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blackcatkai's reviews
991 reviews
Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
cw: blood, violence, colonialism, sexism, war, death
I love Nena & Nestor so much. this was sad, beautiful, funny, and dark. I adore Caña's writing so much.
I love Nena & Nestor so much. this was sad, beautiful, funny, and dark. I adore Caña's writing so much.
Only The Stains Remain by Ross Jeffery
slow-paced
1.0
the repetitive lines & constant spelling mistakes are just a little annoying but the being constantly beaten over the head with the fatphobia & body shaming? fuck right the fuck off. thank you.
CW: gore, violence, blood, death, cancer, child abuse (sexual, physical, emotional: some implied, others on page), fatphobia, body shaming, villains can't be villains if they're not fat & ugly & some form of 'not normal looking' of course. and we gotta be reminded of it CONSTANTLY.
CW: gore, violence, blood, death, cancer, child abuse (sexual, physical, emotional: some implied, others on page), fatphobia, body shaming, villains can't be villains if they're not fat & ugly & some form of 'not normal looking' of course. and we gotta be reminded of it CONSTANTLY.
Smilin' Sam's Corn Maze by Stephanie Perry Scissom, Stephanie Perry Scissom
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
cw: blood, murder, death, kidnapping, unhelpful law enforcement, gaslighting, cancer, medical content, violence, casual ableism
this one was pretty good & kept my attention very well. a couple unanswered questions that big me, but nothing story-breaking overall. a bit repetitious at times, but not that much. will definitely read more from scissom in the future!
this one was pretty good & kept my attention very well. a couple unanswered questions that big me, but nothing story-breaking overall. a bit repetitious at times, but not that much. will definitely read more from scissom in the future!
Driving in the Dark by Jack Harding
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
CW: car accident, hospitals, chronic illness, grief, fatphobia, body shaming, food shaming.
not a fan of how a short story can still be full of fatphobia & food/body shaming, and knowing how it ends makes it worse because the characters never going to realise his internalized issues so it's not mentioned how awful that mindset/belief is. either way, it wasn't as tense as I expected, but its not written terribly. I like how the end ties into other aspects of the short story, but ultimately this one wasn't for me.
it's labeled as horror, supernatural, a thriller but those don't actually feel right. suspense does, but ultimately, it's just sad. which is fine, I love sad stories, this one just wasn't marketed properly for my taste and I ended up with expectations that simply weren't met. would read more from this author in the future, though!
not a fan of how a short story can still be full of fatphobia & food/body shaming, and knowing how it ends makes it worse because the characters never going to realise his internalized issues so it's not mentioned how awful that mindset/belief is. either way, it wasn't as tense as I expected, but its not written terribly. I like how the end ties into other aspects of the short story, but ultimately this one wasn't for me.
it's labeled as horror, supernatural, a thriller but those don't actually feel right. suspense does, but ultimately, it's just sad. which is fine, I love sad stories, this one just wasn't marketed properly for my taste and I ended up with expectations that simply weren't met. would read more from this author in the future, though!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming and Fatphobia
Moderate: Chronic illness, Medical content, and Car accident
Mary: An Awakening of Terror by Nat Cassidy
dark
funny
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
CW: blood, animal death, murder, misogyny, sexual violence, ableism (casual and otherwise), demonization of mental illness, cults, gaslighting, bullying, abuse, ageism, gun violence, racism (don't get me started on the only latina character being blamed for things she didn't do), body shaming/fatphobia, fire, forced institutionalization
too long and drawn out.
I NEED people to get fucking abelistic words & such out of their vernacular. stop using words like schizophrenic to describe things. demonizing and minimizing mental illness & the like is gross & annoying af. the horror genre needs to let this shit go, especially from people who don't deal with or do actual research into the things they're writing about, ok? good talk.
feels like a swing and a miss in an attempt to write a novel about ageism & sexism against cis-women in particular. kudos for trying, I guess? could've used a lot of adjusting at least in length and making the story a bit more cohesive. lots of things seemd thrown at the wall in an attempt to make them stick but ultimately come across feeling muddled & incomplete, for me.
personally feel the afterword made it worse. nothing like a male author admitting to having thoughts like a violent misogynistic serial killer to make you go yikes, bro... imma need a bit more specifics there & less vagueness please, cuz that can NOT be what he meant, even if that's exactly what it sounds like.
idk, the more I think about it, the less I like it, and I kinda wish I could get my time back.... I have read worse books, the beginning of Mary & the parts between Mary & Eleanor while working in the hospital basement were decent. some of the cult portions were fun for me. but overall, I just didn't like this one.
too long and drawn out.
I NEED people to get fucking abelistic words & such out of their vernacular. stop using words like schizophrenic to describe things. demonizing and minimizing mental illness & the like is gross & annoying af. the horror genre needs to let this shit go, especially from people who don't deal with or do actual research into the things they're writing about, ok? good talk.
feels like a swing and a miss in an attempt to write a novel about ageism & sexism against cis-women in particular. kudos for trying, I guess? could've used a lot of adjusting at least in length and making the story a bit more cohesive. lots of things seemd thrown at the wall in an attempt to make them stick but ultimately come across feeling muddled & incomplete, for me.
personally feel the afterword made it worse. nothing like a male author admitting to having thoughts like a violent misogynistic serial killer to make you go yikes, bro... imma need a bit more specifics there & less vagueness please, cuz that can NOT be what he meant, even if that's exactly what it sounds like.
idk, the more I think about it, the less I like it, and I kinda wish I could get my time back.... I have read worse books, the beginning of Mary & the parts between Mary & Eleanor while working in the hospital basement were decent. some of the cult portions were fun for me. but overall, I just didn't like this one.
Into the Night by Chasity Bowlin
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
this was a cute historical romance with a little spoopy ghosts thrown in for fun. loved it! 🩷
CW: sex, toxic relationship mentioned (between the FMC, her brother, & his wife)
CW: sex, toxic relationship mentioned (between the FMC, her brother, & his wife)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Toxic relationship and Alcohol
The Haar by David Sodergren
dark
emotional
funny
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
CW: blood, death, classism, ableism (casual & otherwise), ageism, big eat the rich energy (literally & figuratively), body horror, gore, violence, mentions of suicide, self harm, sex, gaslighting, gun violence, murder, grief & loss
this was so so good. Muriel is funny & strong & I adored her as a character. this broke my heart, made me cheer, and I didnt want to put it down. highly recommend to others who enjoy cosmic/monster horror, body horror, or an unconventional & weird love story.
this was so so good. Muriel is funny & strong & I adored her as a character. this broke my heart, made me cheer, and I didnt want to put it down. highly recommend to others who enjoy cosmic/monster horror, body horror, or an unconventional & weird love story.
Tinfoil Butterfly by Rachel Eve Moulton
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
CW: fire, violence, child abuse, self harm, drug use/addiction, alcohol use, transphobia, homophobia, ableism, sexism, sexual assault, minor/adult relationship (non graphic, mentioned briefly), suicide, mental illness, cancer, blood, gun violence, step sibling romance/attraction, death, murder, toxic relationships (romantic, mother/daughter, friendship), kidnapping, trauma
this was interesting. ill probably read from Moulton again in the future. there are a lot of topics in this plot and I can't say that all were handled well, but mainly because I am not sure. it wasn't terrible, but I didnt completely love it. was a bigger fan of the beginning than the end.
this was interesting. ill probably read from Moulton again in the future. there are a lot of topics in this plot and I can't say that all were handled well, but mainly because I am not sure. it wasn't terrible, but I didnt completely love it. was a bigger fan of the beginning than the end.
Dark Harvest by Norman Partridge
medium-paced
3.0
CW: blood, violence, murder, body horror, child death, suicide, gun violence, bullying, sexism, fire, fatphobia, body shaming, ableism, some outdated terminology (it WAS written in 2006 and takes place in 1963 so there's that), gore
this was pretty fun overall and I'd read from this author again. a good horror novel for Halloween, even though I read it in May.
this was pretty fun overall and I'd read from this author again. a good horror novel for Halloween, even though I read it in May.
Transmuted by Eve Harms
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
CW: transphobia (including dead naming), body horror, gore, medical content, fatphobia/body shaming (internal & external), violence, human experimentation, blood, ableism, death, chronic illness, manipulation, sexual content, dysphoria, kidnapping, toxic relationship, abuse.
loved the body horror, the set up, the characters, just not the biggest fan of the ending, really. overall really good and I'd absolutely read more from Eve Harms in the future! 1000%
loved the body horror, the set up, the characters, just not the biggest fan of the ending, really. overall really good and I'd absolutely read more from Eve Harms in the future! 1000%