Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix

67 reviews

georgiashakey's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Rape, Violence, Murder, Racism, Blood, Dementia, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Pedophilia, and Sexism

Moderate: Death of parent, Fatphobia, Grief, Domestic abuse, Animal death, Classism, Drug use, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Vomit

lexi17d's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

2.5

Uhhh okay I have mixed feelings about this book. I didn’t really like any of the characters, wasn’t a fan of the ending, and I felt like a lot of parts were only put in as a shock factor, and for no other reason. Completely unnecessary, and left a bad taste in my mouth.

It was fairly suspenseful, and I felt the drive to continue reading to find out what happens, but the last 1/4 ruined the book for me.

I also have a lot of unanswered questions.

-Why did James’ aunt go savage? Was she really his aunt if he’s immortal?
-Were they able to kill the thing growing inside Slick? They just said she’d be cremated, but it seems like burning a vampire won’t kill them, and they never followed up on that.
-I don’t think they’d be able to clean his entire pristine white house completely free of any blood or stains. I know many of them clean houses for a living, but with how graphic they described the house to be, seems pretty impossible to clean the whole thing in a matter of a couple hours. 
-Why did all the husbands basically accept the fact that James just up and left? 
-What happened with the dead body in the attic? Nothing came of that?
-Why the heck was Blue so obsessed with Nazis?! That was so unnecessary and came off as very antisemitic. And Patricia just didn’t care at all about his obsession with that? Why was that necessary? 

The more I’m writing out my thoughts, the less I like this book. I may end up changing my rating lower in the future, but we will see. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Adult/minor relationship, Antisemitism, Blood, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Animal death, Classism, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual violence, Suicide, Child abuse, Child death, Gaslighting, Gore, and Rape

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, and Drug use

lesbegays's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense medium-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

4.75

for the first few chapters i almost forgot this was a horror novel because i was so invested in these housewives’ drama. but then things got dark FAST. i don’t think i’ve ever been angrier at a fictional character than i was at the husbands in this book. if i could have skinned them all alive i would have. i HIGHLY recommend the audiobook. 
side note: it is so nice reading a book set in south carolina????? like, i know the towns they’re talking about! they shop at bi-lo!!! the bit about the whole town being busy watching the clemson v. carolina game!!!!! is this what people who live in states that are more frequently featured in fiction feel like all the time??? 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Gaslighting, Vomit, Animal cruelty, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Violence, Misogyny, Gore, Suicide attempt, Murder, Sexism, Dementia, Torture, Terminal illness, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Rape, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Child death, Racism, Animal death, Classism, Forced institutionalization, and Pedophilia

Minor: Drug abuse, Infidelity, and Drug use

terrabby's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-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? No

3.75

Definitely check out the content warnings for this one! 

While I don't think some of the elements (you know which ones) were necessary and hate when they are written for shock value, it was ultimately a very entertaining read. A page turner that kept me enthralled enough to forget my actual real life problems, which is just what I needed. The characters made the difference because they felt three dimensional and well written. I loved Kitty and Mrs Greene and I think Patricia is a good and complex main character. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Child death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Gore, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Infidelity, Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, Murder, Suicide attempt, and Violence

Moderate: Medical content, Gaslighting, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Classism, Dementia, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Terminal illness, Stalking, Physical abuse, and Domestic abuse

letter2self's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

2.0

I have mixed feelings about this book. I really wanted to enjoy this book. The pacing is all over the place. Some parts moved quickly, some parts were so slow I felt like I was slogging through. 

I did not love how all the black characters felt like side characters and were working class, while all the white characters were rich house wives. The tone of both the black and female characters felt one dimensional and regularly felt like it was written by someone who was trying to imagine the experience. Maybe he was trying to keep it historically accurate, but as another reviewer suggested - there is a vampire in your story, so... it already isn't historically accurate. It definitely felt like these characters were pawns for violence...

Some of that was kind of addressed at the end, but I don't think it redeemed it for me. 

The husbands were just awful. Like... just gross. There was so much emotional abuse and gas lighting. The female leads felt very wishy washy. The kids were horrible, and TBH, I did not care if Patricia's kids made it. And why was Blue constantly talking about the Nazi's? It felt like a weird way to "develop" that character and really just made me feel like the whole family was white supremisist - especially because no one really seemed alarmed by his obsession, or even try to stop it. 

The friendships didn't seem like very strong female friendships, and that definitely made me feel like it was written by a man. They just sat around all day talking about true crime, cleaning, and society gossip.... long sigh. 

I read this book after reading Horrorstöre and The Final Girls Support Group. So maybe this just came as a major let down after those, which I felt like were written much better. Anyway, I felt like this one was a let down. I saw where he was going, but just really missed the mark. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Sexism, Racism, Blood, Sexual assault, Rape, Murder, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Classism, Death, Violence, Suicide attempt, Gore, Gaslighting, and Child death

Minor: Drug use, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Misogyny

megob's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Suicide attempt, Violence, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, and Body horror

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Antisemitism, Death of parent, Drug use, and Terminal illness

shieldbearer's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

5.0

 

“The Southern Book Club’s Guide To Slaying Vampires” is about how a small-town white community reacts when faced with a threat from the outside. How much can one sacrifice for safety and prosperity and who pays for those sacrifices? Who- and what- is worth protecting? How culpable is the one who watches and does nothing? 

This is a book that features deeply human, but nuanced, female characters. The female characters have rich inner lives and personalities even when operating within the social norms of their small Southern town.  This is an nuanced, layered exploration of womanhood- particularly how white womanhood is affected by white privilege. People dismissing the characters as "doormats" have clearly ignored the parts of the book that scream that they are choosing prosperity and security over the lives of Black children, which is easily one of the most realistic parts of the book.   The author is a man, but his mother inspired him to write this book, and it truly shows. I wish more female characters were written with this flawed complexity. I also really felt the author did a good job building and releasing tension. 

Also. Y'all need to get better at adding tags. We get graphic second hand accounts of both sexual assault and racism (a man was literally LYNCHED) and half of y'all only tag the sexual assault?? I think that proves my point. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Racism, Murder, Suicide, Misogyny, Blood, Body horror, Hate crime, Sexual assault, Stalking, Child abuse, Classism, Violence, Death, Confinement, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Dementia, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Drug use, Child death, Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Pedophilia

Minor: Alcoholism and Animal death

sabrielsbell's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Gore, Suicide attempt, Misogyny, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Blood, Sexual content, Violence, Body horror, Death, Murder, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Drug use, Racism, Toxic relationship, and Misogyny

boundforinfinity's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

A brilliant tale that kept me gripped for 2 hours. Southern mum's book club comes to terms with the horror in their neighbourhood, reading crime fiction about Ted bundy and Charles manson, Patricia and friends try to save their children and their souls from the dark and mysterious neighbour, James Harris. Well worth the read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Racism, Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Death, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Murder, Drug abuse, Addiction, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Gore, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Child death, Child abuse, Medical trauma, and Drug use

emzilia's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

This book was mostly a random choose I went into without knowing much about it. Definitely not something I normally go for, or would read again but still an entertaining (often frustrating) story to fall into. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual violence, Sexual content, and Sexual assault

Minor: Drug use, Dementia, and Mental illness