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fkshg8465's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
tense
medium-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
4.5
So much fun with great characters - even the two dimensional villains. A nice allegory for young people.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Torture, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Grief, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Body horror, Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death
olliebolen's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Child abuse, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Death and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Body horror, Stalking, and Car accident
spaghettii's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-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
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, Death, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Violence, and Abandonment
shesreadingagain_'s review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
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
4.0
Cordelia is a 17- year-old high school stage manager, doing the typical high school things. Until one day she has a new guidance counselor, Fred. He's essentially telling Cordelia she needs to improve her grades (something she has been told many times by her mother, the theater teacher, and her principal). This time however, it was a bit different. Fred tells her he wants a piece of her soul. They both laugh it off until Fred says he's not kidding. The fun kind of starts from there. I enjoyed this book so much because while it is a horror novel, there is quite a bit of humor to offset the dark subject matter. I would suggest checking the trigger warnings because it can be a triggering topic for some. I appreciated the queer representation and learning about some Filipino folklore. This book had one of my favorite tropes of all time, found family. We don’t get to choose the family we are born into and sometimes things that happen to children are unfortunate and unfair, but I loved that Cordelia found a solid group of people to offset that. Thank you so much to Alex Brown, RB media, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Death of parent
cboddie's review against another edition
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
8th & up
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Physical abuse
hailstorm3812's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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
4.25
This is a book described as Queer Buffy about a stage manager, I was going to enjoy this book. I think this is a fun little romp and I would love to see more of the series in a monster of the week format. I liked the worldbuilding, characters, and emotional stakes a lot. I would kill for these kids. I am a notable friends to lovers hater so I was stressed a lot for the romance but it was quite cute. I was wondering why the stage manager is calling the show from backstage?? I also think there is better comparisons than Buffy but it is incredibly effective at finding the audience since I bought it immediately.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Child abuse, Abandonment, Violence, and Death of parent
Minor: Sexism, Racism, and Outing
amobrien's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
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
3.25
I thought I was going to enjoy this one much more than I did. The premise is so strong! Queer Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Filipino folklore sounds exactly up my alley, but Damned If You Do unfortunately didn't live up to my expectations.
My main complaint is the narrative voice. It felt very childish. I love young adult literature, and many times I feel YA books can provide a compelling story even for an older audience, but this was not one of those times. Maybe I would have liked this book more if I was younger, but I can't say I would recommend this story to anyone past high school age.
Something I thought this book did really well, however, was balance the heavier topics with humor and lighthearted moments. This story tackles issues of abuse and alcoholism, but it does so in a way that is accessible and appropriate for a young adult audience.
Overall, I was hoping for a lot more out of this story, but I could definitely see it being entertaining for a younger audience!
Thank you Netgalley for providing a digital ARC.
My main complaint is the narrative voice. It felt very childish. I love young adult literature, and many times I feel YA books can provide a compelling story even for an older audience, but this was not one of those times. Maybe I would have liked this book more if I was younger, but I can't say I would recommend this story to anyone past high school age.
Something I thought this book did really well, however, was balance the heavier topics with humor and lighthearted moments. This story tackles issues of abuse and alcoholism, but it does so in a way that is accessible and appropriate for a young adult audience.
Overall, I was hoping for a lot more out of this story, but I could definitely see it being entertaining for a younger audience!
Thank you Netgalley for providing a digital ARC.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, and Child abuse
e_liz's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death of parent, Death, Physical abuse, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Murder, Child abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Car accident and Grief
fionamatilda's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Death, and Gore
Moderate: Child abuse and Domestic abuse
Minor: Grief
sitreadsip's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
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? No
4.0
Damned If You Do Audiobook Review✨
First off I would like to thank Netgalley for this gifted audiobook!
Read if you…
• like YA Horror
• are looking for a diverse book with lgbtq+ representation & cultural representation.
• are looking for a book about a bunch of kids fighting demons
The blurb (and I think it’s spot on!): “Queer Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Filipino folklore in this horror comedy about a high school stage manager who accidentally sells her soul to a demon.”
My dad is from the Philippines but never really shared much of the culture with us. Besides the food and calling his Filipino friends Uncle and Auntie. Everything else I’ve learned from… can you guess it? Yup, Books! So reading this really helped me see things I’m familiar with (the food was a happy little surprise for me). I also learned a little bit about Filipino folklore that I didn’t know about. And I love learning new things about my culture. Thank you Alex Brown for sharing this story!
The audiobook was so fun! I loved all the different personalities that were shown through the narrator, Amielynn Abellera. Fred was probably one of my favorite characters, he brought comedy relief and a weird comfort to the story. There was so much emotion that shines through the story. My only complaint was that the high schoolers sounded like 10 year olds and not seniors in high school (in the audiobook). Other than that I loved Cordelia and her group of friends. I had fun trying to figure out who the Aswang was! Overall such a good story to listen to!
First off I would like to thank Netgalley for this gifted audiobook!
Read if you…
• like YA Horror
• are looking for a diverse book with lgbtq+ representation & cultural representation.
• are looking for a book about a bunch of kids fighting demons
The blurb (and I think it’s spot on!): “Queer Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Filipino folklore in this horror comedy about a high school stage manager who accidentally sells her soul to a demon.”
My dad is from the Philippines but never really shared much of the culture with us. Besides the food and calling his Filipino friends Uncle and Auntie. Everything else I’ve learned from… can you guess it? Yup, Books! So reading this really helped me see things I’m familiar with (the food was a happy little surprise for me). I also learned a little bit about Filipino folklore that I didn’t know about. And I love learning new things about my culture. Thank you Alex Brown for sharing this story!
The audiobook was so fun! I loved all the different personalities that were shown through the narrator, Amielynn Abellera. Fred was probably one of my favorite characters, he brought comedy relief and a weird comfort to the story. There was so much emotion that shines through the story. My only complaint was that the high schoolers sounded like 10 year olds and not seniors in high school (in the audiobook). Other than that I loved Cordelia and her group of friends. I had fun trying to figure out who the Aswang was! Overall such a good story to listen to!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Murder, Violence, Abandonment, and Child abuse