Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

El Proyecto by Courtney Summers

57 reviews

lilacs's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-paced

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

3.0

Courtney Summers may be one of my favourite authors, but she can also be kind of hit-or-miss. I was all but ready to abandon this book half way through, bored out of my mind, but because it was Courtney I kept reading. It's actually a shame that the book gets good near the end, because it makes you think of what it could have been all the way through. In the end I'm glad I made it to the climax but I am also disappointed because I know that the author is capable of much more, and she's always showing it in her worst books even (here, and Fall for Anything) but sometimes just fails to take it all the way home.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, and Murder

rhguerrero's review against another edition

dark sad 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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Infidelity and Miscarriage

katemreads's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship

Moderate: Emotional abuse and Physical abuse

Minor: Death, Sexual content, Suicide, and Death of parent

sunsetcity's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Grief, Car accident, and Pregnancy

melaniereadsbooks's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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

4.5

Told from dual-POVs and dual-timelines, this story explores what happened to two sisters after one was in a tragic accident that killed her parents, and the other joined the mysterious religious group, the Unity Project.

This was a very high-intensity thriller.  This deals with some really tricky subjects, and does a good job expressing the feelings of loss, grief, and loneliness that are preyed upon by Lev and his cult. Though I can't really say I liked the characters, I did enjoy reading about them, and I was on the metaphorical edge of my seat while racing through this book! I really enjoyed the way this ended, as well.   I'm definitely scoping out this author's other books to read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy

justnei's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse and Physical abuse

Moderate: Toxic relationship

isabelgalupo's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-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? No

3.0

Took me a second to get into this one, but I ended up really enjoying it! A dark story about family, trauma, belonging, and faith. A lot of the plot hinges upon people being dishonest and avoidant, which felt unrealistic/played out at times but worked in some instances. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship

mydearwatsonbooks's review against another edition

4.0

TW: suicide, abuse, cults

Lo Denham works for a fledgling newspaper. When she sees a man commit suicide after quoting a Bible verse, her decision to reach out to the cult he was a part of—the same one her sister is in—changes her life.

This book is what you might call “slow burning”, which is normally not my style, but it works here. Summers alternates between two voices, Lo and her sister, Bea. Each voice is in a different timeline: Bea’s is in the past, and Lo’s is more or less in the present (the novel ends in 2018).

After Lo is in a car accident that kills her parents, Bea ends up at The Unity Project, a cult run by Lev Warren. Lo sets out to discover if the rumors she has heard about The Unity Project are true or not. I do wish that some of the characters involved in the cult had been a little more skeptical before joining, but the need for something to believe in is certainly relatable. I also appreciate that the author recognizes how hard it is to condemn something when that thing has also gone so much good in the world.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s, and Wednesday Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Suicide

travelseatsreads's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

3.0

I really enjoyed reading Sadie so was looking forward to this. Also the idea of cults and how they operate is always something that intrigues me. This was a mixed bag for me. The beginning and ending were nicely paced but I found the middle dragged somewhat and took me a bit longer to get through. 
I enjoyed the change of POV from Lo to Bea and also the change in timeline kept it interesting however a few aspects of the story line did fall a bit short and were almost predictable. 
Overall, it was an enjoyable read but didn't set my world alight.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Car accident, and Death of parent

hagiasophia's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional fast-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 don't know if this is really a four star read, but I consumed this book in a day. I do like how Summers writes characters, and the setting and atmosphere were great. I was a little disappointed in some of the twists and the changes to the main character felt a little too quick to be believable, but it was entertaining.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Toxic relationship, Car accident, and Death of parent

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship