Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter

73 reviews

knitwitte8's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This one kept me engaged from early on - which is exactly what I look for in a book. It's graphic and difficult at points, so that's something to get through. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Death, Drug use, Grief, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Murder, Blood, Confinement, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Gore, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment

jessmv87's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Gore, Drug use, Grief, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Car accident, Gun violence, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Gaslighting, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Rape, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Murder, Misogyny, Suicide, and Torture

sassidylooksy's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Domestic abuse, and Sexual violence

stephnew's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Blood, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Violence, Suicide, Gore, and Gun violence

ratmuva's review

adventurous dark hopeful mysterious sad tense slow-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? It's complicated

4.25

I put this book down for months around chapter seven, but once I picked it back up I was hooked. Although it was a bit predictable, there were definitely twists and points caught me off guard. Picked up two more books by the author in hopes they’re similar! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Excrement, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Murder, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, Sexual violence, Rape, Death, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Grief, Sexism, Torture, Confinement, and Toxic relationship

daydaybookbay's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

3.25

I rated this book a 6.5 out of 10. The descriptions of torture get to be a bit much at times. I guessed the big twists, but I enjoyed the storyline and the small reveals. The torture content makes me question if I would read it again.

I do not recommend this book if you are triggered at all by: abuse. child abduction, drug abuse, gore, gun violence, murder, parent death, pedophilia, rape, sexual assult, suicide, torture. 

Please be aware that all of these topics and more are focused on at one point or another in this novel.

The characters are well developed and rounded. As a reader, you become invested in both the main characters as well as other characters (the father Sam, and Julia). I felt the pacing was steady and gave the perfect amount of time for buildup and resolution. Slaughter's storytelling is amazing.

Back to this trigger warnings bit. At some point, is this graphic torture for shock value? Kidnapping, torture, rape, and murder of teenagers... I almost stopped reading it. I can see it happening as I'm reading, so to have someone described as being raped by a machete... or the urine waterboarding. nope. Not my thing. Just the ongoing shock-value events in the second half are what knocked the rating down a bit.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Torture, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Physical abuse, Rape, Alcohol, Sexual violence, and Violence

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Alcoholism, Gaslighting, Addiction, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, and Infidelity

Minor: Trafficking, Stalking, Classism, Car accident, Cursing, Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Domestic abuse, and Infidelity

amandareads666's review against another edition

dark 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? It's complicated

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Sexual assault, Violence, Rape, Physical abuse, Fatphobia, Drug abuse, Murder, Stalking, Sexual violence, Death, Body shaming, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Torture, Suicide, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Body horror, Blood, Emotional abuse, Child death, and Car accident

ssyme's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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: Murder, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Violence, Torture, Blood, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Blood, Grief, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Rape, Addiction, Excrement, and Gaslighting

heyitsem_'s review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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: Death of parent, Drug abuse, Blood, Body horror, Car accident, Child abuse, Drug use, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Addiction, Death, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, and Domestic abuse

mirrorchaser's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-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

4.0

This was a really complicated read, it was difficult to read... but difficult like a train wreck, you just couldn't look away. I'm not going to lie, most of the twists got me (which is really unusual for me in thrillers!) I had no idea who to trust or what to expect. You know all of these many parts are loosely related but you have no idea exactly how until the very end. 

I will warn readers that this is about as close to splatterpunk as a mainstream thriller can go before it tips genres. I would not read this book if you have pretty much any triggers at all. This book is disturbing and really stays with you. It makes you distrustful. Consider your mental health first when you decide to read this.

I would go further into detail, but other reviews have already done a great job summarizing!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Excrement, Infidelity, Body horror, Physical abuse, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Murder, and Torture

Moderate: Drug use, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Body shaming, Gaslighting, Car accident, Confinement, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Stalking, and Addiction