Reviews tagging 'Blood'

The Between: Novel, A by Tananarive Due

6 reviews

takecoverbooks's review against another edition

dark reflective tense medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Terminal illness, Medical content, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Addiction, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Homophobia, Toxic relationship, and Stalking

noveltay's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Not enough background imo to be 5 starts, as the beginning went fast along with the rest of the book. But still a great horror. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

jonathaneden's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Stalking, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content, Blood, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Terminal illness

sdsmith80's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense 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

5.0

<strong>What a debut!</strong>

I read this book for a bookclub I'm in (shout-out to the Ghoulish Discord bookclub!) and I'm very pleased with the pick! It is truly very well written, and it's really hard to believe that this was her debut novel. The characterizations were excellent, and it was easy to slip into Hilton's head as he felt like he was losing his sanity. 

By the end I very much cared about each person, and dreaded the conclusion. Even though there were plenty of clues leading up to the final moments, and I had a good idea of what was going to happen, it didn't lessen the emotional impact when it came. 

There is a reason Tananarive Due is so well regarded, and this book illustrates it clearly.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Hate crime, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Mental illness, Sexual content, and Car accident

Minor: Gun violence, Homophobia, and Grief

lilias's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Racial slurs, Sexual content, and Grief

Moderate: Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Death of parent

seawarrior's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Dazzling with imagery and mystery, The Between presents a horror story on multiple fronts that keeps the reader disoriented with every chapter. Due's characters propel the plot, where their rich histories and personalities provide the necessary depth to pull us into their world. The most frightening part of this story is not so much what Hilton is experiencing supernaturally, but how he lacks the knowledge to make sense of it once he realizes that his family is under threat by a racist terrorist who is undoubtedly real. The secret of his dreams unravels slowly, but once revealed, the surrounding unexplainable events instantly line up into a rational narrative, which I appreciate as a reader who aches for stories to make sense.

I highly recommend this book to those interested in unconventional horror novels, but please be warned that the threat of racist violence hangs heavy over the James family throughout most of the book, and the verbal intimidations issued by the perpetrator are more than disturbing to read. If that's something you're able to stomach though, I imagine you will also become quickly engrossed in this story and Due's skill in writing it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Terminal illness, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, and Medical content

Minor: Homophobia