Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey

141 reviews

freadman666's review

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Death, Gore, Murder, Abandonment, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Kidnapping, and Confinement

lalalauren20's review

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

3.0

This is the second book from this Author that I’ve read. I’ve decided that it must be writing style. It’s slow moving but tense, she write very long and poetic feelings of the characters, really intense background stories so you’re getting glimpses into the characters in ways of thinking. This book is a slow draw, with a quick and Intense wrap at the end. Her other book I read was also this way, which felt a little rushy. This book had hints of a haunting nature and was slightly spooky to read. Made me think of stranger things vibes. 

I felt lack luster learning about the ending and her dad…it felt like a loose end that wasn’t solved but I now feel that it was that way for our main character and we got to feel that too. I liked the timeline that this book took and thought it was interesting to get some of her time living in the house. 

Hot take: Who the heck is Texas Droll man besides like a creepy weirdo who wants the house? I felt like it would’ve made more sense of it was they little boy she kissed…he could’ve been an out of the box character with some old trauma plot from his night In The basement…he also just out of pocket said “you had another friend” and I’m still at a loss for who he was talking about…cause he doesn’t know about the house.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood and Injury/Injury detail

ohhthehorrors's review

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gaslighting, Blood, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Murder

quabbityash's review

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Torture, Body horror, and Blood

froggydanny's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death of parent, Murder, Terminal illness, and Body horror

Moderate: Blood, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, and Emotional abuse

ashlyluvsyellow's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

A nice mystery/thriller that had me wondering what was actually going on.

Really liked the ending and would recommend anyone who likes to be a little on edge while reading it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Blood

Moderate: Domestic abuse

kswartz's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Wow, this was intense. I thought it was going one way, and then it subverted expectations. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Blood, and Torture

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Toxic relationship

booksandteatime's review

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gore, Murder, Violence, and Vomit

charlottesometimesreads's review

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Murder, Blood, and Body horror

rorikae's review

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

'Just Like Home' by Sarah Gailey is a slow, deeply unsettling look at one woman's childhood and her relationship with her serial killer father, distant mother, and childhood home. 
Vera Crowder is coming home to the Crowder House. Her mother is dying and after quite an estrangement, has finally called her daughter home. But the Crowder House isn't a happy place for Vera. It reminds her of her father, a notorious serial killer, and the strained relationship with her mother. It also doesn't help that there is an artist living in the garden shed, seeking inspiration in her family home. As Vera returns home, she has to face her past and the present space her family home still takes up. But things are amiss in the Crowder House and they stalk Vera as she starts the journey to clean the house to eventually sell it. 
This novel is extremely slow and I can understand why many people may not like it. It's marketed as a thriller but it is much more a slow and methodical unpacking of one woman's trauma and her broken relationships. Vera isn't a likable character but I still found it easy to care for her. She has gone through a lot and it's clear how this has warped her own sense of self. Gailey unpacks this through Vera's conversations with her mother, her moments in the house, and her conversations with the artist living in the garden shed. There were a few moments where scenes felt a little bit too slow. Descriptions dragged on particularly in moments where Vera was stuck in bed at night but ultimately, I think this story is successful in what it is trying to do. This is a slow look at one woman and her childhood, how it has shaped her and twisted her own recollections. There is a supernatural element that I did really like though I can understand how some could find it off-putting. I agree with comments saying that Gailey could have leaned further into the weirdness. I would have liked to see where that could have gone. Even so, this continues my great experiences with Gailey's work. They are one of my favorite authors for a reason. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Terminal illness, Blood, Body horror, Gore, Torture, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit

Moderate: Confinement