Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

The Overnight Guest by Heather Gudenkauf

61 reviews

chooper454's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Murder, Child abuse, Medical trauma, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Death of parent, Death, Confinement, Child death, and Car accident

Moderate: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Vomit, Terminal illness, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Cancer

zthebibliophile's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Gun violence, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, and Death of parent

readingwithjass's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Miscarriage, Death, Kidnapping, Blood, Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Murder, Sexual assault, Rape, and Domestic abuse

phantasmaboo's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense 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? Yes

3.5

The Overnight Guest follows the story Wylie Lark, who goes to a remote cabin to finish writing her book and escape some family troubles. When a snowstorm hits, she finds a small child and a woman outside. She takes them in, unaware of their dark past or that someone is hunting them. 

I have some mixed feelings about this book. The characters are well-developed and the plot maintains a good pace. I did think that a lot of the time jumping between chapters was unnecessary after a certain point, because it was fairly easy to see where the plot was going before it actually got there. After that point, it felt like the author was simply trying to elongate the plot and throw in some red herrings, and it got a bit tiresome. I would have preferred to have spent more time with the people in the present than in the past, building their characters through who they are now. 

I also think the plot lost a lot of steam toward the end. The final chapters reminded me of a college student who has to hit a word count and just keeps on writing. The inhuman strength of one character in particular is really hard to believe. I would have preferred tension be built through the addition of stronger and more profound plot lines than start and stop action sequences. 

Finally, this book relies highly on female/femme/uterus havers traumas to drive the plot forward. There is also implications of pedophilia.

The author provides details of rape, miscarriages, pedophilia, and abuse that may be shocking.

It was very difficult to read about such events, and the fact that they featured so prominently really set me back a bit.

That being said, this book was not “bad”. It definitely was thrilling, although somewhat predictable. I recommend it, but suggest checking the trigger warnings before you start. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Vomit, Violence, Miscarriage, and Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Sexual assault, Pedophilia, and Rape

natbrooke94's review

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Death of parent, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Car accident, Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault

haleybre's review

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Car accident, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Stalking, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Confinement, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Violence, Child abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Sexual violence, Vomit, Rape, and Sexual assault

cassie7e'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

2.5

This book was fine. Not boring emough to intentionally put down but I wouldn't bother picking it back up if I'd been interrupted. I predicted some of the twists at the end, except for the one with barely any clues, though I was able to rule out all the red herrings the book tried too hard to convince us were candidates.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Kidnapping, Death, Child death, Gun violence, Murder, Domestic abuse, Police brutality, Rape, Car accident, Confinement, Death of parent, Grief, and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Blood, Cancer, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, and Pregnancy

lily_benavides's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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: Kidnapping, Blood, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Child death, and Rape

Moderate: Pregnancy and Pedophilia

Minor: Animal cruelty

cassandraaleksie's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Wow wow wow. This book kept me on my toes, I could not put it down. I was able to connect the POV’s and had my suspicions about two characters being the killer, and my prediction was correct. Regardless though, I still loved this book so much. It deserves all the stars!!!  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Blood, and Kidnapping

annelihghh's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Murder, Death of parent, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Confinement, Child death, Abandonment, Vomit, Miscarriage, Violence, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Death, Misogyny, and Car accident

Moderate: Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Cursing, Alcohol, Gore, and Sexual assault