Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Their Vicious Games by Joelle Wellington

16 reviews

muckl3t83's review

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

3.75

Preposterous plot but a fun read anyway. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Violence

Moderate: Bullying, Blood, Gun violence, Death, Misogyny, Toxic friendship, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Animal cruelty, Grief, and Physical abuse

Minor: Alcohol

kendal_reads's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Racism, Bullying, Gun violence, and Classism

Minor: Alcohol and Vomit

browneyesblue84's review

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I like the setting of Their Vicious Games. This marks the second YA thriller novel that I read in the past year. Despite being an elder millennial , I still like YA novels especially YA thrillers and horror stories. I was unfamiliar with the author but saw the cover in Target last year. This book took residence on my TBR from then on. I needed something fast paced and different to fill in the gap between preorder releases. This novel definitely satisfied me. Also, I realized that I preordered the authors next book without realizing who the author was. 

Joelle Wellington’s writing is easy to read. I was hooked from the first chapter. Adina is a relatable character who strives to fit into a world of opulence and power. She loses her one opportunity after a moment of intense emotion brought on by a “friend” who was jealous. That reaction cost her everything except for a change to obtain her diploma. Adina decided to do what she could to take part in The Finish, a competition that offered something that she truly needed a second chance. However, she was not prepared for the truth about this competition and how truly high the stakes were. 

I am rating this novel five stars out of five. Yes, it’s that good. Each chapter has an even balance of well thought out prose, dynamic characters and even pacing. I’m looking forward to reading the author’s next novel. If Their Vicious Games is this good , I get the feeling  that it will be even better. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Murder

Moderate: Gaslighting, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Cursing, and Blood

Minor: Grief

jennanaps's review

challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Grief, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Gun violence, Blood, Gaslighting, Gore, Racism, Toxic friendship, Classism, Death, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use, Child abuse, Drug abuse, and Addiction

jazzywazzy's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Death, Classism, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Gun violence, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Racism and Misogyny

bookcaptivated's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Murder, Gore, Death, Classism, Misogyny, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Gun violence, and Violence

Moderate: Death of parent, Animal death, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Infidelity, Vomit, and Grief

niquechiquereads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Blood, Murder, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Racism, Self harm, Gun violence, and Grief

on_my_bookshelf's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Bullying, Gun violence, Classism, Gore, Grief, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Death of parent, Drug use, Gaslighting, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Emotional abuse, Racism, Toxic friendship, Violence, Blood, Confinement, Hate crime, and Death

bella_cavicchi's review

dark mysterious tense fast-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

4.0

This was delightfully twisty, thrilling in both its shock and its dark satire.

And I feel I should note somewhere that I couldn't help but visualise Leighton as Gwyneth Paltrow and I now can't shake that casting (for the inevitable film adaptation) from my head!!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Death, Classism, Bullying, and Blood

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Sexism, Racism, Medical content, Grief, and Gaslighting

Minor: Infidelity and Vomit

caseythereader's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Gore, Child abuse, Racism, Violence, Blood, Classism, Grief, Murder, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, and Gun violence