Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

The Villa by Rachel Hawkins

46 reviews

lialovesreading's review

challenging dark emotional reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Infidelity, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Child death, and Cursing

Moderate: Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Violence, and Vomit

Minor: Miscarriage and Pregnancy

chanlo1994's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Blood, Drug use, Death, Alcohol, Pregnancy, Murder, Toxic relationship, and Infidelity

Moderate: Vomit, Child death, and Chronic illness

Minor: Miscarriage

Loved the twists

savheath's review

adventurous dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Murder

Moderate: Suicide, Gore, and Toxic relationship

mars_loves_books's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Toxic relationship, and Infidelity

Minor: Child death and Suicide

novelideea's review

challenging dark medium-paced

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Sexual content, Misogyny, and Infidelity

audaroundtheworld's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Toxic relationship, Death, Toxic friendship, and Drug use

Minor: Miscarriage and Suicide

katlynnnxo's review

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Miscarriage, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Infidelity, and Terminal illness

ladylothlorien's review

dark mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

Really enjoyed this! I have a bad habit of starting books that I haven’t really properly read the blurb for and then being like “oh this is a ‘Mary Shelley writing Frankenstein’ retelling!” Then again it does add a level of delight to realize this as I’m reading so maybe it’s for the best? As with her Jane Eyre retelling, Hawkins isn’t slavishly devoted to the source material so she jumps in very interesting directions with this story. I do also have a weakness for historical fiction-type stories where someone in the present is connecting with someone from the past and both stories are unfolding together for the reader. I identified more with Emily I think than Mari but that’s more of my own personal experiences that were similar to Emily’s. Although I’ve never had a friend like Chess thank goodness. 

once again though the ending is kind of throwing me off. Like of course killing Matt isn’t going to result in a breakup with Chess like Emily was hoping for in a mirror of what she thought happened with Mari and Lara. It’s just going to make Emily beholden to Chess forever since Chess knows this huge secret. I don’t really have a problem with that. I don’t really like the revelation that pretty much all of the Mari sections were fictionalized by Mari to make what happened more interesting. Maybe it’s less the betrayal of Emily who clearly used it as a blueprint for freedom and more the betrayal of me the reader. I’m sensitive to stories where the author (in this case Hawkins) deliberately lies about something without there being any indication of it that I can point to and go “oh I missed that hint!” <\spoiler>

So the ending ended up knocking off a star but I still overall enjoyed the book. And I’m really enjoying Hawkins’s penchant for these sort of literary retellings, so definitely going to read more by her. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Blood, Child death, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Chronic illness, Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Suicide, and Vomit

The age gap relationship is Mari and Pierce who got together when Mari was still an underage teen, but Mari is 19 for most of the events of this book. Emily is also going thru a contentious divorce which for anyone who has been thru one might feel uncomfortably familiar.

heypretty52's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Addiction, Alcohol, Child death, Death, Grief, Infidelity, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Cancer, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Vomit, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Violence, Suicide, Stalking, and Blood

The grieving of an description of child death is explicit. The miscarriage by another character isn't explicit and is only briefly mentioned.

fkshg8465's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

3.5

Really wanted to hate this book. The women are awful, and I hate when women mistrust each other and go out of there ways to treat each other down. The patriarchy makes it hard enough to live, and we should be building a better world for other women together, so it was really easy to hate these “best friends,” but I have to about the multilayered storied approach worked and was clever enough for me to keep reading, and I really dislike myself at this moment for it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Infidelity, Murder, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Gaslighting, Death, Torture, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Child death