Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka

97 reviews

kananineko's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I think this book was very well written and very well done, if a little shallow. Every perspective felt necessary and added to the story, and I really enjoyed the focus on victims and women in the story of a male serial killer, but... I feel like it could've dived deeper into the themes, and honestly, not much happened. Dare I say it was a little boring and forgettable... Keep in mind that crime/thriller isn’t my usual genre (I don’t enjoy these types of books as much as other people do). However, it was still an important book. I did shed a tear in the last chapter, which is rare. I also wish Lavendar had more chapters. Overall, I'd consider it a good book, though. The writing was phenomenal as well. I'm glad this book was written but it wasn't anything out of this world. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Sexual content, Grief, Abandonment, Murder, Violence, and Death

Moderate: Sexual assault, Blood, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Sexism, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, and Sexual violence

Minor: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Racism, Drug abuse, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Police brutality, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Incest, and Xenophobia

charlereads's review against another edition

dark reflective fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Confinement, Death, Addiction, Medical content, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Body horror, Murder, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body shaming, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Child death, Death of parent, Drug use, Drug abuse, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, and Domestic abuse

jamesdaniel's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Abandonment, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Grief

Minor: Stalking

eff_rosie's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Murder, and Grief

ktdakotareads's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Animal death, Grief, Murder, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Blood and Stalking

literaryliaisons's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Grief, Physical abuse, and Pregnancy

Minor: Cancer, Addiction, and Drug abuse

minella's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Abandonment, Child abuse, Grief, Murder, Stalking, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Drug abuse and Alcohol

might_be_may's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

take the content warnings seriously

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Confinement

Moderate: Violence, Grief, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Sexual violence, Death, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Murder, Domestic abuse, and Rape

Minor: Stalking

allapaz's review against another edition

1.75

4/5 for the women's chapters, 0.5/5 for Ansel's, so we'll round this out at 1.75 because it really drove me nuts.

There's something to be said about leaving interpretation up to the reader, but then there's leaving so much up to the reader that the message of your work gets lost entirely. We spend so much time listening to women blaming themselves for this man's actions, and him blaming the divine intervention of the universe, just to get a turnaround payoff in the last 7% of the book. There were nuggets of suspense here and there, but ultimately you spend so much time on the 'mystery' of a story that you knew how it ended from the title....just wish this packed more of a punch.

Also if I had to hear one more description of this man's floppy penis I was about to give up on reading ever again forever

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Violence, Death, Child death, Murder, Domestic abuse, and Child abuse

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Grief

risemini's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Animal cruelty, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Abandonment, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Racism, Animal death, Sexism, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Violence, Murder, Sexual content, and War