Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth

16 reviews

sare1125's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious sad 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death of parent, Child death, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Confinement, and Cursing

Moderate: Abandonment, Rape, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Pregnancy, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Vomit

0ldoini's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Abandonment, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Bullying, Incest, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Body shaming, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Cursing, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Violence, Drug use, Murder, Suicide, Addiction, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Torture, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Rape, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, and Pedophilia

blueeyedshook's review against another edition

dark

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Child death, Drug abuse, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Cursing, Infidelity, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Adult/minor relationship, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Bullying, Drug use, and Abandonment

Minor: Sexual content

LGBTQ character/romance

mandareads222's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Child death, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Drug abuse, Addiction, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Confinement, and Child abuse

Moderate: Vomit, Violence, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Pedophilia, Body shaming, Medical content, Bullying, Abandonment, and Rape

Minor: Sexual content

laheath's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

This was my first novel by this author, and I don't often read this genre, but I'll definitely be reading more of her books! I felt invested in the individual stories of each well-developed character. Three grown women struggle to build productive lives years after surviving their time with an abusive foster mother. When a murder investigation takes them back to her home, their reflections on the past serve to explain how they became the women they are today. There are plenty of twists that keep the reader guessing (and one of mine was right!), but the story of foster care gone wrong will linger.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse

Moderate: Child death, Mental illness, Rape, and Murder

Minor: Pregnancy, Suicide attempt, Vomit, and Sexual content

sarah_reading_party's review against another edition

dark tense fast-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

4.25

I enjoyed listening to the audiobook of Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth! The story was a wild ride from beginning to end. The chapters alternate between past and present, sharing the stories of three different girls living in foster care with Miss Fairchild. I adored each of the girls (so close they call themselves sisters) and the women they came to be, despite their hardships and flaws. The undying love the sisters have for one another is remarkable, especially considering their upbringing. That being said, their upbringing was rough and have a ripple effect into their adult lives. This book deals with a lot of hard topics including child abuse, sexual abuse, abandonment, harsh punishments, violence, etc. Reader (listener) be aware.

When a body is found underneath the house where they grew up, the sisters return "home" to try to figure out what happened and pursue healing for themselves. The story did not progress as I was expecting - there were crazy twists and turns that were highly entertaining and captivating. I especially liked how more of the story was revealed through the inclusion of snapshots from therapy sessions for... someone. (That someone is revealed later in the book, of course!) Though I was a bit disappointed with the last twist at the end, I enjoyed the book overall. I just kept wanting to listen to it! The narrator was great too, kudos to Jessica Clarke.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this advanced audiobook. All opinions are my own.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Violence

Moderate: Sexual violence, Child death, and Sexual content

soobooksalot's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Addiction, Alcohol, Murder, Pregnancy, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual violence

kimveach's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

Dark, creepy, and I couldn't put it down.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Addiction, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Medical trauma, Alcohol, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Murder, Rape, Self harm, Torture, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Grief, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Violence, Cursing, and Death

cassroberts89's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.5

Whoa. That was a doozy. I haven’t been that riveted to a thriller in a long time. No spoilers, but I wasn’t a huge fan of the very last chapter. I thought the way everything played out was just surprising enough without being implausible, that the very end wasn’t totally necessary (even if it was more in line with what I envisioned for at least the second half of the book). I think leaving off that last chapter makes for a much more thought provoking read, but that’s just me. 

Still, 4.5 stars rounded up 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Thanks to the publisher and Goodreads Giveaways for the advance reader copy. All opinions are my own. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Child abuse

Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Minor: Vomit

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