Reviews tagging 'Blood'

The Girls I've Been by Tess Sharpe

169 reviews

katherinel's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Murder, Blood, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Abortion

jbaysinger_1069's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-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

5.0

Here's what I'm working with: goosebumps, heart racing and my stomach occasionally dropping. Plan #1: See this as soon as it is on released on Neflix! This book was a whirlwind of ups and downs. It was a wham Bam thank you ma'ma straight into this thrilling and suspenseful bank heist. The emotional rollercoaster that Nora  O’Malley lead me on while recounting her childhood and what she had become. "What didn’t kill me didn’t make me stronger; what didn’t kill me made me a victim. But I made me stronger. I made me a survivor.”  Iris and Nora are some of the most badass teenagers I have ever met. It just makes me so sad the things they had to overcome not only during the heist but their entire lives. 

Even with extreme language and really tough topics this book is 100% worth the read! I can't see what they do with it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Blood, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Death, Torture, Violence, Gaslighting, and Physical abuse

asperomari's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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: Gun violence, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Blood, Sexism, Pedophilia, Rape, Violence, Chronic illness, and Death

Minor: Medical content

kamilla112's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual violence, Blood, and Emotional abuse

leahkarge's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Chronic illness, Sexism, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Rape, Blood, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Bullying, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, Grief, and Mental illness

Moderate: Vomit, Gun violence, and Abortion

jorgilusty'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? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Things I liked:

I have mixed feelings about this book. There’s things I loved and things the author did that just really got under my skin. Maybe because it was a YA it just wasn’t giving what I needed.

-fast paced, tense, needed to find out what happened
-interesting premise/love a good con
-I 

Things that I didn’t like: 
-I feel like Nora is supposed to be a morally grey character but I think it was overdone and she never actually worked on her flaws much minus one therapy session we got a peek into
-give us more about Lee!! She was my fav but we just got vague hints about her past and that bothered me
- the author using trauma as basically three characters whole personalities. like, I get it but it just seems far fetched to me 
- moral platitudes and virtue signaling from the author that gets gets old fast. I feel like she just took a bunch of sensitive topics and threw them together and it just left a lot unsaid. like, if you’re going to write about these things you should take the time to flesh them out properly and not just throw every single sensitive topic ever  in for the sake of being “woke” or whatever.
-open ending that left a lot to question. At least there was assured mutual destruction that makes it more palatable but still, would have been nice to have it wrapped up 
- a love triangle with 0 hard feelings or jealousy? I don’t know, it’s a little too trope-y and convenient for me

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Sexual violence, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Vomit

Minor: Sexual harassment and Abortion

ameliaj_adams's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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

3.75

I read this entire book in one sitting! The story is so tense and twisty and I just couldn’t put it down. The book tells the story of her past as a con artist simultaneously with her and her girlfriend and best friends trying to escape during a bank heist whilst they are being held hostage. The two intertwine really well and the story is a fast paced, tense read. Would definitely recommend, particularly if you’re a fan of a Good Girl’s Guide to Murder! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Death, Gun violence, and Blood

tigger89's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Told in a series of short, punchy chapters, alternating between the present day and flashbacks to Nora's early life, this story races along, leaping from plan to plan as the situation develops. To be clear, this book is a power fantasy, throwing realism aside to deliver a story of abuse, manipulation, and the ability to find the strength to stand up for yourself when there's nobody coming to save you. This isn't a bad thing, but it's good to set expectations going in.

The exploration of Nora's identities was very well done. While the younger two had few details, I feel that I really got to know Haley, Katie and Ashley. The trauma incurred and their responses to it were the most realistic part of the book, to the point where I suggest checking content warnings before reading. Additionally, I really liked the dynamic between Nora, Iris and Wes, especially how Iris stepped into the role of Nora's accomplice. It's always nice to see explicitly bisexual characters, and here we've got two of them!

I wasn't so much a fan of how the past was revealed. It skipped around, teasing without telling, and I sometimes wasn't sure when or who I was. There were also a few mysteries teased but never delivered upon, such as the forest fire. It was made out to be a whole big thing, but we never saw the moment go down, and were left to piece together what might have happened from what came before and after. That seemed odd to me, given that it was such a pivotal moment in the Nora-Wes-Iris drama.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Violence, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Pedophilia, Rape, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, and Bullying

Minor: Pregnancy and Abortion

magicmerlia's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, and Child abuse

Moderate: Blood, Sexual assault, Death, and Violence

Minor: Chronic illness, Rape, and Outing

ellajappinen's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Child abuse, Death, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Abortion