Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Pérez

18 reviews

leila_reads_too_much's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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: Blood, Grief, Alcoholism, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Alcohol, Child death, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Murder, Violence, Child abuse, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Bullying, Classism, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Vomit

thekristinashow's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This is the second book I’ve read in my lifetime (so far) that has absolutely broken my heart into a bazillion pieces. 

I decided to read Out of Darkness as my February pick focused on reading 12 banned books this year, and I’m literally sitting here sobbing and speechless. 

This book is set in the 1930s in East Texas, and the storyline grapples with a lot of deep topics: racism, forbidden love, sexual abuse, physical abuse, school explosion, and more. 

I was completely enamored by the more lovable main characters - Wash, Naomi, Cari, Beto, and the nice supporting characters. But if you’re looking for a warm and fuzzy story, this ain’t it. 

However, if you’re looking for a powerful, layered story that sheds a light on some deep topics - this is it. Just grab your tissue box too. 

TW: all the trigger warnings…

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Physical abuse, Rape, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Death, Racial slurs, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Animal cruelty, Gun violence, Violence, Death of parent, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Murder, Racism, and Sexual violence

zombiezami's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense slow-paced

4.5

So many dimensions of fucked up. This author is excellent at capturing emotion

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Rape, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Toxic friendship, Racism, Grief, Gore, Blood, Incest, Sexual assault, Torture, Addiction, Religious bigotry, Murder, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Cursing, Sexism, Death of parent, Violence, Vomit, Hate crime, Child death, Sexual harassment, Pedophilia, and Child abuse

Moderate: Pregnancy, Bullying, Infertility, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Slavery

obsidianchainsaw's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Classism, Death of parent, Gun violence, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

bg_oseman_fan's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

this was a throughly engrossing read. with a background based on real occurrences, but overall fictional, the author tells a heart tending tale of love and loss. i enjoy how skillfully she gave us multiple pov that all felt distinct and equally important to creating the larger narrative. even though it was a difficult read at times due to the subject matter, the handling of it was exceptional and nothing felt gratuitous or like it was trying for shocking. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Grief, Kidnapping, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Rape, Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Incest, Murder, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Sexism, Alcohol, Pregnancy, Vomit, Infertility, Racial slurs, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Xenophobia and Cursing

chaoticgirlie's review against another edition

This is absolutely no shade to the book. The story is incredibly important, it's a true historical gut punch that NEEDS to be out there and it's bullshit that it's being banned, but after accidentally spoiling myself, I just can't finish that last 7%.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Child death, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Racism

bookbuyingwithkatie's review against another edition

challenging 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Murder, Rape, Child abuse, Racial slurs, and Child death

rhiannon814r's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Classism, Death, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Incest, Rape, Religious bigotry, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Violence, Misogyny, Xenophobia, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Sexism, Alcohol, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Sexual harassment, and Abandonment

Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Animal cruelty

aquamarinecadet's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

If you think you can stomach it, read it.

It's a horrible read, as many others have already pointed out, but I believe that the only way to bring stories like these, that tell of such gruesome, infuriating injustices, to light, to bring them Out of Darkness, is to read them. 
To carry with oneself all of the stories that have stayed in the dark for so long, in order to finally give them a voice.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Grief, Death, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Child death, Religious bigotry, Blood, Bullying, Hate crime, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, and Racial slurs

bridgetlovesbooks's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-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? Yes

2.0

This book is not for me. I appreciate that the author wanted to bring to light the horrific racism, sexism and abuse prevalent in the setting, but it was incredibly hard to read. So much darkness and no light. PLEASE check trigger warnings before picking this one up. It’s got them all, including graphic sexual assault descriptions, racist language, death, murder, guns, discrimination, assault, and more. Spoiler alert, they do not get out of the darkness. It’s all darkness. No light, no hope. The best thing I can say is

that the cat didn’t die (even though there were MULTIPLE graphic descriptions of threats against the cat. < /spoiler> I do not recommend this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexual content, Abandonment, Rape, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Gun violence, Murder, Animal death, Racial slurs, Misogyny, and Miscarriage

Minor: Child death, Adult/minor relationship, Vomit, and Death of parent