Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Δάκρυα Ξυράφι by S.A. Cosby

171 reviews

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

lil_wavy_'s review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

5.0

OMG !!! Just finished the audiobook and I am hella salty right now. Great book overall though, S.A. did it again. He is definitely an author you should look out for honestly. Ike and Buddy Lee did what needed to be done. The entire plot was throughly written with such detail and depth. This book will have you emotional just letting y'all know. TW: racism, mental health, and homophobia 

Rate: 10/10

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cursing, Racism, Drug abuse, Transphobia, Physical abuse, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Murder, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Bullying, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Emotional abuse

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

josie2k's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Death, Toxic relationship, Racism, Racial slurs, Murder, Hate crime, Car accident, Body horror, Alcoholism, Blood, Classism, Cursing, Torture, and Violence

erenreads12's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful 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

4.0

This was a pleasantly surprising read for me. As wary as I am of a Bury Your Gays trope, S.A. Cosby handled quietness, rejection and allyship much better than I had anticipated, injecting humour and a great deal of heart into a dark story. Somehow I was persuaded to love these two objectively terrible men, who experienced a great loss, and then - went on to do better. Knocked off a star for some at times confused characterisation (in my opinion), particularly of Ike.

At once painful, tense and warm. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Gun violence, Blood, Death, Grief, Murder, Violence, and Homophobia

Moderate: Alcoholism and Racism

m_ren_watson's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Homophobia, and Racism

Moderate: Murder, Racial slurs, Hate crime, and Death

Minor: Alcoholism and Deadnaming

jkar7's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Loved this book. It felt like a movie. The audiobook was decent as well. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child death, Death of parent, Hate crime, and Violence

Moderate: War, Car accident, and Cancer

Minor: Animal cruelty

davinmotion's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I read this for my mystery book club and I picked it up a bit begrudgingly at first. The back cover didn’t reel me in. As I started reading though the characters slowly began to pull me in and I quickly became invested in the story. I appreciate the thoughtfulness of this book and how it handles the LGBTQIA+ community and the hardships they face daily. At times it’s hard to read because it makes you uncomfortable and in my case, upset because you want to call characters out for their actions. However many of the characters are written so well that you can empathize with them even if you don’t agree with them, often leading to them developing into someone you can really respect. The only characters that don’t really receive this treatment are the villains, who remain mostly one note, so it’s very easy to dislike and condemn them. I can think of only one villain character that had a speck of morality, so I wish that was explored more, showing that not everyone “bad” has to stay that way. Overall, I enjoyed this more than I thought I would and I’ll happily check out the author’s other work! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Violence

Moderate: Transphobia, Racism, Racial slurs, Terminal illness, and Homophobia

Minor: Alcoholism, Kidnapping, and Torture

elyssam's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

A good and thrilling read on revenge! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Death, Gun violence, Alcoholism, Car accident, and Murder