Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth

36 reviews

acarolinabelle's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

Multiple POV, multiple timelines, so the story comes out in pieces with a twist at the very end. The characters are former foster sisters, now adults, and the foster mother, a narcissistic abuser.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death of parent, Child death, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Alcohol, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Child abuse

booksinkandpaper2's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Murder, Death, Abandonment, Sexual assault, Self harm, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Drug use, and Confinement

elyssas_editions's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Rape, Abandonment, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Grief, Incest, Bullying, Drug use, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, and Violence

cheri325's review against another edition

3.0

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia. These three girls were raised by a foster mother, Miss Fairchild, at Wild Meadows. They were told that they were so lucky to get a wonderful placement, but what went on behind closed doors was another story.

Years later, they've moved on, though they all bear the scars from that time. But they're making it until a body is found under Wild Meadows. Whose body and why?

This story is dark, but I hung in there until the last chapter, which was a huge no for me. So, I knocked a star off. That's all I can say without spoilers.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use

Moderate: Sexual content

thebookishgamerr's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Suicide, Alcohol, Child death, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Child abuse, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Death of parent

morethanmylupus's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

4.0

OOH this was such a good one! I loved the found family relationship between the three girls, the way that the past and the future were connected for them, and the unsettling vibes of the house and foster mom. We get the story of the 3 women themselves, their past in the house and current day, as well as the story of the foster mom. I thought I saw some of the twists coming, but I was mostly all wrong and I loved it. I usually find slow-burn thrillers frustrating, but I really liked this one. There were sufficient twists and the story itself was compelling enough for me to keep reading to find out more. There's some heavier content here around child abuse, so please proceed with caution if this is a difficult topic for you. 
 

A huge thank you to the author and the publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Drug use, and Alcoholism

book_reader_lover's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Darling Girls is a book about 3 foster girls that were placed at Wild Meadows.  After 25 years, they are thrust.back to where they hoped never to return.  Wild Meadows has been sold and a body has been found.  The police want to know what the girls know.

Jessica, Alicia and Norah all came to Wild Meadows under different circumstances and at different times, but they grew a bond that made them sisters.  They learned to protect their selves from Mrs. Fairchild, their foster mother.  

Hepworth looked at the Australian Foster System with this book, actually it could have been any countries foster system.  At times it was a hard book to read bc of the abuse the girls suffered.  At other times, I was racing through the book wanting to know what was going to happen next.  Hepworth always writes a good psychological thriller and this time was no different.

Tentative Publishing Date April 23, 2024!  Go get this book when it hits the stands.

Thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press and Sally Hepworth for the E-ARC of this book.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.

😊 Happy Reading 😊

#netgalley #stmartinspress #sallyhepworth #darlinggirls

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Vomit

kaylasbookgram's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

What on Earth did I just read !?!? 🤯🤯🤯

I absolutely devoured this book! I will say please k is there are triggers for this book in my opinion and the biggest one being child abuse.

Right when I thought this book couldn’t get anymore dark the ending just jumped out and made my jaw drop to the ground! And that alone gave it five stars for me. However the entire book was so incredibly done. I love all the shocking events and turns of events. I loved trying to figure out what happened to Amy along with the three girls. Just bravo on this book 👏🏻 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Torture, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Chronic illness, Grief, Mental illness, Child death, Confinement, Death, Sexual content, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Violence, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Body shaming, Gaslighting, Torture, Cursing, Drug use, Abortion, Addiction, Alcohol, Infertility, Pregnancy, Bullying, and Panic attacks/disorders

laceystairs's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

This book is probably going to best Thriller of the year. It's definitely going to be a hard one to beat! I loved all the main characters in the book this novel was told in flashbacks as well as present time and is told from the viewpoints of each of Three Sisters. All very different in personality, and motivation, this book dove into the tragic side of foster care, and the Deep connections that we can form with people that become our family. This book was both infuriating, as the antagonist was so easy to to hate and feel enraged about. And in contrast the three sisters were interesting, smart, and I just loved hearing from each of their viewpoints. Excellent read the narration was fantastic. I will be recommending this book.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Toxic relationship, Addiction, Body shaming, Kidnapping, Alcoholism, Child death, Death of parent, Bullying, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, and Abandonment

growinghelpfulhabits's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.75

Fabulous book. You think you have parts worked out but Sally Hepworth continues to throw in twists right to the very end. Beautifully captures the resilience and bond of three young women who had been through unfathomable horrors.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use and Child death