Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

The Fury by Alex Michaelides

20 reviews

brep23's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Drug use, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Stalking and Child abuse

Minor: Violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Domestic abuse

emma_sky's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Bullying, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Infidelity, Gaslighting, Stalking, Violence, and Alcoholism

Minor: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Blood, and Gun violence

kimberleyw12's review

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Murder, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Drug use, Drug abuse, Addiction, and Bullying

Minor: Domestic abuse

bessadams's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, Infidelity, and Death

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Bullying, Mental illness, Drug use, and Adult/minor relationship

kelsylee's review against another edition

mysterious reflective tense 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? Yes

2.25

I would dnf but I was reading this for a reading challenge.

This book kept me up all night, not because it was good, but because I couldn’t stop thinking about how stupid it was.

The narrator was awful, it took me so much longer to finish this than it should have because I just didn’t want to read the parts where he was talking. I had the ending figured out a few chapters in and the big reveal just wasn’t rewarding.

The entire book could be summed up in one sentence:

NiceGuy(tm) can’t take no for an answer

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Infidelity, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Drug use, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Bullying, and Child abuse

daniellereadslikealot_'s review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

4.0

I loved both The Silent Patient and The Maidens so I was so looking forward to The Fury. It did take me a little bit to fully get into the story, but I was always intrigued to see where it was going to go. Act I does move a bit slower as we get to know the characters and settle into their dynamics, but pay close attention because…well, you’ll see. Act II was where the story really hooked me. I love a non linear timeline and going back to previous scenes from different perspectives and POVs. Also, I found Elliot to be a VERY fun and complex narrator. The story itself had so many twists and turns and I loved it. Every time I thought I had the story figured out, in classic Michaelides fashion, he tore the rug out from under me several times. Also I really enjoyed the cameos from his previous novels. If you like a slower, simmering, tension filled thriller with not very likeable, but interesting characters, this might be for you!

CW: gun violence, infidelity, mentions of child abuse, bullying, mentions of domestic abuse 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Infidelity and Gun violence

Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Bullying

missgrangerr's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.5

Felt there is a lot of things we’re mentioned in passing throughout the book which were never called back to or elaborated on that would have made for a better story.  Ending felt rushed, unimaginative, and lackluster.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Blood, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Gun violence, Murder, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Stalking, Violence, Child abuse, and Abandonment

Minor: Animal death

amishemokid's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Murder, Blood, Gun violence, and Alcohol

Moderate: Mental illness, Gaslighting, Child abuse, Bullying, and Addiction

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Blood, Drug abuse, and Drug use

depmythmoon's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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? Yes

4.0

 “The real tragedy, of course, by always looking outward, by focusing so intently on the other persons experience, we lose touch with our own. It’s as if we live out entire life pretending to be ourselves, as imposters impersonating ourselves, rather than feeling this is really me, this is who I am.” (pg. 60)

This book started off pretty slow in my opinion, and I didn’t get invested until around page 50-60. During this time, I was questioning whether I was going to enjoy this book and what the point of all the exposition was, but the thriller aspect started to kick up eventually.

I was also able to understand why the beginning may have started as it did. Despite the narrator mentioning that starting a book with the weather is never the right move, I can see how it serves this book well. The island that the group of characters goes to is known for having terrible storms known as “The Fury,” which, coincidentally, is the namesake of the book. With the storm in mind, I see the boring exposition as the calm before it. Mixed with our unreliable narrator, who slowly begins to open up to the reader as the acts progress, the reader is being allowed a moment of stillness before the real twists start to pop up. I can appreciate it now, but forcing myself to power through at first was tough. It’s partially why I still can’t give it 5 stars no matter how I can appreciate it.

I will say, it did teach me to give a book at least 50 pages before considering a possible DNF. I’m glad I finished it, and the annotation process was enjoyable.

This book seems to have a theme that centers heavily on childhood trauma and how we carry that pain or that child with us as we go through life. The author claims that people who have gone through trauma at that age become the people they needed at that time as they age. There were many moments in the book where I could relate to some of the characters’ backstories. It reminds me of just how much I hate bullying and is a very dramatized telling of the lengths a person would go to protect themselves from their pasts. Being able to relate to something like that added an extra layer of complication that I always enjoy. Give me that wonderful mental challenge of morality, and I eat it up every time.

It was nice to see how the retelling of the events while they were on the island slowly became more clear as the narrator opens up. You are able to see how certain details didn’t quite add up or what changed from one telling to the next. The twist in this story is satisfying, and I like that subtle hints are sprinkled throughout that allow you to gradually piece things together.

I also liked the use of 2nd person throughout the book. It’s one of the least common to see when reading, and I think the author implemented it successfully. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Death, and Bullying

Moderate: Mental illness, Infidelity, Toxic friendship, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Drug use

Minor: Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Suicide, and Incest

katelynprice's review

mysterious medium-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

2.0

At first I enjoyed the meta, aware-of-itself vibe of the book, but I quickly grew tired of it. I'm not sure that I would classify this as a thriller. I was really bored and felt like the pacing was pretty slow. The twists really annoyed me. I didn't find any of it to be clever, satisfying, or even believable. I can handle an unlikeable character/narrator if there is good storytelling, but I wasn't a fan of the way this story unfolded at all. I like mysteries/crimes in which the pieces of the puzzle are dropped along the way so that the reader can play detective. Mysteries like this one just leave me irritated. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity and Gun violence

Moderate: Bullying

Minor: Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, Cursing, and Child abuse