Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward

27 reviews

librarian_elle's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Violence

Moderate: Death, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Child death, Animal cruelty, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Animal death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, and Child abuse

thewordapothecary's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

A rollercoaster for sure. There were multiple times I swore I had it all figured out. And I guess in a way I did, but not fully. There are so many ups and downs with the characters, you love them and think they’re good and then the next you hate them and think they’re the bad guy.

Not a challenging read, but you do have to get used to how Ted speaks. Once you do though, it’s a very fast read. 

Really dark, but so good and I can tell it was well researched. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Gore, Alcoholism, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide, Suicide attempt, Murder, Physical abuse, Vomit, Body horror, Grief, Mental illness, Self harm, and Violence

lady_valhella's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

It is dark and twisted. I would not say terrifying in the way It was terrifying. I would say more like if you have mommy issues then yes it’s terrifying. It is definitely a master class into the darker side of humanity and the lasting effects  that nature can have on all parties in and around the life of one sick f@cker. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Grief, Kidnapping, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Death, Suicide attempt, Violence, Abandonment, Body horror, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Torture, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Murder

kt2e56's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Without a doubt the most disturbing and distressing book I think I’ve ever read. I couldn’t put it down. Every time I thought I knew what was going on I then hoped I was wrong because “that would too horrible.” Definitely recommend for anyone who likes horror. This really crawls under your skin and stays there. I don’t think I’ll ever forget it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Mental illness, Torture, Violence, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Death, Gaslighting, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Stalking, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Self harm, and Suicide attempt

hxlleann's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Alcoholism, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Fire/Fire injury, and Animal cruelty

stardustvein's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Mental illness

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Grief, Abandonment, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Medical content, and Murder

tnels4's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Child abuse, Child death, Animal death, and Suicide

Moderate: Kidnapping, Drug abuse, and Toxic relationship

suchsweetsorrow89's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

wow. just wow. going into this book blind, i was in for a whirlwind. i thought i knew what the twist would be, and to some extent i was correct, but i was proven wrong again and again. ward has an absolutely brilliant way of stringing the story along and tying together all lose ends in ways that are partly scary, partly going to make you feel weird, but are ways that are complex and imaginative. but most of all, ward details this book in a way that is simply there, right before our very eyes from the beginning that makes it incredibly unique while also functioning on one of the most basic aspects of the horror classics that makes it so moving and just downright incredible. the afterward is incredibly powerful and, to some extent, left me very emotional (granted, i get emotional pretty easily, so that might not have been her intention). the twists and turns in the book will challenge everything you know about the story and it's overall message in ways that will forever remain impactful.

the one thing i really want to flag for those who have read the book is that i think ward put so much time into researching the effects of DID in ways that must be praised and celebrated. she took so much care into not making this one of those classic horror stories that come off offensive to actually craft a narrative that everyone can relate to at it's basic level: though we all seemingly strive for the good, sometimes the path of memory, acceptance, and forgiveness does not look linear for all, and that sometimes the very key to forgive ourselves and begin to live life and survive again looks like doing just that again and again and learning to celebrate and be angry at sometimes and just lean in. and that is perhaps the most beautiful message to put in a horror book especially.

as an avid nerd of the classics and dabbles into what defines the monstrous, this book borrows from so much of these classic authors and hallmark texts and really extracts the themes that make them work (i.e. religion, alienation, body horror, gender constructions, growing up, sexuality, the transcendental spaces of the woods and water, even down to the classic 'haunted house' trope, and so much more) while also developing an entirely unique product in the end that makes me happy i decided to pick up this horror book (as someone who doesn't really read horror) and makes me even more excited to see both what ward and other contemporary horror writers will do in the future. highly recommend!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Death, Child death, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Trafficking, Torture, Child abuse, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Violence, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Medical content, Gore, Domestic abuse, and Grief

Moderate: Body shaming

suicide and suicide attempt

ommageden's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

Story's bones were great and up to about 3/4 of the way through the book really gripped me. However some events happen that make the story both hard to follow, as well as slow down the pace of the story dramatically which really made me have to power through. 

It was a good library read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Suicide, Child abuse, Death of parent, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Alcoholism and Toxic relationship

Minor: Vomit

sinisterbeard's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Child abuse, Suicide, Mental illness, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, Torture, Death, Child death, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Addiction