Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

La chica salvaje by Delia Owens

312 reviews

alisonw's review against another edition

sad slow-paced

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

2.0

I honestly just can’t with a book that’s placing itself so heavily in the real world with (may I add, absolutely beautiful) descriptions of nature with obvious scientific roots… and then the main character is such a painfully unrealistic Mary Sue. 
A certain degree of it is normal if not enjoyable, but the dual description of someone who is basically feral and yet looks conventionally beautiful, teaches herself to do an untold number of things from books alone and seemingly never needs medical help or anything of the sort? I just couldn’t hold off the disbelief.

The fact that I trudged to the end of this book is due to the aforementioned beautiful descriptions of marshland, and a personal insatiable curiosity when it comes to whodunnits. I would honestly say the ending was the worst part of the book though, not for whodunnit but just the fact that it felt very forced and rushed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Classism, Abandonment, Misogyny, Infidelity, and Gaslighting

emnime's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Rape, Grief, Bullying, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Racism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Death of parent, Death, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, and Violence

Moderate: Misogyny, Cursing, Hate crime, and Car accident

Minor: Infertility

shyleek's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective sad 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? No

4.75

I sat on this for 24 hours before writing the review. I don't have a lot of triggers, I can process things like a healthy adult, however this did bring up a lot of stuff. So to write a fair review I had to give my head some space. 

Growing up with Kya was a beautiful and sad journey all at the same time. She was so strong and overcame everything thrown at her but you couldn't help but think that she shouldn't have those things thrown at her to begin with.

Honestly the ending wrecked me. Because while I fully expected it, I didn't want to believe it.

I wanted to hold on to Kyas innocence.

This book will take you on an emotional roller coaster. If you can handle the content, I strongly recommend this read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Racism, Murder, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Rape, Violence, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Grief, Confinement, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Self harm

quietmarki's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

Listened to the audio bc I was scared reading it, but it's okay. I was spoiled by reading the reviews (my bad) but still liked it enough to finish it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Cursing, Sexism, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Murder, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence

tabbyjleonard's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Child abuse

Minor: Sexual assault

paperbackmoth's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Murder, Racism, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Bullying, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Physical abuse, and Racial slurs

marbledcalico's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-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? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship

Moderate: Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, Murder, Abandonment, and Bullying

Minor: Racial slurs and Racism

moobubu's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

im sweating so bad rn i can never move on from this

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Infertility, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Murder, Racism, and Alcoholism

jessicabobessica's review against another edition

mysterious reflective 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? No

3.5

I devoured this book because I NEEDED to know the ending. A couple years later, I still have fond memories but wouldn’t list it as a fave.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Classism, Death, Domestic abuse, Murder, and Sexual assault

elizabeth_juliet's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I read this book during my study hall because I could not stay away from it. I lived the moody, southern gothic vibes, set in the 1960s in a small town surrounded by a mysteriously haunting marsh.

As someone who loves figurative language and imagery, this was a joy to read! From the first page, I was hooked! “Marsh is not swamp. Marsh is a space of light, where grass grows in water, and water flows into sky.” I’ve never been to the coast of North Carolina and I wasn’t alive in the sixties, but this novel transported me there. 

My heart ached for Kya so many times as I read this book, so was so young and innocent in a cruel world that she had done nothing to deserve. I love murder mysteries, and especially loved the way this book jumped around its timeframe. That’s all I’ll say because I’m afraid I’ll spoil it if I go on. If you love descriptions of nature, misunderstood heroines, and true love winning out, read Where the Crawdads Sing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Sexual assault, Rape, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, and Murder

Minor: Stalking and Racism