Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins

40 reviews

chrisljm's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

2.5

This was a well written story, but it’s not something I enjoyed. The vibes were just so terrible, I wanted to throw up a few times. It was as if Scott Hawkins heard the phrase “until the room stinks” and wanted to literally infuse that into the very core of the book. 

The best part of the book, for me, was the resolution to the mystery of what happened to Father. It seemed like a great conclusion, only to find out I still had ~150 pages left. I know part of the premise is Carolyn finding her humanity again, but since that arch is set after the climax of finding out about Father, the juxtaposition in tone of these two parts seemed very strange to me and made me enjoy the last quarter a lot less. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Drug abuse, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Minor: Cancer, Slavery, and Car accident

beccasherman's review against another edition

dark emotional funny fast-paced

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

1.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Gun violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Mass/school shootings, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual violence

ryn_bow's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Rape

bearish's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious tense

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

5.0

Dangerous Librarians, Selfish Gods, Academy for Dark Powered Children Run by Suspicious/Morally Grey Father Figure, Inadvertent Cosmic Horror, Narrator with a Secret, We Love it When a Plan Comes Together, Playing the Long Game, Friends to Enemies, The Talking Lion is Not a Jesus Stand-In, See This is Why We Need Term Limits, A Malice that Has No Bottom

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and War

theseaiscalm's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Abandonment

rachelunabridged's review against another edition

dark 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

sydneythebookpal's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, and Murder

smothermewithscifi's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, and Death of parent

ralphball's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative mysterious reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Murder

mgwuh's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Rape and Torture