Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

The Gathering Dark: An Anthology of Folk Horror by Tori Bovalino

18 reviews

naomidanae's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

3.5

I like quite a few of these stories. Some of them I’m not sure I would consider folk horror, but they’re still a nice collection. There’s one story that was difficult to read as a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, so be careful of that if needed. 
There were a few stories that were kind of forgettable, and a few felt like they were episodes from a modern horror TV series (derogatory). Overall, worth the read for the good ones, though! 

A few quotes:
“Don’t you owe more to the living than to the dead?”
“There’re worse things than not being part of a family.”
“I didn’t know why it hurt so much, why I was still so angry. It could have been worse, it could’ve been far worse, it’d been nothing I hadn’t done to myself, so why was it so hard to just let it go?”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Blood, Child death, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Death, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Violence

bex47's review

dark mysterious 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

2.25

Yeaahhhh this one didn't really do it for me. It was a fun enough quick read, but none of the stories really stuck with me; I read the book in one sitting and couldn't remember half of the stories by the end. None were completely awful, but none were bringing anything new to the genre, and the collection didn't really feel like the folk horror that it was advertised as. There wasn't nearly enough focus on classic folk elements, and most of the stories felt more like urban legends at best. "Petrified" had some of the focus on nature that I would've liked, had the writing and pacing caused it to be my least favorite. My favorites were probably "It stays with you", "One Lane Bridge", and "Truth or Dare", but even those didn't do anything revolutionary. Unfortunately, a letdown overall, and left me wanting a lot more.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Death of parent

Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Genocide, Murder, Pedophilia, Blood, Colonisation, Alcohol, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, and Grief

Minor: Toxic friendship, Dementia, and Toxic relationship

caidyn's review

dark 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? Yes

3.0

Ugh, I was so disappointed by this book. I've been looking forward to it and saving it for the right time, but all the stories were meh for me. The only stand-out one was by Aden Polydorous.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Child abuse and Sexual assault

ceilisbookshelf's review

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Colonisation, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Terminal illness

bgibs122's review

adventurous dark emotional 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

4.0

There are some real high highs in this collection (“Stay,” “Ghost on the Shore,” “Petrified”), but there’s also like, one too many that didn’t quite sing for me the way I wanted them to. First delve into horror, though, so that’s neat and fun.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Slavery, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, and Pedophilia

kristensonlyhobby's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

3.25

Short stories ranked:

1. One-Lane Bridge
2. Ghost on the Shore
3. Loved by All, Save One
4. It Stays With You
5. Third Burn
6. The Tallest Poppy
7. The Burning zone
8. Stay
9. Petrified
10. Truth or Dare

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror and Blood

Minor: Alcoholism, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Cancer, and Rape

shadowspinner's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Alcohol, and Blood

Moderate: Sexual assault and Child abuse

readingwithkaitlyn's review

challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Pedophilia, Grief, Child abuse, Death, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Alcoholism, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Bullying and Cancer

Minor: Homophobia, Blood, Death of parent, Racism, Rape, Infidelity, Car accident, Body shaming, Fatphobia, and Fire/Fire injury

Medical issues, abuse, overdose, illness, drowning, missing child, neglect.

library_goth's review

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.25

This was a mixed bag for me. I was expecting more folk horror, but a lot of these were small town teen horror based on urban legends. Some of the stories were really interesting and engaging, and some were disappointing.

Stay ⭐️⭐️⭐️
I wanted to like this more than I did, but the story felt rushed. Really enjoyed the concept though.

The Tallest Poppy ⭐️⭐️
Would’ve been brilliant if it had stayed focused on the character’s anxiety about the ocean, but it went in too many directions and introduced too many elements for me.

Loved by All, Save One ⭐️⭐️
Kind of forgettable and didn’t really have an impact.

One-Lane Bridge ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I really enjoyed this one and found it empowering.

Ghost on the Shore ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Predictable, but still well written.

Petrified ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I love a good revenge plot. Also really liked the way the author slowly introduces the plot.

Third Burn ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Definitely not the most original, but I really related to Charlie and liked the story regardless.

It Stays with You ⭐️⭐️⭐️
A little cliche, but the characters are likable.

Truth or Dare ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Interesting story, relatable characters, the pacing was tense and engaging.

The Burning One ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is my favorite. Really liked the writing style, the character’s perspective is top-notch.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Kidnapping, and Slavery

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Child abuse

dsarbear's review

dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Toxic relationship, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Child abuse, and Sexual assault