Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Tender Beasts by Liselle Sambury

4 reviews

sp00ky_girl28's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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: Gaslighting, Murder, Classism, Mental illness, Grief, Blood, Abandonment, Violence, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Child death

Moderate: Animal death, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Racism, and Animal cruelty

Minor: Cursing

nickel_books's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

My first reaction upon finishing this book was WOW.  Tender Beasts is masterful. Weaving complex and emotional themes throughout, Sambury creates a waking nightmare filled with violence, secrets, and plenty of mystery. Think Slenderman, think Get Out, and then put it in a blender with Dear White People and that's almost close to the journey of emotions and plot twists you're witness to in Tender Beasts. Do yourself a favor, read it! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Murder, Toxic relationship, Child death, Classism, Grief, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Child abuse, Suicide, Cultural appropriation, Drug use, Vomit, Violence, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Abandonment, Infidelity, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, and Self harm

Minor: Gaslighting and Biphobia

daniellereadslikealot_'s review

dark mysterious sad tense slow-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

I really enjoyed Delicious Monsters so I was excited to get a copy of Tender Beasts in advance. While the murder mystery was a big focus of the book, it was the family dynamics of the Behres and the generational trauma that really made the book for me. I thought it was such a wonderfully nuanced look at racism, privilege and familial roles. The murder mystery was certainly intriguing and I had no idea where it was going so being surprised was great, but I did have a bit of a hard time understanding how everything even began in the first place. I did love Ainsley’s journal entries that were peppered in. The pacing was overall slower, but I did like that it was very character driven at times. However, when action was happening, it was HAPPENING. I think this will definitely appeal to YA horror fans, but I’d recommend it to anyone comfortable with gore, looking for a unique story. 

CW: death of a parent, animal cruelty and death, murder, gore, racism, child abuse, mentions of self harm, infidelity

Thank you to Simon Teen for an advanced digital reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Violence, and Gore

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child death, Death of parent, Infidelity, Animal death, Child abuse, and Racism

Minor: Self harm

pagesihavenotyetread's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Eerie, dark, and deliciously entrapping.

I was lucky to receive an ARC for this book, and I’m so glad I did. Without going into too much detail, here’s my review:

Liselle Sambury has crafted a beautifully tragic story that kept my heart beating out of my chest as I devoured page after page. As someone that seldom reads thriller, this was an uncharacteristic pick for me as a reader, but I LOVED it! I would highly recommend to those interested in the thriller genre or looking for a dark mystery to send their thoughts swirling. I loved that the author included important perspectives on wealth and race, especially in reference to the justice system. I think that’s something that many people like to try to pretend doesn’t exist, but it’s so important to talk about. I also found that the author’s use of our main character’s POV intertwined with journal entries from her mother was incredibly interesting and made unraveling the mystery of the murders so compelling. I found myself trying to decipher and predict how we got from point A to B between Sunny and her mother’s words.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Blood, Death of parent, Gore, and Violence

Minor: Classism, Child death, Drug use, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Kidnapping, Racism, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Vomit