Reviews tagging 'Blood'

The Between: A Novel by Tananarive Due

6 reviews

takecoverbooksptbo's review against another edition

dark reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Hate crime, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Racial slurs, Terminal illness, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Murder, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Addiction, and Car accident

Minor: Toxic relationship, Homophobia, and Stalking

noveltay's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

Not enough background imo to be 5 starts, as the beginning went fast along with the rest of the book. But still a great horror. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Child death, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Racial slurs, Death, Death of parent, Grief, and Emotional abuse

jonathaneden's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Stalking, Violence, Murder, Hate crime, Racism, Racial slurs, and Infidelity

Moderate: Sexual content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, Animal death, Blood, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief

Minor: Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Terminal illness

sdsmith80's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-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

5.0

<strong>What a debut!</strong>

I read this book for a bookclub I'm in (shout-out to the Ghoulish Discord bookclub!) and I'm very pleased with the pick! It is truly very well written, and it's really hard to believe that this was her debut novel. The characterizations were excellent, and it was easy to slip into Hilton's head as he felt like he was losing his sanity. 

By the end I very much cared about each person, and dreaded the conclusion. Even though there were plenty of clues leading up to the final moments, and I had a good idea of what was going to happen, it didn't lessen the emotional impact when it came. 

There is a reason Tananarive Due is so well regarded, and this book illustrates it clearly.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Hate crime, Death, Gore, Blood, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, and Infidelity

Moderate: Car accident, Sexual content, and Mental illness

Minor: Grief, Gun violence, and Homophobia

lilias's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Child death, Sexual content, Grief, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Panic attacks/disorders, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Blood, Gun violence, Mental illness, Racism, and Terminal illness

Minor: Death of parent

seawarrior's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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? Yes

5.0

Dazzling with imagery and mystery, The Between presents a horror story on multiple fronts that keeps the reader disoriented with every chapter. Due's characters propel the plot, where their rich histories and personalities provide the necessary depth to pull us into their world. The most frightening part of this story is not so much what Hilton is experiencing supernaturally, but how he lacks the knowledge to make sense of it once he realizes that his family is under threat by a racist terrorist who is undoubtedly real. The secret of his dreams unravels slowly, but once revealed, the surrounding unexplainable events instantly line up into a rational narrative, which I appreciate as a reader who aches for stories to make sense.

I highly recommend this book to those interested in unconventional horror novels, but please be warned that the threat of racist violence hangs heavy over the James family throughout most of the book, and the verbal intimidations issued by the perpetrator are more than disturbing to read. If that's something you're able to stomach though, I imagine you will also become quickly engrossed in this story and Due's skill in writing it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Car accident, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual harassment, Stalking, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, and Medical content

Minor: Homophobia