Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine

42 reviews

twisted_luce's review against another edition

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? Yes

2.0

This book started well but overall I found it to be a bit “meh” 
It plateaus quite quickly, I really hoped it would pick up the pace but when it did finally get into it, it was just OK and then over. 


Side note - I couldn’t get past the plot hole that she tried on every pair of her knickers whilst she was picking the kids up. EVERY PAIR, as a reader we already know that this is a whole bedroom sized closet, so I could just imagine her frantically getting in and out of tons of pairs of pants like some sort of frenzied world record attempt.

Finally, a big “boooo” for the internalised misogyny- the idea that a woman deserves any kind of abusive treatment is not going to sit well. Granted the character was hideous but justice could have been served without horrific domestic abuse. 

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Rape, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Bullying and Eating disorder

Minor: Child abuse

Trigger warning for eating disorders and domestic / financial / sexual / emotional abusive

chelseamayxxx's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

3.0

This is such a weird book and so much happens in it that you don’t really understand the plot of the story or what’s happening that much as it’s told from 2 people. I figured out that the husband was a narcissist bully who hated against women and children if there were girls. The 1st part of the story she is so obsessed with the family that it gets too much to read and the 2nd part of the story she is too scared to leave her abusive husband so the story did match up towards the end of the last 30 pages I would so. But this story takes so many twists and turns that is hard to enjoy this book. I got half way and wanted to give up reading this book but I was too addictive to finding out what finally happens in the story that I kept reading it sadly. The characters I absolutely  hated them all though the book they were annoying and they kept moaning and winging about stuff that it gets too insufferable. Xxx

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death, Fatphobia, Bullying, Child abuse, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Chronic illness, Toxic friendship, Violence, and Mental illness

Moderate: Alcohol

Minor: Abortion

pookiee's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

1.5

The Wife Between Us is a much better version of the same story; read that instead.

a lot of reviews mention plot twists, but I only read one (

that daphne finally realized what amber was up to and wanted her to ’steal’ her husband

). the rest is just a typical story and filling in of the details of the twist. really, the same events we read in pov1 are gone over in pov2 when we could easily assume 2’s thoughts, having found out the twist.

the writing is very bland; everything is “She did this. Then, she did that.” with no interesting figurative language. the simplicity makes it easy to speed through the book at least.

the characters are supremely boring, too. it’s crystal clear whom readers are supposed to root for/against and these people have no life outside of being virtuous/villainous and rich/poor. 

the pov in part i is exhaustingly bitter and part ii is filled with tactless descriptions of abuse just to have us pity one chara and hate the other even more. this is not a deeply psychological book or character study, it’s emotional manipulation with total caricatures and major, laughable plot conveniences.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Infidelity, Sexual violence, Alcohol, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Grief, Chronic illness, Infertility, Sexual assault, Eating disorder, Rape, Terminal illness, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, and Body shaming

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, Abortion, and Child abuse

Minor: Blood

kimveach's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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

2.75

Apparently, I have read too many domestic thrillers as I've seen this plot before.  It's possible this book, published in 2017, was the first one to do it of the books I've read.  Thankfully, it was quick to read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Bullying, Child abuse, Classism, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Violence, Death, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Stalking, Torture, and Toxic relationship

books4escaping's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

4.25

Really liked - The story kept me engaged from start to finish. A similar plot to "The Maids Secret" by Freida McFadden. The difference is that I found The Last Mrs. Parrish execution better and more enjoyable. I'm glad Amber got what she desired.

Most memorable lines

I was learning that emotional intimidation could be just as unsettling as physical.

Amber needed order—disciplined, structured order. And now, finally, she was the master of her world. And of her fate.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Violence, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Confinement, and Domestic abuse

abbygcarter08's review against another edition

challenging dark tense 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

4.25

This book was insane!!! It had me enthralled, but also mad the whole time!! All I have to say is karma is a sneaky b**ch!! A very entertaining story and a great ending.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Child abuse, Abortion, Rape, Gun violence, Death of parent, Death, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

brittischill's review against another edition

dark medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, and Child abuse

mackennac's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• 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: Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Violence, Body shaming, Child abuse, Gun violence, Torture, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Death of parent, Fatphobia, Pregnancy, Stalking, Infertility, Abortion, and Slavery

christine7499's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

I found myself constantly reading, but at times I found the fast-paced nature of the book and the sometimes simplistic way it was written to be a little cheesy. Once I got halfway through the book I could semi-predict the ending. Easy read. Enjoyable but nothing stellar.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Grief, Rape, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death, Forced institutionalization, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Sexism, and Sexual assault

olsenenger's review against another edition

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Sexual violence

Moderate: Child abuse