Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Jackal by Erin E. Adams

19 reviews

mfrisk's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I really enjoyed this book. It touches on the history of the area, has a good build up of thriller elements, and a lot of social commentary around race and class. Where it gets a bit confusing is the more supernatural/horror elements that while interesting I’m not sure are weaved into the story enough early on for them to feel fully realized. That being said I really look forward to reading more from this author given that this was a debut. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Animal cruelty, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Racism, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Blood, Murder, Grief, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Eating disorder, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Sexual content

mollieweitzman's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

This book was really good and the first two acts were amazing but by the third there just got to be so many plot twists and plot holes that it kind of just felt overwhelming. And little things too that got on my nerves like can a nine-year old really recite that many names from memory? A little unrealistic. Some of the magic didn’t really make sense, a lot left unexplained and not in a mysterious way like in an unfinished thought way with the ends not tied up. Overall a really good thrilling read with a supernatural element. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gore, Toxic relationship, Murder, Violence, Racism, and Stalking

Moderate: Sexual violence

boba_n_books's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This unique book takes elements of mystery and thriller and merges them with some science fiction. I enjoyed all the twists and turns throughout the search for Caroline and how Liz uncovers the past to help unravel the future. The shadow element is intriguing, and I wish it had been fleshed (lol) out more. 

Though the book had its slow moments, I really enjoyed the story and appreciated the deeper meaning and commentary about the advancement of the Black community and the suppression of Black stories. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Blood, Kidnapping, Racism, Gore, and Murder

Moderate: Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Grief, Animal death, Death of parent, Child death, Sexual content, Physical abuse, and Domestic abuse

kace's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Death, Kidnapping, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Racism, Hate crime, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Blood, and Body horror

Moderate: Vomit, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Gun violence, Stalking, Sexual violence, Eating disorder, Cannibalism, Domestic abuse, Classism, Alcoholism, Suicide, Emotional abuse, and Alcohol

sarahbliss's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Kidnapping, Racism, Animal death, Violence, Toxic friendship, and Child death

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, and Alcoholism

mysterymom40's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Torture, Kidnapping, Gore, Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Hate crime

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Stalking, Racism, Body horror, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Toxic friendship, and Confinement

Minor: Abandonment, Bullying, and Adult/minor relationship

ktdakotareads's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Racism, Animal death, Child death, Violence, Death of parent, Gore, Medical content, Blood, Classism, and Death

Moderate: Stalking, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

mondovertigo's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Murder, Gore, Animal death, Child death, and Blood

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse

Minor: Alcoholism, Suicide, and Pedophilia

hollyk's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

2.5

I feel incredibly torn on this book. I don't know what this book wanted to be, and I don't think it did either.
Jackal follows Liz Rocher, who is returning to her small hometown for her best friend's wedding. While there, her best friend's young daughter (who is mixed) goes missing. This sets Liz on a mission to find her best friend's daughter, but in the process Liz discovers a harrowing pattern--young Black girls going missing every summer for decades.
This book is beautifully written. Let me start with that. Jackal does not shy away from race, class, and gender, and I have many sections highlighted because of how beautiful and poignant they were. 
That being said, the overarching plot is relatively simple, but the supernatural twist didn't really add anything to the story, and rather took away from it. There were chapters about the girls who went missing from Jack's perspective, which was highly confusing (as it uses the same POV as Liz). 

This book addresses police indifference to POC missing persons cases, the small town covert racism (and overt as well) through the lens of Liz, who is a complicated person. She's hard to read for a good chunk of the book--and we're in her head, but as her story unfolds, her personality does as well.

I think this book set out to do too much--the combo of real-life horror and supernatural horror didn't blend well here as the rest of the book was more based in the real world.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me this e-arc in exchange for my honest review!:)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Classism, Hate crime, Murder, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Violence, Animal cruelty, and Grief

Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Vomit