Reviews tagging 'Murder'

My Dearest Darkest by Kayla Cottingham

12 reviews

alyssa2012's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Gore

Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Grief, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Racism, Biphobia, Drug use, Vomit, Outing, and Panic attacks/disorders

kitrook's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

I was entranced by this book i can't explain it but the story was such a good mix of an interesting plot and moments aside to build characters and their relationships. better review later

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death of parent, and Child death

Moderate: Outing

amethyst15's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Gaslighting, and Gore

Moderate: Car accident, Sexual content, Grief, Outing, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Death of parent

Minor: Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, and Alcohol

carsonbailey's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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? No

5.0

This book was so good!! I read it in one sitting and am obsessed with the vibes. The characters where dynamic and vibrant and the plot was well done. The pacing of the book was great and I just overall loved the style and aesthetic of the book. I highly recommend to people who love horror, dark academia, and a diverse cast of characters. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Death, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Violence

Moderate: Gore, Murder, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Outing

beckyremillard's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

3.75

Finch dies in a car accident.. but she starts breathing again and survives where her parents don’t. After her accident, she’s accepted to the prestigious boarding school where she meets Selena. 

Finch and Selena both know about this paranormal creature that offers them favors. At first, she doesn’t need anything in return, but then she needs hair, fingernails, etc..

I read this author’s newest book, and she definitely has a specific writing style. I enjoyed the other book, which is why I read this one. It was good, albeit a bit gorey, but still an interesting story with a little backstory for the main characters. Could have used more backstory on characters like Simon, Sumera, Amber, Risa, etc. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Toxic friendship, Death of parent, Gore, and Murder

camreads22's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• 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: Murder, Toxic relationship, Gore, Blood, and Body horror

trashboatwinter's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.75

personally, i couldn’t connect with these characters. i felt like the writing wasn’t the greatest especially in certain dialogue with finch constantly stumbling over words. selena and finch’s dynamic i felt like changed super quickly. selena went from hating her to having a crush on her super quickly. there really wasn’t any building there and it left me disappointed. i was super excited to read a sapphic horror, but it just felt slow and the writing didn’t feel great :(

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Outing and Bullying

asherz08's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad 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

3.75

My Dearest Darkest is a dark paranormal/horror story with a queer twist. This was a great and entertaining read. The concept of the story was very intriguing and unique. It definitely kept me on my toes and I'm not going to lie, there were quite a few times where I was a bit creeped out. 

For a debut novel, Kayla has everything you could want in a good paranormal read. Her attention to detail and sucking you in to the world of Ulalume Academy is absolutely fantastic. I definitely recommend picking this up if your looking for a good spooky season read this fall. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Body horror

Moderate: Murder, Alcohol, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Grief

meleac07's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad 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

5.0

This book was absolutely BRILLIANT!! I fell into this reality with the characters and found myself connected and drawn to each character for all of their quirks and complexities. Each character was unique and so well thought out. I can not put into words the joy I felt from reading this. Coming from a queer person, the representation in this book is such a breath of fresh air. This book put me through a rollercoaster of emotions. From the cheesiest of lines to the most grotesque scenes, I found myself utterly swept away by the beauty and tangibility of Kayla Cottingham’s writing. So excited to read whatever she puts out next.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Car accident, Death of parent, Gore, and Gun violence

Moderate: Murder, Outing, Torture, Grief, Physical abuse, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Homophobia, and Biphobia

lil_rachie's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense fast-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Gore

Moderate: Murder and Toxic friendship

Minor: Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Outing, and Car accident