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grimdark_dad's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Animal death, and Blood
Moderate: Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Death of parent, and Classism
mmccombs's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
3.5
SGJ!! A king! Everything he does in this book (and most of his books) is just so unexpected. Each word, each phrase, each plot point just kind of hits you out of the blue to make for very compelling horror. The way he describes things is just so him, you’ll never see anyone write the way he does. Howweevverr sometimes this incredibly strange approach to description comes at the expense of having any idea of what is going on. Some really outlandish things happen in this book (for absolutely delicious horror!) and I sometimes was confused if I was actually reading what was happening correctly because things are so round about. Like how was Cinnamon involved? How many people (or I guess, spirits??) were out murdering in the snow? What was that part where we were under water with Stacey Graves? Was that actually happening? . I also just had a hard time remembering what happened in the 1st book and reconciling that with the new info that came out in the 2nd, I think this is a book you have to read right after reading the first. All in all, I still had a great time reading this book, it was a phenomenally scary story about survivors guilt and trauma, but I think it just lacks a bit of the focus and heart (lol) of the first installment of the trilogy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Death, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
ninjamuse's review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-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? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Gun violence, Vomit, and Animal death
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Incest
jayla_hh's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Enjoyed this much more than book 1 of this trilogy. Jade struggling through keeping her references/interests behind her was an interesting way to show her growth from the previous book. Deaths kept you on your toes but stringing them together after the twist made it slightly confusing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, and Murder
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
starrysteph's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
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
4.0
Oh, yes - this is the continuation that I craved after finishing My Heart is a Chainsaw.
We pick up back in Proofrock four years later, where kids have grown up and loss has reshaped the community … but some things never change, do they? There will always be a killer lurking around the corner, ready to hunt down unsuspecting locals.
Jade Daniels - who goes by Jennifer now, thank you - is returning to town for the first time since the events of the first book. With this new distance from her home & trauma, Jennifer has reframed her point of view a bit and no longer sees the world exclusively through the lens of slashers (as she once had to for her own protection) - but that doesn’t mean she’s left her great depth of knowledge behind.
And when the power & phone line goes down and a serial killer escapes his convoy … Jennifer & Letha have to team up once more to save their town.
We have a massing scattering of perspectives here, and things aren’t always told in a linear fashion. It’s fascinating but can also feel disjointing - I struggled a bit at times to recall which characters and pieces of information were a continuation from the first and which were brand new.
Jones has such a unique bite and style of writing. It’s gory and horrifying and then unexpectedly emotional - and each narrator’s way of storytelling is distinctive, even those who only get a few paragraphs to shine.
However, I did miss Jade. She’s here, and she shines, but the focus is split so much that I was left wanting more from her arc. We’ll see where the third book goes.
The pace is much faster than the first, and I found myself catching breaths alongside the characters’ brief reprieves. There’s more guts and more gore. There’s identical twin mindbenders and chilling scenes with elk and monsters that were painfully human.
There’s a great blend of slasher nods and winks and references alongside horrifyingly creative all-new kills. I’ve seen my fair share of slashers but I’m sure there were also clever & specific references that went right over my head - Jones does a nice job of explaining just enough.
I personally preferred Chainsaw for its deeper emotional story and focus on Jade - but Don’t Fear the Reaper was still a wonderful sequel. And if you found Chainsaw to be too slow … you won’t be disappointed here.
CW: murder, death, gore, blood, child death, animal death, animal cruelty, body horror, pedophilia, adult/minor relationship, drug use, abuse, gun violence, self harm, chronic illness, mental illness, medical trauma, cultural appropriation, racism, classism, vomit
(I received an advance reader copy of this book; this is my honest review.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Medical trauma, Self harm, Addiction, Car accident, Physical abuse, Racism, Violence, Vomit, Blood, Cultural appropriation, Dementia, Murder, Pedophilia, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Chronic illness, Classism, Grief, and Mental illness
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