Reviews with content warning for Murder - Into the Gray

Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Into the Gray by Margaret Killjoy

10 reviews

annaavian's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

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

2.0

Content Warnings

halaagmod's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional fast-paced

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

2.5

The main reason I don't read a ton of short stories is that there's only so much that an author can do to make a good, interesting, and engaging narrative while staying within the range of what's considered a short story. That, unfortunately, is what went wrong here.

The characters were all extremely interesting, and the premise promising. A trans woman who lures men to their death for coin and the love of a beautiful, immortal mermaid? Of <i>course</i> I thought I'd be all over this. But much of the writing is choppy in places, there's too much flowery dialogue from Laria about love and life getting in the way of expanding upon the characters and getting the reader to care about them and their plight (which is saying something if that's a con, because I'm a bitch for flowery prose), and the pacing, as expected from a book of only twenty-two pages, is absolutely terrible.

Were this a novella instead, where more could have been expanded upon and the author could have taken her time to craft a better conflict and develop the characters and their personalities more, I feel this could have easily have become an instant five star read. But instead we get a half-baked romance with a mediocre supernatural twist and an abrupt ending that does little to actually wrap the book together.

Content Warnings

tinyjude's review

Go to review page

dark mysterious sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.5

Gorgeous writing that makes you succumb to the charms of both protagonists. Beautiful idea and interesting dynamics, however due to its length it lacked more depth. It reads like as a (darker) fairytale with mermaids, thiefs, magic and witches. I loved how the desire, intensity and obsession for The Lady was portrayed and, in exchange, how cold she seemed. I liked the social critique and was happy with the little reference to Laira's transgender identity and her sexuality. The ending is bittersweet but I liked the way they fought for each other. Also major respect for the artist who designed the cover because it is absolutely STUNNING and captivated me from the very beginning.

Content Warnings

_forestofpages's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

Content Warnings

maybephasing's review

Go to review page

dark emotional sad 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

3.0

Content Warnings

jurizprudence's review

Go to review page

dark fast-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

3.5

the question asked was: what if you're a mermaid and i am a thief and i lure evil men to your river so you could eat them and i could take their money

a very engaging and quick read! it's important to note, though, that this is not a romance—it's more of a character arc/coming of age story. would've liked it better if laria's realization and change of mind towards the end were explained much longer, because the resolution felt abrupt for me.

Content Warnings

fujo_cat's review

Go to review page

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

If you are a hopeless lesbian looking for a monster gf, this book is for you 😤👌 jokes aside, this is such a good short novel! I would love an expansion on these characters, truly!

Content Warnings