Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

The Drowning Woman by Robyn Harding

24 reviews

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

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

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

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

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 against another edition

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

lisasaurusreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? No

5.0

There better be a sequel to this!!! Fast-paced, dual POV that has you rooting for both female MCs. There’s some predictability in character arcs, but that only adds to the suspense! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Domestic abuse, Suicide, and Sexual violence

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

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

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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