Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

The Overnight Guest by Heather Gudenkauf

18 reviews

irenemarie's review against another edition

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Child abuse, Child death, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Gun violence, Violence, Death, Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Miscarriage, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, Physical abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcoholism

Minor: Terminal illness, Rape, and Vomit

aas's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Gore, Abandonment, Murder, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Blood, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Violence, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, and Rape

leebeeloves's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Car accident, Gun violence, and Child death

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, and Kidnapping

elisepage's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Murder, Gun violence, Rape, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, and Car accident

Moderate: Death of parent, Vomit, and Pedophilia

Minor: Alcoholism

gknott's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful mysterious sad medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Body horror, Blood, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Miscarriage, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Rape, and Vomit

ladyinverse's review against another edition

challenging dark fast-paced

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

4.5

wowee wow wow wow. I expected some of the twists in this but the biggest one of the book I did not expect at all. a very well done suspense thriller with believable characters.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, and Miscarriage

Moderate: Abortion, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Blood, Car accident, Gun violence, and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Child abuse

emeraldsanto's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Car accident, Death, Kidnapping, Murder, Pregnancy, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Confinement, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Domestic abuse, and Alcoholism

kt2e56's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Fairly compelling! Definitely a page turner! I think this fell victim though to the problem I have with most thrillers lately: the author is so wrapped up in preserving their big reveal at the end that a lot of the description about characters feels pretty bland or nonexistent outside of the flashbacks to the past. It’s extra infuriating here because some of these reveals are very easy to guess and the reader picking up on them ahead of time wouldn’t really hinder the book all that much. The characters all feel very lifeless and sort of blend together.

The ending also felt a bit rushed but the plot itself does make up for that. It’s certainly entertaining.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Child death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Blood, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Car accident, Confinement, Murder, Sexual assault, Gore, Grief, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Vomit, Cursing, Alcoholism, Excrement, Medical trauma, Drug use, Drug abuse, Medical content, Pregnancy, and Stalking

jkar7's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Murder, Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Gore, Police brutality, Terminal illness, Gun violence, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, and Torture

Minor: Animal cruelty, Self harm, and Vomit

stephanieluxton'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? No

4.5

This story is split into three timelines: The summer of 2000 when a violent crime was committed at the farmhouse, an unknown time in which a mother and young girl are held captive, and present day in which our protagonist, Wylie, a true crime writer who is staying at the farmhouse to finish writing her book is being snowed in and finds a little boy freezing to death outside.

At times, this story feels like three books in one as each storyline slowly unfolds and we try to make predictions and decipher how they're connected. The characters are interesting and it's fun trying to predict their motivations.

The setting adds a lot of atmosphere to the story, especially in the present day/winter scenes. The cold, dark, white out conditions add so much claustrophobia. There were a few scenes in which I was genuinely terrified for our main characters.

My favorite thing about this book was seeing how the different characters reacted to the situations they found themselves in. It felt believable.
One of my least favourite things was the end reveal - the reveal itself was fine, but I think it would have been more impactful if the motivations of the antagonist were a little more defined.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys slow burn crime/thrillers and dark "whodunnits". 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Gun violence, Blood, Murder, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Alcoholism, Blood, Violence, Car accident, Sexism, Sexual assault, Confinement, Death, Pregnancy, Rape, Stalking, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, and Kidnapping

Minor: Abortion, Child abuse, Vomit, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, and Fire/Fire injury