Reviews tagging 'Lesbophobia'

Lone Women by Victor LaValle

9 reviews

kaiyakaiyo's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective 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

I really liked this! 

Ominous build-up, creature horror, found family, realistic portrayals of racial dynamics on the “frontier”, heartwarming ending; the author put it all in here without it feeling too jumbled or heavy. 

will definitely be reading more by this author; the prose was lovely!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Racism, Racial slurs, Child abuse, Transphobia, Deadnaming, Child death, and Animal death

Moderate: Animal death, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Gun violence, Xenophobia, Ableism, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Murder, Misogyny, and Colonisation

axel_p's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Ableism, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Transphobia, Violence, and Xenophobia

billyjepma's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-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

A very good book with very, very good writing. It doesn’t all come together—the ending is a little glossy for my taste, and the genre elements don’t quite mesh with the historical fiction as cohesively as I hoped—but LaValle’s writing and characterizations are so sharply nuanced and textured that I was always invested in the story, even if I never felt compelled to rush back to it—which is why it took me a month to finish it. If anything, I wish it had been longer. With some more space to explore the setting, enrich the character dynamics, and delve into the themes, I could see the story becoming something really immersive. But as it is, LaValle accomplishes a lot in under 300 pages and delivers another tonal masterpiece that strikes a nearly perfect balance between the various genre, thematic, historical, and even political edges it’s engaged with. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Violence

Moderate: Transphobia, Racism, Murder, Confinement, Death of parent, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Animal death, Lesbophobia, Gore, and Deadnaming

Minor: Alcohol, Sexual content, and Dysphoria

librarianjennifer's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark hopeful mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

I was so surprised by this book! Loved this fantastical, female-centric, Western horror story. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Gore, Transphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Lesbophobia, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Child death, Murder, Xenophobia, and Homophobia

minimicropup's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? It's complicated

3.5

Suspenseful, grim, sincere. 

We are following our MC on the run after an incident at their family homestead in California. They are planning to start fresh in Montana with nothing but the clothes on their back and a weighed down steamer trunk. We follow their adventures setting up, meeting the surrounding homesteaders, and developing new friendships. 

• Set in 1915 Montana

🎧 Excellent narration. Immersive, expressive, and listenable at various speeds.

Growls, Howls, and Tail Wags 🐺🐕: 

• The beginning half of the story contains more supernatural suspense and the second half evolves with IRL horror elements. It's a smooth transition that unravels mysteries while building them.  
• Near the end (60% +) I was getting some reader fatigue. This was likely because of the increased action adventure, fight-for-your life parts of the story that I generally struggle with in books. 
• In the last third of the book we get less about what is going on with Adelaide and more about what is happening with other characters. It feels like dramatic literary fiction vibes replace the suspenseful mystery vibes for a bit, and I just wanted more of Adelaide.
• Historical fiction is usually not for me, but I didn't have any problems keeping up here. The author gives historical context in a natural, show-not-tell way, so I was never lost (but also didn't feel like I was reading a textbook). I was also able to relate to the characters and their dilemmas. 
• If you're here for the homesteading part of the plot, it may be disappointing. A surprising number of characters emerge once our MC arrives on their plot of land, so we don't read much of how she's prepping the land over the years. 

Cred Rating 👍😈: Supernatural magical realism

Mood Reading Match Up: 

• Starting over from scratch in a new land adventure plots
• IRL horrors with symbolic supernatural elements
• Mysterious historical fiction (early 1900s)
• Action-adventure stories with a creature feature
• Commentary/themes around disability, disfigurement, and rejection

Content Heads-Up: Transphobic, homophobic, ableist, and racist characters (also includes supportive characters and good rep). Home invasion and theft. Parental rejection.

Format: Library Audio via Libby

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Ableism, Homophobia, Racism, Colonisation, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, and Animal death

Animal deaths involve horses during attacks and escapes.

mgresart's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Murder, Blood, Cursing, Death of parent, Violence, Animal death, and Death

Moderate: Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, and Child death

Minor: Kidnapping, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, and Homophobia

bee87's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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

4.25

It’s very hard to describe a book so unique. A locked box filled with a family secret and the woman burdened to carry it. I love a book with representation in a genre where there usually isn’t any. Adelaide is one of many strong women and it’s refreshing to see that come from a male writer. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Child death, Murder, Transphobia, Racism, and Violence

Minor: Slavery and Lesbophobia

peachani's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Animal death, and Violence

Moderate: Dysphoria, Sexism, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Murder, Deadnaming, and Confinement

Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Infertility, Alcohol, Kidnapping, Lesbophobia, Cannibalism, Alcoholism, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Racism, and Transphobia

morethanmylupus's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

"History is simple. [...] The past is complicated."

I enjoyed this gothic story about Adelaide, a woman saddled with a heavy familial burden and her attempts to carve out a life for herself in the Montana wilderness. The way these women build a community, help each other through this difficult life, and find their paths forward were so compelling  - especially in the context of such a difficult life and Adelaide being one of a very limited number of Black individuals. I I would have loved a deeper view into the lives of the other women beyond Adelaide. I also felt there were some loose ends and some unnecessary plot deviations that didn't add to the story. 

Overall, if you enjoy gothics and books about surviving in the wilderness, this is an excellent choice. 

A huge thank you to the author and the publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Sexism, Lesbophobia, and Gun violence