Reviews tagging 'Deadnaming'

Δάκρυα Ξυράφι by S.A. Cosby

99 reviews

rwgabbard's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Chronic illness, Kidnapping, Gore, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Cursing, Drug use, Violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Addiction, Alcoholism, Classism, Drug abuse, Blood, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Outing, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Transphobia, Cultural appropriation, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Terminal illness, Child abuse, Grief, and Murder

searobin's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

2.0

Listening to this book felt like watching one of those ridiculous movies where it seems like the people who created it just want to be able to shoot everything, and are imagining themselves as the vigilante/heroes bringing down the bad guys, eighty bullets at a time, violence porn, if you will.
On one hand, I loved it in a guilty-pleasure kinda way and couldn't put it down. On the other hand, a lot of the actual plot was rather weak, the twists were obvious a mile out, the similes were excessive, gross, and/or weird (e.g., "his chest was as tight as virgin pussy"), and the characters were two-dimensional at best. It was just really, really, really violent. I have aphantasia, so gore in books doesn't bother me in the same way as in movies/tv shows, but some of the descriptions were just unnecessary - like, way too much detail about someone's guts spilling out like taffy that had had merlot spilled on it or something, for example.

Also, it was not at all a surprise that Tangerine was trans, so that "twist" was especially weird. I also don't understand at all what the article on her ex would have been about - was it going to be some sort of queer-shaming the conservative politician kinda thing?  If so, gross. It wasn't really clear, largely because we didn't learn much at all about what either of the two did or their lives before being murdered.

I am queer, but don't have a lot of queerphobic trauma, so that aspect of things wasn't triggering for me, just terribly sad and hard to read, but I can see how it would be really terrible for some. 
Idk, it was a weird read. I was so hyped when I finished it; it felt like I had whiplash from the whole thing. However, the more it settles and the more time I have to process it, the more I realise that I think it was more an adrenaline high than a good book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Sexism, Body horror, Deadnaming, Gun violence, Racism, Car accident, Abandonment, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Alcohol, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Outing, Torture, Homophobia, Murder, Racial slurs, Stalking, Violence, Transphobia, and Vomit

Minor: Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Alcoholism, and Cancer

cadence99's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

3.5

I really wanted to like this more than I did as it came highly recommended, but unfortunately it wasn’t a runaway hit for me. A story of two fathers, brought together in their quest for vegance after the murder of their sons. Throughout, both grapple with how their homophobia towards their sons destroyed their relationship. I liked the fast paced, whodunnit aspects of this novel but did struggle a bit with the intense graphic nature of it. If you have a weak stomach, this book likely won’t go over super well. Our characters are as morally grey as you can get, stopping at nothing to attain their own version of justice. I think there is a conversation to be had here about how the only way these characters were able to accept their sons was at the cost of their lives. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Hate crime, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Racism, Murder, Cancer, Lesbophobia, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Gun violence, Homophobia, Alcohol, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Gore, Racial slurs, Deadnaming, Death, Medical content, Blood, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Vomit, Addiction, Body horror, Grief, and Kidnapping

hkveit's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Racism, Homophobia, Hate crime, Violence, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Racial slurs, Kidnapping, Terminal illness, Sexism, and Transphobia

Minor: Excrement, Deadnaming, Death of parent, and Grief

denjzen's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Transphobia, Violence, Gun violence, Death, Murder, Kidnapping, Racism, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Deadnaming

Minor: Terminal illness

momlovesbooks17's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-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

4.5

Wow!  Amazing writing.  I think this book is going to stick with me for a while.  The story was very violent so I don't think this will be for everyone.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Murder, Racism, and Violence

Moderate: Kidnapping, Cursing, Homophobia, and Hate crime

Minor: Infidelity and Deadnaming

_bookish_lauren's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

5.0

First of all, this needs to be made into a movie, for sure. It's giving part Equalizer, part late 90s/early 2000s crime thriller movie. You've got 2 ex-cons that you would think are past their prime, easily proving that they're not, on a quest to avenge the death of their sons who were brutally murdered in a hate crime. Their sons were in an interracial gay marriage, hence part of the motivation for their murders. 

The fathers didn't exactly agree with their sons' relationship, but ultimately loved them and in avenging their deaths, found a way to accept and come to terms with who their sons loved and realized that they were living their own lives wrongly in how dismissive they were.

It showed some pretty significant character development for both Ike and Buddy Lee. They were also a truly unlikely team. 

The story was fast-paced and compelling, while also diving into many difficult topics. Please be careful when reading and check your triggers for the content, because there are a lot. Racism, homophobia, transphobia, slurs, on page gore/violence, discussion of the prison industrial complex (specifically the fathers' experiences while incarcerated in Virginia prisons), kidnapping, and others. 

The only thing was that the identity of the big bad, the person truly behind everything, seemed a little predictable, at least to me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Kidnapping, Racial slurs, Grief, Homophobia, Gun violence, Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Hate crime, and Racism

Minor: Deadnaming

taylorfield's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny sad tense fast-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

4.0

January 2024 Book Club read

Long Story Short: Two fathers, Ike and Buddy Lee, are brought together by grief after the cold blooded murder of their sons, Isiah and Derek. Despite their differences, the two unite in search of answers and redemption, and discover they have more in common than they realized along the way.

A tense, action-filled page turner full of agony, reckoning, and somehow, humor. In a very short time frame, Ike and Buddy Lee learn from one another, confront their mistakes, and expand their mindsets. Despite the growth, they also rely on old habits as their quest unveils a complicated, dangerous web of deceit and conspiracy. Though the plot went very Liam Neeson's Taken, the threads of racism and homophobia were handled tremendously. It's hard to elaborate without spoiling, so I'll just say I really enjoyed this novel.

I am dying to know why Grayson didn't have a nickname like the others in Rare Breed. It is a question I can't stop thinking about.

Enjoyment: 4/5
Craft: 4/5
Overall: 4/5 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Kidnapping, Murder, Racial slurs, Violence, Blood, Deadnaming, Cursing, Death, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Grief, Gore, Gun violence, and Racism

rei_reads's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Gore, Car accident, Alcohol, Gun violence, Violence, Homophobia, Blood, Death, and Grief

Moderate: Alcoholism, Racial slurs, Cancer, and Transphobia

Minor: Deadnaming, Confinement, and Vomit

nattiemoff's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

This was a very difficult and uncomfortable read, as both a woman and a queer person. There are definitely a lot of vulgar descriptors (i.e “his chest was as tight as virgin pussy” 🤮) that made me reflect on why I don’t like or trust men. But my biggest criticism is the feelings I’m left with about the father duo.

I’m glad they were developed into more thoughtful people. However, there is a QUICK turnaround here from abusing and cutting off their sons to suddenly becoming an ally and avenging their death. It just feels a little too predictable/obvious/played-out. Maybe I’m just too tired of real life parents being assholes and then when it’s too late or they’re finally affected in a significant way, they try to backtrack and salvage their own image or soul?

With that being said, it’s a thought-provoking and emotional story that touches on a lot of sensitive topics aside from the lgbtq+ community. Racism, class disparity, addiction, and criminal history all play an important role in shaping the narrative. Hopefully this book can make someone who needs it stop and think a little deeper about these issues and the people they look down on.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, and Transphobia

Minor: Deadnaming, Sexual harassment, Alcoholism, and Abandonment