Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham

32 reviews

sydthewitch's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

I love thrillers and I love trying to guess the twists. I did guess the main twist/reveal on about page 72, but even so, there were even more twists and revelations that I absolutely didn't see coming! As each aha is revealed, the clues and foreshadowing earlier in the book fall into place and make total sense, every detail accounted for. 

The characters aren't nece sarily lovable but are deeply imperfect in a relatable way. The author does a great job of depicting CPTSD and other mental health issues. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse and Addiction

Moderate: Abandonment, Death, Gaslighting, Child death, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, and Murder

Minor: Kidnapping, Murder, Stalking, Gun violence, and Violence

ajanel98's review

challenging mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

3.75

It took me almost half the book before I really go into it. I found the beginning to be very slow and almost boring. It was an almost DNF but I powered through and finally finished it! The story really picked up about halfway through and I did enjoy the plot twist at the end! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Murder, Drug abuse, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Sexual content and Violence

thismermaidreads's review

mysterious sad tense 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

2.0

This book starts with an unnecessarily triggering description of a mentally unwell teenage girl. I was able to mentally push past that just to get 80% of the way through the book where the main character does something I CAN’T stand in books and find incredibly unethical. So I know for those reasons I can't rate it higher than a 3...it's getting a two because quite frankly there were just too many oh my God I can't trust these people in her life and like i get it, but also like couldn't she have at least ONE person in her life who could be trustworthy? Oh she did...but yeah they weren't actually so this poor girl (woman) left the book with literally no ONE. Had that plot twist 80% of the way through NOT happened and she at least got a HEA I THINK I could have gotten up to a 3.5 4 star.

I just can't with people who use their horrific experiences as a reason to cheat on an otherwise loyal partner.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Medical content, Murder, Drug use, Abandonment, Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Violence

fkshg8465's review against another edition

challenging 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

4.0

This was annoying in that the protagonist was annoying, but it was good in that it had an enough red herrings to keep me guessing. I would’ve preferred the ending to be a little happier, but I suppose it’s unrealistic to think it could be. Maybe I can think of it more like a lot yet but maybe later - something that gets worked out off the pages and after the story - like in an unwritten epilogue.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Child death, Confinement, Grief, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Death, Abandonment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, and Violence

ashwatever98's review

dark tense medium-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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol and Drug abuse

Moderate: Abandonment, Gaslighting, and Murder

This book was quite an interesting read. The plot was slow at first but then it slowly picked up. The plot twists were subtle and the ending was completely unexpected.

greenlivingaudioworm's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Death, Drug abuse, Abandonment, Blood, Infidelity, and Violence

optykan's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment

Moderate: Murder

Minor: Pedophilia

xmeganlowe's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

Such a good thriller!! The writing was sophisticated and you really got to know the thoughts of Chloe. I really thought I had it all figured out but was shocked by the final revelation of who the killer actually was. That being said, once the true killer was revealed, it did seem very anti-climatic in the way it wrapped up. But I do appreciate that all angles were tackled and resolved in the end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Violence, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Pedophilia, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Abandonment and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Self harm

llamallama527's review against another edition

dark hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

This book was a tad more predictable than I'd prefer, but! It was well written and very interesting. Given this was the author's first published book, I intend to give her next books a read! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Death, Murder, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Murder, Physical abuse, Abandonment, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship

frekdal's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Murder, Blood, Grief, Drug abuse, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Kidnapping, Mental illness, and Violence