Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Dark Roads by Chevy Stevens

7 reviews

killmoore_'s review against another edition

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Murder, Stalking, Torture, Alcohol, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Addiction, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Medical content, Sexual assault, Lesbophobia, Blood, Child abuse, and Violence

r3ader's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

READ TW'S BEFORE READING!

The first half was too slow, I feel like. I wanted to DNF, but bc I also wanted to know the ending, I kept reading. The last half was finished in the matter of a few days, so the pace definitely picks up towards the end. 

I do have to say, that Beth and Hailey were annoying at times. Both acted like immature teenagers half the time (which is okay in Hailey, bc she is literally a teen, but Beth is too old to act like that).
A good example for that was when Beth

seriously expected Jonny to choose her before Hailey, like??? He know you for a few days and only slept with you once, he know Hailey for his WHOLE LIFE. You can't be mad at him, that he would choose Hailey.

The answer to the murder mystery was a bit surprising, but you could predict it towards the end. Still, not bad. 

I definitely loved the attention the book brings to mmiw! Would have been nice to have an indigenous woman as a main character, too. ^^

Overall, good book, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to others. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Violence, Animal cruelty, Blood, and Death

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Stalking, Gun violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Drug abuse, Police brutality, Addiction, Drug use, Grief, and Medical content

Minor: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Car accident, Torture, Vomit, Death of parent, Excrement, Murder, and Rape

Definitely don't read it if you can't have an animal suffering at the hands of people or if you can't read about an animal which you have bonded with being threatened to get killed!

keenanmaree's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Grief, Alcohol, Blood, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Stalking, Torture, Violence, Gun violence, Medical content, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Car accident

The dog gets injured a few times, and it’s very tense, but he makes it out okay and lives happily ever after.

amnda527's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Police brutality, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Trafficking, and Violence

abbeyhuffine94's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

This is a book I was extremely excited about as I’ve been interested in the Highway of Tears cases for a while. I find the setting beyond eerie and also heartbreaking.
This book was very well written and had a great plot line and good characters. The only reason I gave it 4 stars is because it wasn’t an absolute life changer (I’m trying to save 5 star reviews for absolute favorites). I’ve read tons of thrillers involving unsolved murders and small towns and the woods. I think the eeriness of the highway and the remoteness of the setting added something special. (Side note: I could never be as outdoorsy as even Beth who was a city girl….I would have fallen over and died like 5 mins into the woods). I liked the supernatural introduction and epilogue a lot, it was a super interesting POV. Also, obsessed with the dog Wolf.
I definitely recommend this for fans of thrillers and mysteries and/or fiction based on true crime.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Alcohol, and Death of parent

Minor: Car accident, Drug use, and Kidnapping

audiblybooked's review against another edition

dark sad 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? No

3.0

I'm really conflicted about how to rate this. Chevy Stevens is one of my favorite thriller authors, I've read and loved all of her books. When I found out that Dark Roads is based on Highway of Tears in Canada and the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls that have disappeared along that stretch of road, I was happy that such a great author was going to shine light on that issue. Except that's not what happened. AT ALL.  I don't think there was much mention of indigenous women at all or how little effort was put into finding the missing or solving their murders. I may have liked the book more if I hadn't gone into the story with different expectations which is why I'm giving it a 3 which is higher than I'm leaning. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Death, Grief, Murder, Police brutality, Violence, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault

soobooksalot's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Chevy Stevens indeed puts the dark in Dark Roads.
This is my first of her novels and why did I wait so long?
Something is off in the B.C. town of Cold Creek. Hailey has lived with her aunt and uncle since the passing of her father, and something isn't right about her uncle. Vaughn is also a police Sergeant so whatever it is, it won't be easily dealt with.
Hailey's story is told in the opening chapters, then shifts to Beth's story and alternating.
Beth goes to Cold Creek after the death of her sister Amber, and becomes part of the same web that sealed the fates of other young women killed and missing in the area.
The fictional town of Cold Creek has parallels to real-life communities along British Columbia's "Highway of Tears", where Indigenous women go missing many times over the national average of other areas. 
This element, along with realistic, memorable characters (WOLF!!!) and tight thriller elements, make this a must-read for suspense lovers! Recommended.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Police brutality, and Murder