Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

16 reviews

knitterknatter's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I don't think I've ever read a book where I completely hated every single one of the characters but also was rooting for them.
I knew the ending for this book before I read it but, man, was it a journey getting there. A bit slow to get into but the writing is brilliant with the right amount of jumping between characters. Throughly enjoyed reading it despite my feelins towards the characters 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Infertility and Infidelity

Minor: Sexual assault and Violence

corinnelora95's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-paced

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

2.0

TWs for this book: alcoholism, emotional abuse, physical abuse, infidelity, murder,

infant death

, manipulation

Much like a train, this book took a long time to get up to speed. The first 60% moved slowly, making me wonder if it really was a thriller. Once it did pick up, it gave me a very panicky feeling. I had to keep reading just to be done with the book, not because I felt the thrill enjoyable. The "saving grace" was that I didn't see the twist coming.

Here are the top three things I disliked while reading this book, though there were many others:

1) I disliked that the author resorted to the "alcoholic female" trope. It was frustrating to read over and over that Rachel would back slide and feel little remorse. 

2) I disliked the descriptions of abuse. They were written in a way that made me feel panicked and afraid for my life. The fight or flight response was real. 

3) I disliked the scene where Megan recalls the death of her infant. It again was written in a way that made me feel panicked.

If you enjoy thrillers that make you feel panicked and leave you on the brink of an anxiety attack, this book is for you. If you don't like that feeling, leave this one on the shelf. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Murder, Addiction, Alcohol, Death, Stalking, Violence, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Child death, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Vomit

Moderate: Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Sexual violence, Grief, and Blood

Minor: Abortion

valkyri_anna's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Violence, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Sexual assault

haleybspiegel's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

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

3.5

Very good plot, very good writing, just not my genre so I didn’t enjoy it very much 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Gaslighting and Murder

Minor: Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Child death, and Rape

aisclaradm's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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

4.0

A really good thriller that had me trying to piece information together right from the very beginning. It was so fun to read a book with such unreliable narrators, because it allowed you to come up with so many different theories. Ultimately, everything tied up really well and I found the plotline and reveals made a lot of sense. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Violence, Infertility, Murder, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Blood, Child death, Death, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Abortion, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Stalking, Grief, and Sexual assault

Minor: Drug abuse, Abortion, Toxic friendship, Car accident, and Drug use

exist0ni's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Alcoholism, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Misogyny

neverlandpages4's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.0

• I was excited to read this because it’s what inspired many of the more recent thrillers like “The Woman in the Window” and “The Woman in Cabin 10” and the hundreds of other thrillers that have “woman” in the title. Unfortunately, this was one of the least thrilling and one of the least suspenseful books I’ve ever read.

• I should’ve known I wouldn’t like this because one of my least favorite tropes in thrillers is the alcoholic unreliable narrator. I quickly get tired and annoyed with the amount of times that drinking is mentioned and the main character constantly being confusing about the details of what might’ve or might’ve not happened.

• I was also really confused by the timeline. We follow 2 or 3 timelines that are leading up to each other but at the same time, they constantly switch to a random time and I just couldn’t keep track of it.

• Also, there’s the matter of the racist stereotypes and the wrong portrayal of Muslim characters.

• Part of me finds it hard to believe that this is the book that a lot of people were raving about years ago when it first came out. Same with the movie (which I won’t be watching now). It felt so mundane and predictable and not unique. If I hadn’t written my thoughts on the book as I was reading it, I wouldn’t have been able to write a review because I honestly remember nothing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Abortion, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Torture, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Racism, War, and Xenophobia

ansfaiv's review

adventurous dark mysterious 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

4.0

i couldn’t put this book down! it was super good and had a crazy plot twist. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol and Alcoholism

Moderate: Vomit, Blood, Child death, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Death

Minor: Drug use, Sexual assault, Abortion, and Body shaming

tati_jurisic's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Violence

scruffie's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

I actually enjoyed reading this book. I've seen people compare it to Gone Girl but I haven't read that one so I can't say anything about that debate. Two things bothered me the most: (a) all women in the book seem to be defined by the men in their lives and/or their feelings towards motherhood, and (b) the end was somewhat out of character, given what you've learnt about the characters throughout the book. I liked the plot overall though, but then again I have very little experience with the crime/thriller genre so I don't know how novel it really is. (3.75/5.00)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Grief, Infertility, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Stalking, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Confinement and Vomit

Minor: Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Abandonment, and Animal cruelty