Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

The Drowning Woman by Robyn Harding

53 reviews

astoriareader's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? Yes

3.5

SYNOPSIS

• Lee is currently unhoused & living out of her car. She’s waiting tables at a shady diner in Seattle, and she’s living in her car.
• Lee decides to start sleeping in car in a secluded park with a beach area in an upper class neighborhood. One morning, she wakes up when she hears a woman drowning, and she saves the woman. The drowning woman, Hazel, and Lee become friends.
• Hazel confides in Lee that she’s in an abusive marriage, and basically, she came out there to end her life that morning. As their new friendship begins, Hazel asks Lee if she will consider helping Hazel disappear & start her new life.

MY THOUGHTS

• Harding is a talented writer. 
• Short chapters.
• Structured in different parts. We begin with Lee’s POV, then shift to Hazel’s POV.
• I thought the first half was a much stronger than the second half, and I really loved Lee’s part. It started off very strong.
• Some plot holes and inconsistencies that don’t make sense. Also, the story generally requires suspension of disbelief.
• This one had a lot of potential, and I was let down in some ways. It was an awesome beginning, a blah middle, and an okay ending.

TL;DR: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫3.5 stars. Really awesome beginning. Execution wasn’t really up to par for middle & ending. Still enjoyed the read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Infidelity, Dementia, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death of parent, Physical abuse, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Vomit, Body shaming, Blood, Sexual content, and Alcoholism

Minor: Car accident

sstewart89's review against another edition

challenging dark tense 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Abandonment, Car accident, Pandemic/Epidemic, Violence, Suicide, Blood, Confinement, Dementia, Panic attacks/disorders, Infidelity, Murder, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

emmyshh's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Gaslighting, Infidelity, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Body shaming, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse

daniofthewood's review against another edition

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Blood, Bullying, Eating disorder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Panic attacks/disorders, Confinement, Murder, Violence, Death, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Dementia, Gore, Fatphobia, Grief, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual content, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Forced institutionalization

Minor: Slavery

madistonewest's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? No

3.25

Slow start, then picked up 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

mikaylanh's review against another edition

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

2.0

I don’t think I’ve ever read something with dumber characters than these two. Lee falls for a rando who is clearly sketchy from the start and Hazel instantly befriends a random homeless woman on the beach. I was fed up as soon and Lee agreed to that stupidly dangerous plan. Could not even believe she risked her life for someone who was practically a stranger just because she made her muffins and paid for her to get a makeover. Everyone in this book treats everyone horribly and we’re supposed to feel sorry for them. This was so predictable and it has made me question whether or not I should keep giving this genre a chance. The only thing I give it props for is keeping me interested enough in the ending (which also sucked) to not DNF it. The writing is so plain and repetitive and the POV switching is the worst I’ve seen by far. Don’t even get me started on the loose ends - what was the point of mentioning that diner employee watching Lee/Jesse getting it on, or Damon who is supposedly so dangerous he caused Lee to become homeless? 

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Content Warnings

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

schadenfreudes's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

4.0

The storytelling is refreshing for a crime and suspense novel. I enjoyed reading it cover through cover. It's such a page turner even though the book is about 350-ish pages. I would love to read the rest of her novels.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Dementia, Murder, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Emotional abuse, and Suicide attempt

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

jeannaa's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Murder, Suicide attempt, Infidelity, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Alcoholism and Panic attacks/disorders

heyk8burns'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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, and Suicide attempt