Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

Where the Forest Meets the Stars by Glendy Vanderah

23 reviews

sandysmith's review

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

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

3.75

I'm gradually adding books I've read in 2021 to give a true reflection of the books I've read since keeping records.  This was the first book I read in 2021, and is what kick started my reading journey having put reading on the back burner whilst bringing up the children, previously being an avid reader.  I enjoyed this book. Joanna Teale is recovering from breast cancer and she retreats to graduate researching in a cabin in the woods.  A mysterious child called Ursa shows up and she reluctantly let's her stay. She does call the police but she rubs away, returning when the police leave. A neighbour assists with the 3 of them forming a bond. A really lovely book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cancer, Mental illness, Sexual content, Animal death, Child abuse, Death of parent, and Drug abuse

avisreadsandreads's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Medical content, Medical trauma, Cancer, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Animal death, Death, Death of parent, and Grief

Moderate: Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Pedophilia, Alcoholism, Addiction, and Bullying

Minor: Dementia

malea_ann's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Murder, Alcoholism, Animal death, Cancer, Addiction, Child abuse, Drug abuse, and Sexual assault

pursuing_metanoia's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Grief, Death of parent, and Animal death

Moderate: Addiction, Violence, and Sexual assault

Minor: Blood, Murder, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Medical content, and Alcoholism

ashleyoop's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, and Cancer

carlack7's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

5.0

A delightful read! So glad I didn't know much about this book going into it. I honestly didn't know if I was reading literary fiction, a mystery or sci-fi! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness

Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, and Grief

Minor: Child death and Infertility

alexmall029's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful fast-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer

Minor: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Drug use, Mental illness, and Animal death

cmm9200's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This book had me crying at the end. I loved it from the first couple of pages. I felt like I was going on a rollercoaster of emotions, and the plot had me turning page after page. I had this on both digital and audible formats. When I wasn't reading, I was listening to it. Highly recommend! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Cancer, Grief, Medical content, Sexual violence, Addiction, Murder, Violence, Abandonment, Drug abuse, Animal death, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Gun violence, Death of parent, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical trauma

liloopie's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

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

4.5

The plot was good and the characters for the most part were likable. Where it fell short was the prose in a few chapters that were choppy and could have been crafted better between the two adult protagonists. I was kind of hoping the plot was a bit more sci-fi to add the twist to the plot but in the end it was a bit too predictable. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Addiction, Alcoholism, Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Animal cruelty, and Death of parent

Minor: Sexual content, Rape, and Violence

not sci-fi

siobhanward's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

 This was a surprisingly fun read for me. I did struggle a bit to get into it at first, but once I was in, I really liked it. I thought the plot was cute and I liked the interactions between the characters. The only thing that really stuck out to me as a negative was how Gabe's mental health was handled. I feel like a book being written in 2019 should have a better attitude than "um have you tried being less depressed??" because that just ain't it. I'm also just kind of over the "mental illness is scary" trope.

Despite that, I still really enjoyed this book and had a lot of fun with it. I'm looking forward to reading more from Vanderah in the future. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Addiction

Moderate: Animal death and Mental illness