Reviews tagging 'Blood'

It Will Only Hurt for a Moment by Delilah S. Dawson

8 reviews

the_vegan_bookworm's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

A really solid horror story about gender, patriarchal roles and gender-based violence in intimate relationships. The ending felt a little bit underwhelming at parts, but I think the overall story felt well developed and emotionally compelling.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Stalking, Suicide attempt, and Murder

Minor: Child abuse and Infidelity

megwilli's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Blood and Murder

alexisgarcia's review

dark mysterious tense 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? Yes

1.0

the more i think about this book, the more mad i get. the only good character in this was ingrid (except for what she did to the young kid (i forgot his name and already returned this to the library)). 

the large amount of detailed descriptions of

rape

were completely unnecessary imo. same thing with the random

animal cruelty which was never explained

so many crazy things happened with exactly 0 explanations

who killed all of the artists, who killed the animals and why, how the nails play into this, how the glass appeared in the clay, etc. i could go on and on

. it left me wondering what the point of including it even was. 

also don’t get me started on the ending. it was so out of left field and unsatisfying. it felt like she couldn’t figure out a way to wrap up all of the different plot points so she decided to go with something that had nothing to do with the entire book. 

i really really liked bloom so this felt like such a letdown. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

lv_'s review

dark funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

This book kept me turning the page but I was ultimately pretty disappointed with the ending. No follow through on what became of other characters and I think

Kyle appearing right at the end was just…unnecessary

. I think the premise was good and I still enjoyed it but it came up lacking. 

Another thing, there were a lot of words in the book used that felt like the author just pulled them out of a thesaurus. Took me out of the story every time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Drug use, Rape, Self harm, and Stalking

booksinbreweries's review

dark mysterious sad fast-paced

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

4.5

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House (Ballantine) for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

This book held the perfect combo of thriller and scary ghost story for me. The atmosphere is creepy and haunting and beautiful. The backstory and the main plot beautifully intertwine. The characters are unique and well built, even the ones barely on the page for long. While it will be a VERY tough read for anyone who has been in an abusive relationship, I thought it was very well handled. This is not an experience I’ve had so I cannot speak to how well the topic is covered but I felt it was done tactfully and beautifully.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Animal death, Physical abuse, and Blood

book_byrd's review

dark mysterious 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? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Blood

Moderate: Animal death

kimwritesstuff's review

dark mysterious 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

3.5

This book includes depictions of domestic violence, rape, spousal rape, and emotional abuse. I wouldn't normally include that at the beginning of my review, but those topics are central to the book's themes, and I understand some readers like to avoid those topics. I will say the abuse isn't gratuitous or male-gaze-y.

I really liked this book. The main reason it wasn't a 5-star read for me is that I felt like there were too many unknowns left. In gothic horror, it's common for there to be doubt, but there was so much plot left to interpretation that it just felt messy instead of interesting. I also thought the inclusion of Sarah having a negative relationship with her mom was unnecessary. It didn't further the plot and was such a blip in the story. I think it was included to make it easier for Kyle (the abusive ex) to isolate Sarah, but really it didn't add anything. The mom could have just been absent, and it would have served the same purpose. Honestly, it would have been more insidious if the mom had been supportive and dismissive of any concerns Sarah had with her boyfriend. In some cases, that would have been more realistic. The only other issue is the timeline; I had a hard time figuring out how old Sarah was and what her background was. At one point, I thought she had an undergrad art degree and had been in a master's program when she met Kyle, but then it mentions she was actually a junior in college. Maybe I misunderstood, but that part was wonky for me.

Sarah arrives at an artist residency program to escape her abusive ex and start over. The residency program is at Tranquil Falls, a defunct medical spa. While the old hotel and spa is off-limits, the artist residency program is on the grounds of the old facility. There are whimsical cabins and historic buildings; everything seems perfect until someone puts a dead bloated possum on Sarah's bed. From there, the story escalates as Sarah discovers the horrors of the so-called medical spa and her own past.

Part of why I liked this book is that it really outlines how far people are willing to go to turn the other cheek. Multiple characters are willing to aid or ignore the abuse that is going on around them. Not just men, but women are willing to ignore or outright aid in the emotional or physical abuse of others. There's also the disgusting nature of medical spas and asylums, which I could write whole novels on.

If you like gothic horror, I think you'll enjoy this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Blood

Minor: Child death, Miscarriage, and Abortion

jerichamacie's review

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.5

I really enjoyed the first half of the book, but the ending really soured it for me. It was such a slow burn then suddenly all the action is crammed into the last 20 pages. A lot of things never make sense or just didn't need to happen at all. 

The eerie woodland gothic vibe was great, the main character was kind of insufferable and judgey. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Miscarriage, and Abortion