Reviews tagging 'Blood'

The List by Carys Jones

3 reviews

maddie_d_316's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

It was hard to listen to the audiobook. There are three different points of view and no warning when it switches between them. Good story though! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Bullying, Torture, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Panic attacks/disorders, Gore, Child death, Mental illness, and Suicide

Moderate: Sexual assault

lybrarie's review

challenging dark mysterious sad tense 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

3.5

This is a pretty standard mystery thriller. I enjoyed it, I think it was well-done. I was able to work out some of the twists before they were revealed, and some of them I was not. I think this book is pretty good at making you sympathise with people you might not normally sympathise with, which is good to make you think about different things regarding the situation. 

The writing was easy to read, and I do think it felt like it leant a little more towards YA at times, but it was still good. I also wasn't a huge fan of the way autism was treated in this book. I know that mystery/thrillers are going to cover potentially triggering topics, as is their nature, but the ableism in this book was extreme and I don't think it needed to be where it was seen. 

Overall, I enjoyed this book and I would give this author another go in the future too. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Bullying, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Ableism, Mental illness, Murder, Suicide, Blood, Suicide attempt, Body horror, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Sexual assault, Stalking, and Violence

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Addiction, Physical abuse, Cursing, Alcohol, Dementia, Medical trauma, Pedophilia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcoholism, and Confinement

kta's review

challenging dark emotional sad 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

2.0

 ** spoiler alert ** "I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."
I was horrified when I got to the "reason" for the list or why Beth/Ruby was the way she was. If this wasn't a galley I probably would have given it up and quit reading this book. It never really got less horrifying, which is kind of the point of the story, but the story did develop further and somewhat redeem itself even if the characters weren't redeemed.
In general I prefer a single narrator/character perspective. I found this even harder to follow than normal with The Six being renamed as part of their sentence. Then the one storyteller not revealing who they were to the reader until the last 1/4 of the book. The audiobook version didn't help this confusion with a single narrator and no distinction or mark between switching perspectives. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Toxic friendship, Suicide, Violence, Stalking, Murder, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Hate crime, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Fire/Fire injury