Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Dark and Shallow Lies by Ginny Myers Sain

31 reviews

gracescanlon's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Grey, girl, love ya but man are you dumb like 60% of the time.

Dark, twisty, tense, deeply sad and intensely atmospheric — Dark and Shallow Lies is a heavy read, but worthwhile. It knocked the wind out of me completely time and time again. Sain did a wonderful job with the setting; as a Southern girl from a swamp-like area myself, I felt myself choking on the humidity and heat as much as the secrets. 

I especially liked how “full circle” the book was — specifically with uncovering the secrets and lies that poisoned La Cachette and ultimately led to so much death and pain.

Not sure I believe the “sparks” Grey feels when Zale touches her aren’t just his power rather than her body’s natural reaction to him, but he’s sweet, so I’ll allow it.

Also wasn’t a huge fan of the Hart and Elora bit, especially since he seemed so sketchy in a dangerous way throughout the book. HOW is it that almost no other reviews mention that???? There was also no real hint as to their being involved in any way, though that could be attributed to Grey’s being kinda dumb. Also their being together was kinda gross — they’ve lived as siblings for more than half their lives? It’s not like their parents are newly married, which would still have been eh but much better than two kids raised as siblings for like a decade “falling in love.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Vomit, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Confinement, Incest, Pedophilia, Slavery, Trafficking, Pregnancy, Outing, Abandonment, and Colonisation

creolelitbelle's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I reread this as an audiobook, and the production is on POINTE. Sound effects match the flash scenes perfectly, and the emotion from the narrator hits as it should. I love the mysteries within the story and the complexity of the characters. Elora feels as much a part of the story as Gray, Hart, and everyone else we meet, because her presence is felt so strongly from nearly page one. My strong hope is that this will become a movie or mini-series one day, because the writing is amazing. Recently, I learned from the author that an expert on Louisiana read the book before publication, which explains its authenticity. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

Moderate: Suicide

bittie_bee's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Suicide, and Death of parent

Minor: Self harm

forgedopulence's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

La Cachette is for the ghosts.

This book is very much Young Adult, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Overall, it was a great story and held my interest, but I really wanted more depth from basically everything - the magic, lore, relationships, and the final resolution. The sub-plot was very well done, however. I also enjoyed the "full circle" feeling of all lose ends being tied up with such finality. 

Unfortunately, we never got to know most of the supporting characters enough for the main twist to be as impactful as it should have been. I'm glad those two died, and I don't think that was the intention. 

Incest being used as a plot device is also weird for a YA book and everything in me wishes the author had picked a different reason.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Suicide and Death of parent

Minor: Incest

chanlo1994's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

5.0

The scenery details are so realistic. I can smell the mud and feel the heat of the Gulf Coast. I really love Ginny's writing.

The ending!!!! I'm like WHOA. The way it wraps up... its incredible. Genius, really. I might have to sit on my couch and do nothing but process for a couple minutes.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Moderate: Gun violence, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Addiction, Body horror, and Blood

Additional content warnings: drowning, hurricanes

siennabea's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

2.75

I think this book was good, I just wish it had a bit more description on who the characters actually were. 
It dealed with grief okay, but the last few chapters where it all came together was truly my favourite part.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Blood

izzyvioletgrace's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

bookboxbabe's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

no one speak to me for a bit, i’m not well

this book is beautiful and gut wrenching at the same time. it’s raw and feels like you’re being ripped open and spilt onto the pages. 

i loved the small town dynamics, the mystery that kept me guessing till the very end, and the whiplash of reveals felt like i myself was in the middle of the hurricane 

the summer children will forever be in my heart

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship

laylareadsthings's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

2.75

This is a tough one to review for me. I really enjoyed the writers style, and her descriptions, the ambience she creates is stunning. I will definitely keep an eye out for more works from her. 

Unfortunately, the plot was so incredibly slow moving I had a hard time getting through this. It’s tagged as a murder mystery, but there is nothing to unfold here. There are no hints given along the way, no way for the reader to resolve what’s happening or form theories. For about 350 pages, it felt like a hamster wheel of continuous conversations where nothing was revealed, and no action was taken. Everyone wants to solve the crime! But absolutely no one, not a single person is willing to have even the remotest hint of a conversation about it. The main character spends the entirety of the book fixated on and frustrated by her inability to solve the murder, but literally ANY time she discovers a clue, or needs to ask someone something she just… doesn’t. Instead it’s more inner monologue about how upset she is that she can’t solve the crime. 

Again, I think the backdrop and atmosphere were quite literally perfect - but the plot and character development was so flat for me, I really had to stop myself from DNFing multiple times. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

beckyremillard's review against another edition

dark 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? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting