Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Sign Here by Claudia Lux

49 reviews

emilyyjjean's review

dark emotional tense fast-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? Yes

5.0

This was so freaking good! I read it so quickly, because I could not put it down. I liked the change in perspectives throughout the story. I felt like it kept the story fresh and interesting.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Self harm, Abandonment, and Child abuse

Minor: Torture

caro_shelves's review

dark funny mysterious tense 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

4.75

I loved this book! The writing is impeccable, and Lux's gradual weaving of the story gradually draws you in. What appears to be a simple, tragic family drama is intricately connected to Peyote and Calamity's work in Hell. It's excellent. There were so many moments that had me gasping out loud. It's worth the read if you like a bit of mystery alongside your horror and humor. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Murder, Gore, Toxic friendship, Self harm, and Mental illness

Moderate: Trafficking, Torture, Alcohol, Violence, Sexual content, and Religious bigotry

spicycronereads's review against another edition

dark funny lighthearted sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I listened to the audiobook, performed by Macleod Andrews and Brittany Pressley. It was a lot of fun.

This book is really hard to describe. It is part absurd workplace comedy (where the workplace is hell) and part thriller. 

There are two parallel narratives, one following Peyote Trip, the hell salesperson charged with closing deals. We see what happens to his work life when a new woman joins the organization. The other narrative centers on a family going to their summer house in New Hampshire. 

The first half of the book really centers on the absurdity of hell and building the tension around this family’s summer vacation. And then it takes a pretty dark turn and the thriller aspects ramp up. 

I won’t say much more for fear of spoiling it but there is character development and it happens in some surprising ways. Speaking of surprises, I guessed a few of the twists but at least one got me. 

There is pretty much no diverse representation. Everyone is white and the family on earth has multi-generational wealth. 

The audio performances are great. I loved Macleod Andrew’s’ take on Peyote’s voice and Brittany Pressley really brought bone head teenage boys to life while simultaneously capturing women in a variety of ages. 

Overall, I really enjoyed it. To the point that when I got home from work yesterday with only an hour left to go, I listened to the rest from the couch (I normally only listen while driving or doing housework). It also made me feel totally justified in my dislike of Jagermeister. 😂 IYKYK. It is a solid ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Violence, Abandonment, Torture, and Self harm

Moderate: Infidelity and Murder

Minor: Toxic relationship, Bullying, and Toxic friendship

Cult,

esme_may's review

dark funny mysterious medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Gun violence, Murder, Blood, Infidelity, Child death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Pregnancy, Sexism, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Drug abuse, Body shaming, Body horror, Torture, Suicide, Bullying, Cursing, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Abortion, War, Car accident, Cancer, Terminal illness, and Medical content

clarentium's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious slow-paced

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

3.5

The plot was interesting and the setting was intriguing, but the writing let it down. There were a lot of attempts to be 'deep' that fell flat, and a number of lost metaphors.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm

Moderate: Murder and Torture

margaret721's review against another edition

dark reflective sad fast-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Toxic friendship, Drug use, Body horror, Violence, Child death, Murder, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Gun violence, Self harm, Torture, and Death

Moderate: Suicide, Religious bigotry, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Blood, and Trafficking

darkhorse488's review

dark mysterious tense medium-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

3.0

My feelings about this book are so all over the place I’m honestly not sure what to rate it. I feel like this would have been a 5 star read for me without one plotline and one brief piece of content that requires allll the trigger warnings (because I nearly threw the book across the room when I got it). 

There are solid and original ideas here and I’m glad I stuck with this to see how nicely Lux tied all the plot lines together. Unfortunately, this is a debut novel that reads like a debut novel. There are too many ideas here and it needed a much heavier editing hand.  I will be curious to read Claudia Lux’s future work once she gets some more writing experience under her belt. I think her future work has strong potential. 

Also if you’re tempted to read this because of the “Office Space” style satirical humor listed in the description, please know the marketing for this book is WAY, WAY wrong. Sign Here is really more of a light horror, slower paced psychological thriller. It took me a bit to adjust my expectations but once I finally realized what this book was actually trying to do I appreciated it much more. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture and Violence

Moderate: Child abuse

Minor: Pedophilia

waterbear0821's review

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense fast-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? Yes

5.0

I really enjoyed this! It started out giving me a bit of a Carl Hiaasen vibe, which I mean in the best possible way, with characters that are a bit outlandish but mostly lovable. Then it took a bit of a Gone Girl turn and the second half was indeed so tense I was desperate to know what came next. There are twists! There’s suspense! It’s still pretty funny even when it’s actually a bit scary. I enjoyed the writing. I enjoyed the characters. It’s a bit dark but it is about Hell, after all. I will definitely be looking forward to more by this author!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Self harm, and Torture

Moderate: Gun violence and Drug use

crweber25's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

I loved the concept of hell, and peyote, and the systems in place. I didn't care for the Harrison's story, except in the way that it tied into peyotes plot line. I also think I misunderstood the summary and thought this would be funnier in overall tone. There were a lot of witty jokes that I enjoyed, but I didn't realize that this wasnt a comedy overall. 
Overall this was written well, and it kept me reading even when I discovered it wasn't quite what I had anticipated.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Infidelity, Murder, Violence, Death, Alcohol, Fatphobia, Alcoholism, and Torture

Moderate: Suicide, Child death, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, and Body shaming

soshereads_'s review

dark funny 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Violence, Self harm, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Suicide, Self harm, Grief, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Pedophilia, Murder, Gun violence, Blood, Bullying, and Cancer

Minor: Abortion, Torture, and Child death