Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

The Drowning Woman by Robyn Harding

27 reviews

killmoore_'s review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.75

I couldn't have loved this more. Heart dropping suspense, holler-out-loud plot twists and a touch of pure insanity. This is one of my favorite books of the year so far. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Death, Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cursing, Death of parent, Grief, Stalking, Blood, Murder, Suicide attempt, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic friendship, Car accident, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Body shaming, Violence, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexism, and Suicidal thoughts

kassidypf13's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Murder

katiedoesntftba's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

I haven't read a book like this in a LONG time where I thought I knew where it was going and I was completely wrong. I got whiplash multiple times and loved it! I wish I could wipe my memory and read it again. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Death of parent, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Domestic abuse, Torture, Sexual violence, Confinement, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Slavery, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Sexual content, Drug use, and Gun violence

Minor: Car accident

kayrenee521's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Homeless, and running from her past Lee discovers one morning a woman so desperate to get away from her abusive husband that she’s suicidal. She says her name is Hazel and her husband Benjamin is a criminal defense attorney who controls her every move. The two become close, hatching a plan to get Hazel away from Benjamin.
       Lee soon learns that Hazel isn’t everything she seems and she may have been running from one bad situation right into an even worse one. 
     I enjoyed this book, large portions were told from alternating perspectives of Hazel and Lee. I found myself sympathetic to both women and their situations. My only complaint is things seemed too tidied up at the end and it had a little too much of a “ happy ending “
Plus I had to suspend disbelief at the way Benjamin got away with some stuff he did.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Sexual content, Misogyny, Slavery, Murder, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Dementia, Classism, and Infidelity

gambizzy's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

I wasn’t sure where the twists and turns were going to go which is very nice in a thriller. The book wasn’t wrapped up very well at all though and felt unfinished. It was sometimes lazy/weak writing, but overall enjoyable and quick to read.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Murder, Domestic abuse, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Infidelity, Death of parent, Death, Sexual violence, Violence, and Panic attacks/disorders

bee_isreading's review

dark mysterious tense fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Blood, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Dementia, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Death of parent

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide attempt, Infidelity, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Suicidal thoughts

mckinleyelle's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Loved it but felt the end was rushed, otherwise it would have been 5/5 for me!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Death, Gaslighting, Suicide, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Dementia, Mental illness, and Infidelity

stanleykaty's review against another edition

emotional 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Pandemic/Epidemic, Murder, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting

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.

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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

sierracaine's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, and Emotional abuse