Reviews with content warning for Sexual violence - Motel Styx

Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Motel Styx by Jonathan Butcher, Michelle von Eschen, Michelle von Eschen

10 reviews

flashbulbelf's review against another edition

4.0

Content Warnings

h0use0fwind's review against another edition

5.0

dark tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

5 stars because that ending was 🤌🏻💋
Bloody. Gory. F*cked up in so many ways. But I read this whole book in one sitting. Check the triggers before diving into it. If you don’t have any, I recommend this 100%!!!

Content Warnings

nalakoala's review against another edition

4.5

dark tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Wow. What a book. I loved this, one of the most realistic yet still shocking and fun horror books I've read to date. Would reccomend to anyone who can handle the topic of n3cr0ph1li4.

Loved it!

Content Warnings

sinsandscares's review against another edition

4.75

challenging dark emotional funny sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.75

To the authors: What the f***?

This book was so much darker and more disgusting than I expected, but in the best way. Motel Styx follows Ellis Mercer as he checks into a necrotel—a motel where people legally indulge in the "recreational use" of corpses—to recover his wife’s remains. The story is twisted, explicit, and unsettling, but the writing is sharp, and the humor (much-needed, trust me) was perfectly placed.

I have to say, there’s only one likeable character in the whole book—and it’s not Ellis. But in a story about necrophiles, does there need to be? That’s the only thing keeping me from a full 5 stars.

I’m not a splatterpunk expert, but this went beyond what I was expecting in terms of shock value. That said, it never felt like it was gross just to be gross. The story itself was unique and so well-executed that I couldn’t look away. The fake hotel reviews and political statements scattered throughout were hilarious and added just the right amount of absurdity to balance the darkness. Oh, and the authors went all out with a real website for the motel (motelstyx.com), which is just as insane as the book itself.

Motel Styx is disturbing, thought-provoking, and unlike anything I’ve ever read. I’m giving it 4.75 stars, and now I need something fluffy to cleanse my brain.

Content Warnings

rachel_jozie's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

*I'm not going to give you the whole 'what this book is about' blurb - you can read that elsewhere.

1. I don’t know what I was expecting with this one, but it surely wasn’t what I got – I say that in the best way possible, though! Motel Styx was dark and delicious, but I would rather not book my stay…

2. This whole storyline was unique; I can’t think of another story I’ve read that gave me similar vibes, which is super impressive, in my opinion. I really loved everything about this read, but perhaps my favorite part was that each chapter started with some sort of review/tweet/social media post regarding the ‘necrotel’ or the ethical and moral questions surrounding the re-instatement of the Lazarus Act. These were all realistically written for what you see on social media and very creative; they also expertly set the stage for each chapter. I love when a book does something like this, and Motel Styx did it better than any other book I’ve read so far.

3. Ellis, our MC, was quite…um, complex. I don’t want to give anything away, but his motivations at the beginning of the book were vastly different than what they were at the end. Little by little, his façade was chipped away, and what we were left with at the end of the book was a complete 180 from what we began with. I started out thinking he was such a sweet and emotionally injured man just searching for answers, and by the end, I absolutely hated him.

4. Along those lines: all the characters were so compelling! No one was perfect, and even the people you started out disliking have at least one situation where you find them endearing. Oh, and those endearing characters have something about them that will give you the ick. They were so flawed it was hard not to see parts of yourself in them, but hopefully not in the same situations 😉

So good!

Content Warnings