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antigonus's review
2.0
Although the first couple of chapters were brilliant, the rest of the story was let down by a lack of tight editing. Definitely falls more under the romance category than horror.
exorcismofemilyreed's review against another edition
4.0
"Nothing disrupted a whisper faster than a slit throat."
3.5⭐ - Without Condition begins with a solid opening chapter, and I was really excited since there are not a ton of female slasher books, especially ones written by women. However, while this book had horror aspects at the beginning and end, it was really more of a dark romance everywhere else. This isn't a bad thing, but I sometimes have a difficult time staying focused on romantic stories. I think it's going to be perfect for the reader who enjoys a dark love story with horror elements. Please take my review with a grain of salt - this isn't the type of book I usually seek out, but Sonora writes so well & kept me interested in the characters. I was just hoping for a lot more horror, and I wish it would have been woven throughout the story instead of mainly kept at the beginning and end.
Most of the beginning of the book is focused on Cara's back story, and I found her to be a relatable character. There's a lot of information about why she is the way that she is, and the coming of age portion of Without Condition was great. Cara reminds me of Aileen Wuornos a little bit (but not as dark and without the mental health issues on the level Aileen had). At times I got annoyed with how she treated other characters, but overall I liked Cara. The loneliness in this book is palpable, and Sonora is a talented author.
I felt like the end was a little bit far-fetched, but not enough to turn me off of the book. Even though I didn't love how everything turned out, Without Condition is an enjoyable read. If you like both romance and horror, I highly recommend this book. This would even be a good stepping stone for a romance fan checking who wants to check out horror. Thank you so much to the author for sending me a copy to review! Without Condition will be out on 2/12.
3.5⭐ - Without Condition begins with a solid opening chapter, and I was really excited since there are not a ton of female slasher books, especially ones written by women. However, while this book had horror aspects at the beginning and end, it was really more of a dark romance everywhere else. This isn't a bad thing, but I sometimes have a difficult time staying focused on romantic stories. I think it's going to be perfect for the reader who enjoys a dark love story with horror elements. Please take my review with a grain of salt - this isn't the type of book I usually seek out, but Sonora writes so well & kept me interested in the characters. I was just hoping for a lot more horror, and I wish it would have been woven throughout the story instead of mainly kept at the beginning and end.
Most of the beginning of the book is focused on Cara's back story, and I found her to be a relatable character. There's a lot of information about why she is the way that she is, and the coming of age portion of Without Condition was great. Cara reminds me of Aileen Wuornos a little bit (but not as dark and without the mental health issues on the level Aileen had). At times I got annoyed with how she treated other characters, but overall I liked Cara. The loneliness in this book is palpable, and Sonora is a talented author.
I felt like the end was a little bit far-fetched, but not enough to turn me off of the book. Even though I didn't love how everything turned out, Without Condition is an enjoyable read. If you like both romance and horror, I highly recommend this book. This would even be a good stepping stone for a romance fan checking who wants to check out horror. Thank you so much to the author for sending me a copy to review! Without Condition will be out on 2/12.
errantdreams's review against another edition
5.0
This doesn’t line up with the handful of other stories I’ve seen that come at things from a serial killer’s point of view. It isn’t the stream-of-consciousness of an unhinged mind. It isn’t highly stylized or hyper-violent. It isn’t a cat-and-mouse game with the authorities. And it isn’t wacky humor. Instead, it turns a social outcast into a protagonist I could actually get invested in. I found myself rooting for her relationship with Jackson, wanting her to be able to trust him and be happy with him. The relationship has its ups and downs. Jackson’s friend Moira sets off some of Cara’s old triggers. Jackson also has a particularly bad relationship with his mother, which does set Cara off a bit as well. Cara’s mother also isn’t handling her new independence very well. The more time Cara spends with Jackson, the more unhappy her mother becomes. And as Cara and her mother’s relationship deteriorates, it becomes harder for Cara to remain in control of her impulses.
The story is really all about Cara as a character and about her relationships with Jackson and her mother. It isn’t a thriller and it doesn’t pit Cara against the authorities. If anything, it demystifies the serial killer compared to most media depictions, revealing her to be messed-up, but still fundamentally human. If you’re looking for a very thoughtful and unusual look into the mind of a serial killer, as well as a wonderful relationship story, this is an excellent read!
Content note: animal harm, animal death, and sexual content.
Original review posted on my blog: http://www.errantdreams.com/2019/07/review-without-condition-sonora-taylor/
The story is really all about Cara as a character and about her relationships with Jackson and her mother. It isn’t a thriller and it doesn’t pit Cara against the authorities. If anything, it demystifies the serial killer compared to most media depictions, revealing her to be messed-up, but still fundamentally human. If you’re looking for a very thoughtful and unusual look into the mind of a serial killer, as well as a wonderful relationship story, this is an excellent read!
Content note: animal harm, animal death, and sexual content.
Original review posted on my blog: http://www.errantdreams.com/2019/07/review-without-condition-sonora-taylor/
lauriereadslohf's review against another edition
4.0
4 1/2 Stars
I fell into this dark character study from the very start and never fell out of it which is a bit of a rarity for me.
Without Condition takes its time building the story and focuses on the coming of age of a lonely little girl named Cara who lives on an isolated former pumpkin farm with only her mother and a farm hand for company. Cara looks forward to school and meeting kids her age but a bad encounter in kindergarten sets the tone for the rest of her school years. She’s bullied and whispered about and as a result she withdraws and doesn’t bother making friends with the girls. It’s easier with the boys anyway because they don’t whisper about her. But as she grows older she realizes they do something even worse. They talk and they embellish and her reputation gets trashed by everyone. Those ugly voices Cara hears whispering in her head get louder and louder until she finds an outlet to quiet them . . .
I LOVED the first half of this story. It’s a slow build but it is such an interesting tale. I was 100% invested in Cara as a character. She is most definitely “off” but it’s an understandable type of “off” because we get to know Cara intimately. She is prickly and she is intense but I never disliked her. It’s dark as hell and it doesn’t shy away from any of the viciousness dwelling within people and Cara most especially. Would she have turned out the way she did had she not been bullied and shunned and failed by the adults in her life? That’s hard to say. I thought the author did a great job creating Cara and all of the life events and complexities filling her tortured mind.
About halfway or so in the book changes focus and it becomes a dark romance. Cara meets a man named Jackson. He’s the first man that she hasn’t wanted to kill, lol, and things get very complicated in Cara’s head. Her life of work and spending time with her slightly off mom, who supports her long truck rides to “quiet” the voices, starts to morph into something else. Cara is falling in love but she has so many secrets that a normal life with Jackson may be impossible no matter how badly she now desires it. This section of the book is most definitely a romance with some wickedly dark edges. That’s my favorite kind, to be honest, so I was the perfect reader for this one. Cara isn’t the only one with painful memories in her past. Jackson is a wounded person and his head is a wee bit messed up as well but is he damaged enough to accept someone like Cara?
This is not an action packed, slice and dice type of horror novel and it’s a little slow in the middle but that worked just fine for me. The entire book is a deep dive into the tortured mind of characters deeply scarred by the words of others and I found it endlessly fascinating. The writing grabbed me and wouldn’t let go. I can honestly say my heart was worried for both Cara and Jackson which lends itself to the strong character development. Without Condition is about 75% dark romance and 25% horror novel so if you enjoy the two as much as I do you’ll want to put this moody little gem on your must-read RIGHT NOW list.
I fell into this dark character study from the very start and never fell out of it which is a bit of a rarity for me.
Without Condition takes its time building the story and focuses on the coming of age of a lonely little girl named Cara who lives on an isolated former pumpkin farm with only her mother and a farm hand for company. Cara looks forward to school and meeting kids her age but a bad encounter in kindergarten sets the tone for the rest of her school years. She’s bullied and whispered about and as a result she withdraws and doesn’t bother making friends with the girls. It’s easier with the boys anyway because they don’t whisper about her. But as she grows older she realizes they do something even worse. They talk and they embellish and her reputation gets trashed by everyone. Those ugly voices Cara hears whispering in her head get louder and louder until she finds an outlet to quiet them . . .
I LOVED the first half of this story. It’s a slow build but it is such an interesting tale. I was 100% invested in Cara as a character. She is most definitely “off” but it’s an understandable type of “off” because we get to know Cara intimately. She is prickly and she is intense but I never disliked her. It’s dark as hell and it doesn’t shy away from any of the viciousness dwelling within people and Cara most especially. Would she have turned out the way she did had she not been bullied and shunned and failed by the adults in her life? That’s hard to say. I thought the author did a great job creating Cara and all of the life events and complexities filling her tortured mind.
About halfway or so in the book changes focus and it becomes a dark romance. Cara meets a man named Jackson. He’s the first man that she hasn’t wanted to kill, lol, and things get very complicated in Cara’s head. Her life of work and spending time with her slightly off mom, who supports her long truck rides to “quiet” the voices, starts to morph into something else. Cara is falling in love but she has so many secrets that a normal life with Jackson may be impossible no matter how badly she now desires it. This section of the book is most definitely a romance with some wickedly dark edges. That’s my favorite kind, to be honest, so I was the perfect reader for this one. Cara isn’t the only one with painful memories in her past. Jackson is a wounded person and his head is a wee bit messed up as well but is he damaged enough to accept someone like Cara?
This is not an action packed, slice and dice type of horror novel and it’s a little slow in the middle but that worked just fine for me. The entire book is a deep dive into the tortured mind of characters deeply scarred by the words of others and I found it endlessly fascinating. The writing grabbed me and wouldn’t let go. I can honestly say my heart was worried for both Cara and Jackson which lends itself to the strong character development. Without Condition is about 75% dark romance and 25% horror novel so if you enjoy the two as much as I do you’ll want to put this moody little gem on your must-read RIGHT NOW list.
tracyreads's review
4.0
3.5 -4 stars.
I read Without Condition as part of a group read with a few of the other members of the Ladies of Horror Fiction team. We had some amazing conversations regarding some of the life issues brought up in this novel, and maybe - just maybe - some entertaining discussion covering body disposal techniques. It got dark, people.
The first chapter of this book hooked me in quickly. Cara put me in mind of a female vigilante/serial killer and I loooove books on this topic. In fact, the first 1/3 of the novel and the last few chapters had me struggling to STOP reading in order to not get ahead of the other members of the group read. Taylor has serious writing chops and her characters are so true to life and engaging; this is a huge selling point for me.
The middle third of the book lost me a bit. I think, while this book definitely includes horror, it has a bit too much romance for me as a reader. Now - it's not frilly frou-frou romance...it is DARK. I found myself wanting more of what I found in the beginning and ending thirds of the book because once I had a taste for the ruthlessness in those sections, I missed it in the middle.
I just know people are really going to dig this book. As I always say in reviews like this, I'm looking forward to reading more from this author!!
I read Without Condition as part of a group read with a few of the other members of the Ladies of Horror Fiction team. We had some amazing conversations regarding some of the life issues brought up in this novel, and maybe - just maybe - some entertaining discussion covering body disposal techniques. It got dark, people.
The first chapter of this book hooked me in quickly. Cara put me in mind of a female vigilante/serial killer and I loooove books on this topic. In fact, the first 1/3 of the novel and the last few chapters had me struggling to STOP reading in order to not get ahead of the other members of the group read. Taylor has serious writing chops and her characters are so true to life and engaging; this is a huge selling point for me.
The middle third of the book lost me a bit. I think, while this book definitely includes horror, it has a bit too much romance for me as a reader. Now - it's not frilly frou-frou romance...it is DARK. I found myself wanting more of what I found in the beginning and ending thirds of the book because once I had a taste for the ruthlessness in those sections, I missed it in the middle.
I just know people are really going to dig this book. As I always say in reviews like this, I'm looking forward to reading more from this author!!
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