Reviews with content warning for Sexual violence - The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires

Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix

461 reviews

kk_gotit_goinon's review against another edition

challenging dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

This was a really intense book! Oh my goodness. I was in the edge of my seat the whole time. I was angry, I was sad, I wanted to shake some things in the characters. I loved the way the author drew things out. It's a crazy book.

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codyboteler's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

2.5

I think this might qualify as the first horror book I’ve read. It was an enjoyable (??), creepy and tense read. But it was also, like, jarringly graphic. I’m not so sure I really cared for any of the characters. The only time I actually felt an emotional response other than disgust was when the kids spent time with the dying dog.

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sim97's review against another edition

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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? No

3.0

Patricia’s husband is so stupid, I can’t cope.

In fact, all the husbands are stupid. I hate them all.

It takes so long to get to the actual point of the book but i got into it a lot more in the second half.

He didn’t hit an eleven year old boy that hard but the boy lost his hearing in one ear?!

I didn’t enjoy the vivid detail about some of the gore. And it took too long for what it was.

This could easily have worked if they had kept it to white neighbourhoods. Maybe if this was written by a black author the inclusion of race and the subsequent plot lines related to it wouldn’t have me in two minds.

I didn’t hate it but I didn’t love it. I think more than anything I was just committed to finishing a book because I have been in a year long reading slump.

When I don’t have much in way of thoughts I just default to a three. Maybe that’s generous? I don’t know.

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slippyhead's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

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

2.0

I want a sequel where every character spends a chapter apologizing to Patricia.

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xeniba's review against another edition

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challenging dark 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? It's complicated

2.0

I honestly don’t know why I finished this. It was unnecessarily gory and the only character I liked even a little was Mrs. Green (and Slick, to an extent). It was supposed to take place in the late 80s and early 90s, but the way the characters behaved felt more like the 50s. A woman’s place was in the home, cooking and cleaning for her philandering husband, etc.

It felt very “white women’s tears” and of course the person who ended up taking charge and doing the dirty work was the one Black character.

I get that it’s probably supposed to be about the patriarchy and racism and gentrification, but I really don’t need to read about that from a white dude. I definitely will not be reading anymore of his books.

This was my first fiction audiobook and I did enjoy the narrator, so that’s something.

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bookphilos's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.75

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shirleonelsie's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.0

This book...makes me feel conflicted.

The beginning was good.
The ending was great.
But the middle, the majority of the book, slogged. I think I sped read through 40+ pages.

There were moments where I felt like the explaining or the moments during characters disbelief were going on for way too long and I just felt myself prodding the author to just get to rhe point. I was also extremely annoyed that the husband's reacted the way they did. I get disbelief, but they were outright disrespectful and unkind. Not okay.

I did go into this book thinking it was going to be a group of vamps that the book club needed to take down. And the synopsis gives me a little more like a dramatic bloody fight where we got more of an attack and destruction. (I really don't want to give too much away.)

I think, overall, I was very disappointed. The way it was written and the plot gives off a "could have been way shorter" book. What we were given, in my opinion, was way too few short little moments that were dragged on unnecessarily long. I needed more meat to full in those gaps. Or - make it a shorter book.

(I use other book tracking apps so you might see this verbatim elsewhere!)

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