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aromarrie's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Murder, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Homophobia, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief
juliezantopoulos's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I can respect that this is an own voices thriller/horror and appreciate it for that, but this wasn't for me. I understand the commentary on toxic masculinity, especially in sports and in the south. However, the "horror" in this book was not actually scary. I really thought I was getting a horror book and instead I got a murder mystery. I know this is an own voices book with a gay main character, but the use of queer slurs and homophobia was too rampant for me. Which is not to say it's not a reality, but I didn't want to read it....especially with the direction the book went!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Racism, and Police brutality
book_banter's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-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? Yes
4.0
What a wild ride! I think I was expecting more thriller than horror but then I wasn’t mad about it. That last 1/3rd though! I loved that the depravity in this boon was actually all about exploitation others and repression of true self.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Homophobia, Death, and Sexual violence
rliedtke's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
This will leave you saying what the f***. I wasn’t really sure where it was heading throughout the book but I definitely wasn’t expecting exactly what we got. The climax is about 100 pages long which sounds crazy but it was pretty epic and still felt fast paced, I couldn’t put it down once that scene started.
What I liked: multiple POVs, short chapters, the problems it discussed (homophobia, racism)
What I didn’t like: the writing felt mediocre to me and a few lines made me cringe
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Homophobia, and Violence
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Sexual assault, and Racism
brewsandbooks's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
So overall, I really liked the beginning of this novel. I was interested in the mystery and loved the way I didn't know exactly what was coming. I also thought the ending was a huge shocker that I wasn't expecting and the way things linked together was fascinating and amazing. However, it lost a few points for me because I felt like it tried to be TOO shocking for me. It went to a real-life mystery to a paranormal experience. I just felt it wasn't there for me. I DO think people should read this, though. Just because it wasn't for me doesn't mean it isn't for lots of other people. People RAVE about this book and I think they have a point. It was just a miss for me
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Homophobia
jillterry22's review
dark
emotional
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
4.0
Very interesting read! I kept wondering where the story would go the entrie time. Joel was an emotional main character to follow. You despise and root for the characters all in different ways.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Murder, Suicide, and Racism
miranda2021's review
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
Moderate: Death
katelynprice's review
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.0
I was really into the mood, atmosphere, and mystery of this book. The first 70% was really good, and then...it got weird. I realize that there is a social commentary going on here, but I am just not a fan of the execution.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse
Moderate: Sexual assault, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Gore, and Homophobia
lizflynn's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
3.75
That was W I L D. The first 3/4 of the book is a really well-laid, suspenseful crime thriller, and then the last 1/4 twists and turns into some good ol fashioned horror and I loved the ride. This is definitely a step above the rest of the thrillers/crime fiction out there. There are so many well-done layers and secrets and conflicts and wow, I really hated that suffocating town of Bentley.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Homophobia, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Addiction
alexdicanio's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The first 25% of this book, I wasn’t too sure if I would like it, but I kept on pushing. It doesn’t start out slow necessarily, I just wasn’t into it. I am glad that I kept reading. I say that the cast being diverse is complicated because while there is representation for people of color (minimal -1 or 2), and people (specifically men) in the LGBTQIA+ community, the setting is a small conservative town in Texas, so for the most part, people are hiding and are scared to truly be themselves. I don’t want to give anything away because it is hard to explain without spoiling something. This book deals very heavily with homophobia, racism, and sexual assault - so please be warned. I think it was written very well and I did enjoy all of the different character’s POV’s. What kind of threw me off guard was this added sort of “supernatural” element. It wasn’t, bad I just didn’t expect it. I understand why it was in there, but I also think this could have been an excellent book if the supernatural wasn’t there.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Violence
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
There are a lot of trigger warnings for this book. I wasn’t too sure where to put the warning for “adult/minor relationship” because it isn’t gone into a lot of detail. There are however, mentions of figures of authority and students being in a (primarily sexual) relationship. I can’t say much else without giving it away.