Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

The Drowning Woman by Robyn Harding

50 reviews

snslagle's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Pandemic/Epidemic, Emotional abuse, and Suicidal thoughts

smashbooks's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad 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

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse

Minor: Suicide

unicornpng's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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

2.5

It starts strong, but the pacing is all over the place and the women are super gullible. :(

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Infidelity, and Sexual content

Minor: Blood and Murder

kelpish's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

2.75

I'm not sure if I read the same book as everyone else...

I guessed nearly every "twist" in The Drowning Woman's first half. As the reader, some things seemed so obvious to me that I was shocked the characters weren't picking up on (especially since it is written in first-person perspective). However, all of the things I anticipated happened around the middle of the book, so I was looking forward to what unfolded in the rest of the book.

The second half felt disjointed from the first half and it dragged at a glacial pace. Whenever it seemed like something exciting would happen, it never panned out. Meandering through events that could have turned into something exciting felt monotonous. I wanted to see the book through to the end, but it was a bit of a slog.

The perspective shift to be solely from Hazel's perspective (minus the epilogue) was odd. I am guessing the author wanted readers to see the plot's consequences from the book's first half, but I was expecting it to be more exciting than a largely inconsequential legal drama and some minor Gone Girl-esque antics. I was waiting for Carter's death to be pinned on Hazel now or for Lee to rejoin the plot to help Hazel get out from under her abusive husband's schemes one last time. It would have mirrored the plot from the first half and would have been more likely to be more thrilling than the actual snoozefest it was.

All in all, it was a book that could have been pretty good but frequently stumbled and shambled along.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Domestic abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Confinement

Minor: Death of parent

c_m_m's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse and Emotional abuse

disguisedposer's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Murder, Suicide attempt, Violence, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Confinement, Infidelity, Physical abuse, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Grief, and Dementia

kylieduncan's review against another edition

dark tense fast-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

3.5

Trigger warning: suicide, slavery

I was going to give this a 4 but the ending left me questions moving it back down to 3.5. A pretty good thriller that kept me invested for most of the book. There were parts of the ending that I really did not understand. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Slavery, and Suicide attempt

Trigger warning: suicide, slavery I was going to give this a 4 but the ending left me questions moving it back down to 3.5. A pretty good thriller that kept me invested for most of the book. There were parts of the ending that I really did not understand.

michelle_my_belle's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

3.75

 This was a solid thriller. It was fast-paced, suspenseful, and full of twists and secrets. I did feel like the last chunk of the book took an odd turn and resolved kind of abruptly. I also didn't really connect with any of the characters. Overall, an entertaining read. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Torture, Blood, Pandemic/Epidemic, Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Physical abuse, Sexism, Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Violence, Grief, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Eating disorder, Classism, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Gore, Infidelity, Stalking, and Alcohol

Moderate: Suicide attempt

Minor: Dementia, Addiction, and Forced institutionalization

lucykae's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Infidelity, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Blood, Murder, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Alcohol, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Addiction, and Confinement

readingonthefly's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Infidelity, Murder, Death, Physical abuse, Gaslighting, Suicide attempt, Panic attacks/disorders, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

Minor: Car accident and Blood