Reviews tagging 'Blood'

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

464 reviews

dkamada's review against another edition

dark sad 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

1.5

Obnoxious college boys with over inflated egos do some murders and drink too much

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol and Alcoholism

Minor: Animal death, Drug abuse, Animal cruelty, Murder, Blood, Death, Drug use, Misogyny, Classism, Gun violence, Mental illness, Incest, Addiction, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Physical abuse, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship

dillydallyallie's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

WOW.

OH MY GOD THAT ENDING I WAS FREAKING ON A PLANE READING THAT

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Incest, Physical abuse, Vomit, Grief, Addiction, Car accident, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Drug abuse, Toxic friendship, Blood, Racial slurs, Suicide attempt, Classism, Cursing, Drug use, Death, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

alenaecook's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Incest, Blood, Cursing, Gun violence, Addiction, Drug abuse, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Murder, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicide

naomi_salters's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Car accident, Chronic illness, Drug use, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Cursing, Drug abuse, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Grief, Incest, Suicide, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Blood, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Medical content, Self harm, Sexism, Addiction, Death, Body shaming, Hate crime, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Bullying, Homophobia, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Animal death, and Violence

arthedgehog's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Incest, Gaslighting, Drug use, Drug abuse, Addiction, Grief, Gore, Gun violence, Blood, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Death, and Classism

Moderate: Cursing, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Xenophobia, Gore, Death, Alcohol, Incest, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Racism, Toxic friendship, Forced institutionalization, Classism, Gun violence, Animal death, Islamophobia, Homophobia, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Murder, Infidelity, Antisemitism, Drug use, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Gun violence, Gore, Drug use, Classism, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Medical content, Islamophobia, Cursing, Sexual assault, Rape, Abandonment, Car accident, Suicide, Sexism, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug abuse, Biphobia, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Mental illness, Adult/minor relationship, Religious bigotry, Eating disorder, Deportation, Racism, Homophobia, Antisemitism, Misogyny, and Incest

phantomeyer's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense slow-paced

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

2.5

I kept waiting for this book to impress me. It never delivered. It did a good job of sustaining a vague tension, but it was also sufficiently hazy that the (likely intentional) feeling of unreality meant that I was unmoved by the plot. Plus, I had very little interest in the characters: a bunch of pretentious caricatures the lot of them. If I’m going to be told a murder story in first person, it needs to be a hell of a lot more gripping. And no, I don’t mean fast-paced. I mean more thought-provoking/eerie/evocative…. Basically somehow more interesting and entertaining. I don’t know what it says about me that many reviewers found this book to be “crazy” and really dark, whereas I mostly felt underwhelmed?

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Classism, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Homophobia, Murder, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Antisemitism, Sexual assault, Blood, Cultural appropriation, Gore, Incest, Death, Drug use, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, and Suicide attempt

libbywightman's review against another edition

there was a solid 200 pages where the book was very good and engaging but after the first 200 pages i found it very difficult to keep reading. We don’t get to dive into the character very much and one of the only interesting characters gets killed off. the author drops random story lines then doesn’t progress them at all and they cease to exist which was very irritating for me as a reader. I like dark academia books but this one was a major let down for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Suicide, Death, Drug use, Blood, Car accident, Violence, and Murder

17michaelasully's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Drug use, Incest, Body shaming, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Blood, Sexual content, Racism, Alcoholism, Violence, Toxic friendship, Antisemitism, Sexism, Animal cruelty, Fatphobia, Animal death, Alcohol, and Suicide attempt

sakisreads's review

I felt quite bored trying to read it. I think I unfortunately bought into the BookTok hype 😢 But I will read the synopsis because I have seen some spoilers and they seem dramatic. Sorry! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Classism, and Body horror

hmw102's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

2.5

The writing itself was good and very poetic at times, but the characters were just so unlikeable and it was soooo hard to get through. I just didn’t love the author’s voice, which I know is supposed to be Richard’s attitude but god I just hated it lol. I did find myself hooked at several different points in the book, but it was not a worthwhile read for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Death, Self harm, Violence, Alcoholism, Gore, Murder, Gun violence, and Suicide

Moderate: Antisemitism, Misogyny, Sexism, Homophobia, Racial slurs, and Racism