Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

The Ink Black Heart by Robert Galbraith

22 reviews

gabyisafreeelf's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Toxic relationship, Hate crime, Child abuse, Mental illness, Murder, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Violence, Stalking, and Rape

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Fatphobia, and Violence

Minor: Eating disorder

njlbo1's review

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Ableism, Bullying, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Child abuse, Murder, Suicide attempt, Eating disorder, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Sexual harassment, Suicide, and Violence

rnbhargava's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing 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

4.0

The narrative and mysteries were very engaging once it got going. The nature of online interactions in relation to popular pieces of media is fertile ground for storytelling. That said, the in game chats were a bit of a slog when broken up into 2-3 conversations happening near simultaneous. Yes, I didn’t mind flipping back and forth on pages but it took some adjusting. The characterizations are all really good. Seeing how all these different types of personalities could be prone to certain types of toxic online behavior was entertaining. I will say that one of the storylines is a bit hard to get by given it specifically involves kids. The side cases were good for highlighting the different contractors personalities. I liked that the entire main case was largely about people being manipulated by someone charismatic online. That all said, the book is lengthy and it could have been tightened up 200-300 pages or at least some of the game chat chapters could have been combined or tightened. 

Overall, I enjoyed it. Another good book in the series.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Alcohol, Classism, Mental illness, Misogyny, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Ableism, Bullying, Gore, Death, Gaslighting, Torture, Body shaming, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Grief, Medical trauma, Animal cruelty, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Blood, Racism, Body horror, Confinement, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Medical content, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Pedophilia, and Sexism

See all the triggers for the types of grotesque things discussed and done to characters because of the online and in real life sketchiness of people associated with the cases and to a degree with people in the characters’ lives

april_reads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

This book. I'm not even sure where to start. First off, I borrowed a copy from my library. Next, it. Is. Long; that being said, after struggling with the few few chapters, I read the majority of the book in three days. It certainly dragged in some places, but on the whole, it kept me guessing and was certainly tense enough that I had to know what was going to happen. (Also, my loan was nearly up, and if I didn't want to wait six months to finish it, I had to rush through it.) It also covered some timely, important topics, which - unfortunately, the people who need the messages most will never see. 

I did not see the twist coming; however, by the time we finally got to the climax, which felt overdue by at least three chapters, it felt a little... anticlimactic? Not that it wasn't super intense; it merely felt like the tension had been stretched too far, so when it came down to it, there was a sense of relief that it had finally arrived, if that makes sense. 

Finally, as much as I enjoy the mysteries, because dang, can JKR really plot them, I'm mostly here for Strike and Robin. I really love them as characters, and I've very much enjoyed the progression of their relationship.  But I genuinely expected them to move beyond the will-they, won't-they? nonsense we've been put through the last three? four? books; I get why they're so slow to move into a relationship, considering everything that's at stake if a relationship between them were to go badly. But it just seems like, considering that their relationship is really the driving force behind these books and how long they are, we should be beyond this point already. And to get to the end of this massive book and have

one failed kiss and separate realizations of feelings that they've been trying to repress feels like a bit of a cop out. Like, there's slow burn, and then there's 'let's see how long we can possibly string this out before everyone gives up out of sheer frustration.' And, unfortunately, this book felt like the latter. What is even more frustrating is that there is so much potential to create drama and conflict after they get into a relationship - they're not going to magically become new people, and I want to see that play out - instead, we're given a baby step forward at the beginning of the book, a massive step backwards, and then a teeny-tiny mini-step forwards at the very end. Because now that Strike is finally, maybe

ready to pursue a relationship with Robin, she's getting ready to go on a date with some other guy, which if it had come at any point during the book, would have been fine. Sure, make Strike jealous! Maybe it's his turn to pine?! (Except, he's clearly liked Robin since book one.) And, yay, now he finally sees her as an equal, so they can pursue a more balanced relationship. (But why has it taken so long??? He's recognized her worth since fairly early on in the series.)  And now we have to wait another year or three before the next one, which leaves me with an overall feeling of not only disappointment with the book but also the feeling of 'did we make any progress?' 

This was long and ranty/tangential (which is perhaps fitting for the book), and while the book did frustrate me, I enjoyed it. I'm definitely looking forward to the next one. However, if by the end of the next book, we still haven't made progress with Robin and Strike, I might call it quits. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Misogyny, and Racism

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Self harm, Eating disorder, Lesbophobia, Suicide attempt, and Fatphobia

sauvageloup's review

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

firstly Rowling has shit political views. we all know this. I do feel bad reading this but I got it from the library and shes getting no profit from me. unfortunately shes a good writer.

pros:
- very gripping, couldn't put down
- characters were interesting and complex overall 
- did a convincing job of showing online spaces

cons:
- the sheer pettiness underlying lots of her comments is a lot. the whole plotline is narcissistic. I get the point shes trying to make (toxic online spaces driving innocent creators to misery. bad ppl hiding building up gullible fans with claims of creator's being homophobic/racist/ableist, etc. ppl being blinded by this that they miss true predators, sexists and racists) but it misses all the joy of online friends, and generally reads like shes bitter about the criticism.
- she also misses the very real need for criticism. she mocks "SJWs" but her own views could be called that by some alt right. she's determined to see that fans are acting as a mob with no critical thinking skills, where I think shes blinded by confirmation bias and her ego and lacks the ability to be compassionate and tolerant. anyway. her views are made very clear in the book and it feels petty.
- underwhelming ending, not helped by me thinking for some reason that this one the last one. was disappointed.
- its dragged too long now. think this should've been last one for sure.

overall, disappointing and frustrating, because it was good up until a sour end, much like her.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Fatphobia, Emotional abuse, Racism, Pedophilia, Murder, Grief, Eating disorder, Alcohol, Ableism, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Blood, Antisemitism, Animal cruelty, Alcoholism, Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, Violence, Stalking, Sexism, Mental illness, Medical content, Homophobia, Drug use, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Death, Cursing, Chronic illness, Child abuse, Bullying, and Body shaming

lukerik's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

First I’d like to whinge about the ebook version. I had to get this because since the lockdowns I no longer have the upper body strength for the hardback. Part of the novel takes place online and there are mocked-up screen shot style illustrations of in-game chat, sometimes with three channels open at once. These illustrations have been imported to the epub as image files, which is a nice touch. Unfortunately they are too small to be seen by the human eye, which is what I am equipped with. To counter this, the images are transcribed afterwards in normal ebook text. There are some formatting errors: sometimes the first line of the transcription is in a larger font. Also, the three conversations are sort of run on and jumbled up with each other which is extremely confusing. I recognise that this is a formatter’s nightmare, but we’re dealing here with one of the top authors of one of the largest publishing houses in the world and I’m sure better solutions were available. In the worst sin, one short part of the text does not appear in the transcription at all. I had to get my Compact OED microscope to read the screen. At this point, after an awful lot of mucking around, I was able to find settings that brought the text with the range of vision, but I don’t think this will be possible with all ereaders nor all eyes. Perhaps Hachette will deign to push out emended files to their customers. While they’re at it they can correct the spelling error in one of the chapter headings and add the word ‘had’ which is missing from one of the novel’s many sentences. 

So the novel takes place partly online. A massive risk. It could have gone terribly wrong, but somehow Rowling pulls it off. It’s generally an accomplished novel, with tight control over the great sprawl of it. If anything I think it’s these sections of the novel which will best bear re-reading as the central mystery is the real-world identities behind the handles. And they’re fully integrated into the themes of the novel with consists of contradictory counterparts. On the one hand you have the anonymity of the online life and it’s strange intimacy with people who may not be who they seem. Contrasted with this is the relationship of Strike and Robin whose lives are so intimately entwined, yet they never say what they really feel, often not even to themselves. Also it’s a very funny book, the humour contrasted with the grottiness of London life. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Ableism, Alcohol, Bullying, Gaslighting, Pedophilia, and Medical content

kathrynamonett's review

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Body shaming, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Death, Chronic illness, Ableism, Pedophilia, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Misogyny, Mental illness, Racism, Eating disorder, Antisemitism, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Self harm, Rape, Child abuse, Alcohol, Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Murder

jhbandcats's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative 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

4.25

I love the Cormoran Strike series. Rowling (aka, Galbraith) is an accomplished storyteller who can handle multiple characters and a complex storyline. Here she shows a facility with online gaming that, to me as a non-gamer, is mind-boggling. While I really respect her talent, I found the story so complex that I need to go back and reread this to see what I missed. Definitely recommend the entire series starting with The Cuckoo’s Calling. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Bullying, Child abuse, Death of parent, Drug use, Medical trauma, Racism, Toxic relationship, Ableism, Homophobia, Murder, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Blood, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Misogyny, Violence, Death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Antisemitism, Cursing, Gore, Hate crime, and Mental illness

romonko's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

3.5

Perhaps it is my age, or perhaps it's my total indifference to social media and all its iterations like Twitter, TikTok, Reddit, instagram, but I truly did not get really into this book like I usually do with this series.  The mystery was a good one, and it finally did get really exciting at the end.  And that is another of the things that caused me to shake my head - the sheer length of the book!   1,300 odd pages is a lot of book!  The writing is superb as well, but I did find some of the dialogues and transcripts of Twitter feeds and internet chats far too graphic for my tastes.  I was extremely uncomfortable through about 30% of the book, but the other 70% held me enthralled.  There is no doubt that Robert Galbraith (aka J K Rowling) is a very skilled and talented author, and her characterizations are incredible.  In this book Corm and Robin's detective agency are run off their feet with business.  Then along comes a visitor that Robin meets. A young Gothic woman who has a very strange tale to tell about her on-line cartoon called The Ink Black Heart and the on-line abuse that she is receiving..  Robin is intrigued but knows that they're too busy to take on this case.  Then Robin hears that the young woman is killed  and her boyfriend was stabbed in the very graveyard on which her story is based.  So Corm, Robin and their three contract detectives are on the tail of a particularly odious killer.  At much risk to Comoran and Robin and to their business they continue on the quest to find a killer who uses the internet as his/her hunting ground.  This is a particularly horrifying book, and probably realistically illustrates the danger of on-line relationships and influences. And it reminds parents that they must be particularly vigilant in monitoring their offspring's on-line footprint.  Rowling has shown us in this book what a truly scary world we live in now. Although I did not like the format and the pages and pages of internet-speak, I still enjoyed the story, and I love Comoran and Robin and will eagerly awake the next instalment.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexism, and Sexual harassment

proceduralbob's review

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Sexual harassment, Violence, and Ableism

Moderate: Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Chronic illness, Death, Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Toxic relationship, Antisemitism, Body shaming, Bullying, Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, and Emotional abuse