Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

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

823 reviews

turrean's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

A terrifying, thrilling read. There are horror scenes aplenty, but the author also shows us a devastatingly accurate—and equally horrifying—depiction of how sexism and racism distort everything in our society. Some of the most chilling parts of the narrative deal with “real world” societal issues: the men in the story belittle and demean the women they (supposedly) love, and in the process, nearly destroy themselves and their community; doctors, police officers, other town authorities, and plenty of “good” Christian folks are utterly indifferent to a threat to black children. 

I rolled my eyes every time the author referred to a brassiere instead of a bra. Is that a male author thing? Or is that a southern thing?  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Blood, Dementia, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

hckilgour's review against another edition

2.5

So I went in expecting a group of southern ladies kind of being like the Winchester brothers. Nope mostly a bumbling group that bands together because things start affecting them.

This story is slow. But it really does build deep characterization and story.

This book terrified me. Not because of the vampire but because of the men and how they treated the women. And how I saw so much truth in those intersections. How women can be gaslight and told they’re nuts. Yes this was a story set in the 1990s, but even today… some of these men/women rolls persist. As do the mindsets behind them.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Suicide

blueghost's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Murder

Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Death of parent

tiffany_bush's review against another edition

adventurous slow-paced

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

2.5

***May contain spoilers***
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This seemed more like a mystery or drama. The ladies of the book club were all shallow and gossipy. They were all quick to turn on each other and of course their husband's didn't believe them.  There were some areas were I thought the vampire parts were going to grow but fell short. I could have lived without ever reading this book. There was only 1 vampire not mulitple in this book. I can see how the vampire could be used as a symbolism of the true monster that people allow and trust in their lives.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, Kidnapping, Stalking, Suicide attempt, and Murder

tomiezie's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault

it's an alright book, a fun read for a change of pace. But any other review can tell you it's a deeply flawed book, with various Stereotypes Under The pretense of none. But it's fun, and James Harris is refreshing at first glance compsred to Patricia's excruciatingly annoying family

before the rape and subsequent assault

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katlynkatt's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Violence

Moderate: Animal death and Racism

Minor: Domestic abuse

lefthandlou's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

CONTENT WARNINGS FOR PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING

I thought this book was fantastic. Definitely a hard read, especially in certain points, and it had some really gross sections, but what a payoff! The book takes on some heavy themes: racism, the way white communities ignore the suffering of Black communities and they ways they contribute to it, the damage of patriarchal societies and restrictive gender roles. The use of a vampire tale to tell that story was genius, IMO, as is the symbolism of the ending. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal death

m4rtt4's review against another edition

dark emotional funny 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? It's complicated

4.0

This was a lot darker and sadder than I had expected, but I ate it up nonetheless. Very few books have made me feel as many emotions as this one did: joy, anger, sadness, disgust, fear, and empathy can all be felt through this story, just to name a few. The husbands made me want to bang my head against a wall!! Misogyny really was one of the horror elements. The gore went a bit overboard at times, but despite the strange mixture of emotions and clashing images, I'd highly recommend this book! The trigger warnings should not be taken lightly, though.

+ Bahni Turpin's narration was absolutely brilliant!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Gaslighting

snslayer's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-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? Yes

5.0

Good but absolutely brutal to read as a woman. Perfectly captures white women at their worst and at their best and the lives we ruin along the way. I had to put it down for a bit in the middle because I was getting so worked up about the husbands. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Dementia, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Toxic friendship

thavs's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense 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

3.75

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. The story was engaging, and the characters kept me hooked from start to finish. The ending felt well-earned and satisfying. While I didn't feel a strong connection to the townspeople and still have a few lingering questions, my overall experience was thoroughly enjoyable.

I haven't been this captivated by a book in a while, so I had to give it a high rating.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship