Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

The Whispers by Ashley Audrain

34 reviews

kshertz's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Wow. It’s the drama of the suburbs. Infidelity and raising children. The moms clubs. All the secrets finally being revealed. It kept me hooked and I thought it was fascinating. Whitney’s twins magically disappearing was a plot hole And the only reason it’s not 5 stars! 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death, Blood, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Body shaming, Miscarriage, Infertility, and Infidelity

jennabeck13's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

The Whispers by Ashley Audrain

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (3.5/5)

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

About 325 pages

The Whispers tells the stories of four women (Whitney, Rebecca, Blair, and Mara) living on Harlow St. Mara is an older woman who feels disconnected from her young neighbors and her husband. Blair is the picture-perfect stay-at-home mom, but lately, she's felt a sense of longing for something more. Rebecca is an extremely successful ER doctor who desperately wants to become a mother but has suffered several miscarriages. And Whitney is a career-driven woman with three kids that she isn’t very interested in. Rumors are continuously whispered on their street. Especially when Whitney is caught screaming at her son, Xavier, at a neighborhood barbecue. The whispers get louder when months later, Xavier is hospitalized after “falling” out of his bedroom window. As we read about what happened in the months leading up to the incident and the days after, we learn these four women are more entangled than they seem.

This was a solid mix between a family drama and a thriller that I couldn’t put down. The pacing in the beginning was slow but picked up dramatically about halfway through. I loved trying to figure out the deeper connections between the women, and Audrain did a terrific job building a lot of tension in the book. She also tackled a lot of the complexities of womanhood in an impactful matter. Her other book, The Push, is currently on my shelf and I’m excited to hopefully read that one soon! 

Favorite Quote: “They were broken, but they had not shattered together.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Miscarriage

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Infertility, Medical trauma, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

zosiablue's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I truly think Audrain is a horror writer who hasn't yet embraced the genre. This is ostensibly a domestic drama that focuses on an incident where a child falls out a window, which unravels a series of secrets and affairs and betrayals. And I appreciate all the different kinds of motherhood she portrays (and I think actual parents would appreciate it more). But she's riding the line between the domestic drama and straight-up gory horror and I want her to go all the way. The genre mashup could work, but it doesn't here - it's whiplash instead of clever. But the potential is there. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Abortion, Medical content, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, and Child abuse

Moderate: Alcohol, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Infidelity, and Bullying

nreyno's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-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: Miscarriage

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Medical trauma, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, Infertility, and Injury/Injury detail

charrrchar's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, and Sexual content

sammietee's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and Miscarriage

kaylameaux's review against another edition

emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Death, Infertility, Grief, Infidelity, Medical content, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Blood, and Cursing

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Toxic friendship

Minor: Alcohol, Bullying, Classism, and Abandonment

lauren_shilling's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

I read this book a lot faster than I was expecting to. There was so much going on, and so much happening constantly throughout it that it just kept me completely hooked the entire time. There wasn't a dull moment or a character's point of view I liked less than the others. All four women had such compelling point of views and compelling storylines and the way they all weaved together as the story progressed was incredible. It was exactly what I was in the mood for and gave me everything I needed to read. The writing itself was really good too, and I loved the different portrayals of motherhood and marriage from all the different points of view. Overall, I would highly recommend this book, it was so good! As with most thrillers/darker books though make sure to check trigger warnings!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Child death, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Medical content

princessxnicole's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Grief, Miscarriage, and Blood

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Bullying, and Death

aedgeworth27's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Suicide attempt, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Infertility