Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Reprieve by James Han Mattson

4 reviews

ladyinverse's review against another edition

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challenging dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

1.0

(audiobook)
i gave this book a try because it was labeled with the LGBTQIA tag, so i went for it for my June reads for pride month.

the only rep there was, was a young male who was stereotyping young black men to not be studious and this young male also was obsessed with his crush on his English teacher and stalked this male teacher across the globe to try and be with him. not a great rep for the book.

the horror aspect of the book was at least interesting of a concept: full contact horror house but a side secret plan makes everything go very very wrong on a tour where a character is murdered as a result.

none of the characters, aside the main girl Kendra, was even remotely likeable. 

the book was.. not great overall. the writing was loquacious in the most boring way. anytime a character spoke, instead of using "he yelled" or "she spoke softly" or literally anything else, every time a character interaction happened the usage and verbage was "s/he said." 

i would have died from alcohol poisoning if i was doing shots every time I heard the word said/says.

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jendif's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.25


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apersonfromflorida's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-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? Yes

4.5


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mangofandango's review

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challenging dark tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.75

he blurb on the inside flap is...strangely intense, and the quote on the cover - a American classic to be? A story about a full contact haunted house that is actually an incisive exploration of race, capitalism, sexism etc in America? I sort of chuckled at those statements. I don't know about American classic to be, but ok, it really is a story about a full contact haunted house that explores race, capitalism, sexism/misogyny, and more. It's not a horror story, it's more of a cultural critique with Halloween makeup on. Some of it was so difficult to sit with, and it wasn't the parts in the house - Leonard's entire storyline and characterization was so cringe, chilling and scary all by itself that it would have felt horrific even without the rest of it. 
I wasn't sure when I started, but by the second half of the book I was absorbed. 

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