.25

The book isn't really scary but enough for me to feel anger towards some characters. I genuinely hate Rebel/Ray with everything I have. The book gets pretty graphic so checking the tags is a must.

It had a VERY slow start. I understand why some people didn't pushed through with it. But halfway through the book there was a change of pace and it got me intrigued into finishing it. If you don't feel intrigued halfway through, maybe the book isn't for you. The final quarter of the book was fast paced and I'm actually glad I finished it. 

I only gave it 3.25 stars cause I kinda liked the ending but I know I won't be rereading it.

I recommend this if you've been reading thriller for a long time or you're fine with slow pacing. But if you're looking for popcorn thrillers, this isn't it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Violence, Torture, Rape, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cannibalism, Pedophilia, Animal cruelty, and Incest

yxi's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Ania Ahlborn... I just want to talk. 
I just want to talk about that last line. 
It punched the air from my lungs...

This book is bleak and devastating and cruel, and I loved every page. Even when I saw the plot unfolding and predicted where it would go, I found myself spurred on to read faster so I could see how it would all come together. 

Ahlborn is able to portray traumatised and violent characters in a way that walks an exceptionally thin like between horrifying and empathic. We see their flaws and the source of those traumas, but the narrative never excuses what the family does. 

'Brother' is beautifully written, heartbreakingly tragic, and bleak enough to sit like a weight on my chest for the rest of the year. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Cannibalism, Torture, Kidnapping, and Violence

tarantulagirl's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Kidnapping, Murder, Violence, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Vomit, Torture, Animal cruelty, Misogyny, Death of parent, Gore, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Incest, Rape, Child abuse, Child death, Physical abuse, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Alcoholism, and Confinement

mjadeh's review against another edition

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Grief, Kidnapping, Violence, Alcoholism, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Blood, Cannibalism, Abandonment, Death of parent, Incest, Murder, Sexual assault, Death, Physical abuse, Rape, Stalking, Body horror, Sexual violence, and Injury/Injury detail