Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

The Haunting of Maddy Clare by Simone St. James

12 reviews

csondra's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

1.5

I was expecting a haunted mystery. Instead I got a predictable story with absolutely no character development. The FMC reads like an insecure pubescent teen girl going through her boy crazy stage. Sex just comes from literally nowhere. I just couldn’t take this book seriously. Maybe if you’re into horny horror?

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content, Suicide, and Violence

Minor: Rape

lampbee's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious slow-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? No

3.0

Really like her mysteries they’re not always complex but they’re entertaining. This one was less entertaining , the plot focused a weird amount on explicit sex scenes which didn’t feel like they matched with the tone of the story and went on for a very long time. The mystery itself was interesting but too much time spent on developing two romances so the actual ghost case was sort of bland. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Death of parent, Grief, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Death, Murder, Medical trauma, Sexual content, and War

Maybe it was intentional but considering the suicide in the book was caused by rape and sexual violence , I found the gratuitous sex scenes between the two main characters was weird — and the slow pulling of the man from his shell was annoying, not enough time to care about why he covers his war scars etc - her parents deaths was way more interesting than all the sex they kept having while their friend was dying

torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gun violence, Misogyny, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, War, Fire/Fire injury, Stalking, Suicide, Cursing, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Alcohol, Death, Sexual assault, Body horror, Sexual content, Abandonment, and Blood

thereadedit's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I enjoyed getting to know our characters, and how they interacted with Maddy. Maddy was definitely a force of nature that couldn't be contained. Even in death. She deserved so much better than the hand she was dealt in life. 

I loved being able to see the world through the eyes of a woman in 1920s London. You were able to see how much things have changed throughout the years. Along with change you were able to see the simplicity of the times without the complexity of technology. 

This was definitely a story that had to be followed closely or you missed out on details that you would later appreciate. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Rape, Bullying, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Violence, Gun violence, Suicide, Death, War, Fire/Fire injury, and Murder

gondorgirl's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective tense 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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, War, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Suicide, Classism, Murder, Rape, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence

sonygaystation's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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? It's complicated

3.75

You know what! Maddy Clare did nothing wrong

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Suicide, and Rape

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Sexual content, Violence, War, Cursing, and Sexual assault

Minor: Confinement, Grief, Alcohol, Gun violence, Medical content, Infidelity, Misogyny, and Stalking

theimposter's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense 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

4.0

Great ghost story and great mystery! Crime, trauma, war flash backs, romance, ghosts! This book has it all

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Alcohol, Gun violence, Stalking, War, Rape, Murder, Alcoholism, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Suicide, and Mental illness

sarah_speaks's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Sexual violence, Suicide, Rape, Sexual assault, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual content and War

Minor: Death of parent

namielle's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

This was a mostly enjoyable read, though I do wish it was a little spookier.

Sarah Piper is hired by Alistair Gellis to come along with him to investigate a spirit haunting a barn that supposedly hates men. They are joined by Alistair’s partner, the gruff Matthew Ryder. The trio must unravel the ghost’s secrets before one of them is lost forever.

I quite liked Sarah as a protagonist, and I felt like she was pretty relatable, apart from buying into the whole ghost thing really quickly. Alistair and Matthew were both charming in their own ways as well.

The plot was very fast paced, almost too fast. The haunting wasn’t all that scary, and I think this could’ve been fixed if there had been more time for buildup. The culprits of a certain event were pretty predictable, and I was able to figure out who was responsible for it before Sarah, but luckily she didn’t spent an obnoxious amount of time in the dark. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Violence and War

Minor: Rape

susannah_knox's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Violence, Sexual content, Suicide, and Sexual violence