Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Lost Souls by Poppy Brite

6 reviews

reaperreads's review

challenging dark hopeful mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Cannibalism, Abortion, Self harm, Gore, Drug abuse, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Alcoholism, Blood, Rape, Homophobia, Death, Sexual assault, Violence, Toxic relationship, Pedophilia, Murder, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Abandonment, Gaslighting, Adult/minor relationship, Stalking, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Mental illness, Incest, Body horror, and Cancer

sigynmoon's review

dark sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Rape, Pregnancy, Incest, and Violence

Moderate: Misogyny and Ableism

gothkicks's review

dark emotional sad tense fast-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Incest, and Sexual assault

vampire kid sleeps with his vampire dad

chersonese's review

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

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

3.25

  I'm conflicted about this book, I enjoyed the characters they're all well written and fleshed out. With the exception of Jesse and Ann, who are really only used as a means to an end, or to elicit character development from those around them. Ann, especially, I feel deserved better, It's almost as if her personality was swept under the rug as soon as she collided with Zillah, which was the point and was explained in the book but it made her feel like an after-thought or a loose end that needed wrapping up. 
  There are themes in this book that are dark and while I don't agree with them and don't like reading about specific topics the book features, most were handled well, the depictions making you uncomfortable without feeling too gratuitous. The book has an interesting take on the vampire mythos that I commend it for and honestly wish there had been a sequel. 
  But would I recommend this book? I'm not sure, I don't know if the good outweighs the bad.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Gore, Toxic relationship, Death, Incest, Blood, Adult/minor relationship, Cannibalism, and Child death

Moderate: Abortion, Drug use, Alcohol, Body horror, Rape, and Miscarriage

Minor: Cancer, Racial slurs, and Vomit

kalira's review against another edition

dark slow-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

1.75

This is very deeply grungy '90s horror, which despite the lavishly (lovingly, one might say) described . . . everything - horror, blood, injury, drugs (so, so many drugs), abuse, rape, nightmares, murder, and so on - within its pages . . . nothing of that feels terribly present. At least for me, most of it was at most disturbing of the cringe and blegh stripe if anything, not the kind of horror that makes an impression or lingers.

I've seen a number of people say they might have liked this book if they'd read it as a teenager, or similar; someone else commented that 30 is too old to start reading Poppy Brite. I'm in my 30s and I can fairly confidently say that I wouldn't have enjoyed this as a teenager either . . . and the heavy content might have been enough to screw with my head more than it did reading it now.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Child death, Death, Self harm, Abortion, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Drug use, Rape, Violence, Alcohol, Grief, Incest, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Stalking, Body horror, Ableism, Cursing, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Animal death, Cannibalism, Death of parent, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Suicide, Animal cruelty, Terminal illness, and Gun violence

loz_ange's review

challenging dark reflective sad slow-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Incest, Murder, Physical abuse, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Violence, Abortion, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Blood, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Child death, Death, Alcoholism, Car accident, Gore, Child abuse, Cannibalism, Cancer, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Sexual content, and Vomit

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death