Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Ordinary Monsters by J.M. Miro

31 reviews

lauren_miller's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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? It's complicated

4.25

this book was the very definition of slow burn. slow characterization. slow plot. slow action. slower resolution. everything about it took its time, and yet, I found myself engaged the entire time. I really wish this were a standalone b/c the thought of two more long-ass books like this has me already exhausted, but I'm so desperate to know what happens to Alice and the kids that I don't think I'll have a choice... would I recommend? maybe. if you're a fan of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell or a Sanderfan, you will probably blink at the length and dive headlong right in without a second thought. if you're looking for intensity, energy, and a fast pace, please move right along; this is not the one for you.

4.25 out of 5 stars, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Body horror

salemrose's review

challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

2.0

The first half of this book is agonizingly slow, then the second half goes so fast it's almost hard to keep up and feels rushed. There's very little dialogue and a very heavy emphasis on plot and the telling of events rather than a focus on who the characters are and what their inner lives are like. Once the book hits it's stride it's not terrible but it takes a solid 400 pages to get there and I personally don't think it's worth the wait. Overall not the worst thing I've ever read but definitely not for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Racism, and Police brutality

torie444'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? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Self harm, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Abandonment

eli_deatherage's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Felt a little slow here and there, but man it is worth it! Intriguing and mysterious world that never feels quite safe. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gore, Racism, Self harm, Torture, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

catch__up's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Gore, Miscarriage, Racism, Self harm, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Stalking, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury

kittens_eating_aliens's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence and Murder

Minor: Death of parent and Abandonment

sophiesmallhands's review against another edition

Too many different plot lines introduced without sufficient cohesion and context. And if I’m not invested in any of the characters by the first 100 pages, I tend to DNF.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Violence

Moderate: Death, Gore, Torture, and Murder

Minor: Confinement, Rape, and Death of parent

clarabooksit's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Gun violence, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Child death, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Colonisation

kaiyakaiyo's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I actually quite liked this. I still call bullshit on the only black character coincidentally being the character that has to kill themselves then heal themselves repeatedly to help the white chars but everything else was pretty good. White authors using black pain to further plot, color me surprised. Surprisingly fluff-less for a book this big, most chapters had a purpose and I liked that! Would read another in this series, but i hope it’s not this big 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Ableism, Gore, Slavery, Blood, and Murder

bonniejpg's review

Interesting story, but I struggled with some of the writing. One passage was especially confusing due to unclear pronoun usage -  the entire meaning of the passage changed depending on which character “he” referd to. I read and reread this passage so many times and still could read it either way. Very possible that it’s just me, but I ultimately decided It wasn’t worth it to keep going and risk running into similar issues.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Racism, Violence, and Murder