Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson

79 reviews

mishasbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Death, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Gun violence, Hate crime, Drug abuse, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Grief, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Cancer, Suicide, Fire/Fire injury, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexism, Stalking, and Toxic relationship

hollyheartless's review

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

4.0

I will admit that, at the start, I wasn’t as hooked in this book as I was in the first. However, Holly Jackson’s characters are so deep and developed they practically jump off the page and draw you in. Pip’s development definitely kept me invested and as the mystery starts to unravel, I couldn’t put it down. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Gun violence, Death, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Blood, and Murder

Minor: Alcohol

sammymilfort's review against another edition

emotional informative mysterious relaxing 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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Car accident, Stalking, Blood, Body horror, Murder, Violence, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief

Minor: Rape, Sexual harassment, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, and Child death

librarymouse's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious

• 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

This novel is a fantastic continuation of the series. The main story line wraps up very neatly in A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, but Holly Jackson did such a fantastic job planting the seeds of future mysteries to be unraveled as the plot developed, that Good Girl, Bad Blood felt like a natural progression of the story. Just now, after finishing the book, it's hit me how short the timeline of the story is. Pip is still a high school student in this second book.

She discovers her best friend's dad (a second dad to her) is the man who murdered his oldest daughter's best friend, solving a five year mystery that the rest of the town had believed to be solved, and nearly dying in the process. In this novel, during the same school year, Pip is forced to reckon with who she has become, beyond the good student she's always been, while searching for her friend's missing brother in a town that thinks he just ran away.

In the prequel novella Kill Joy, Jackson plants the seeds for Ant to show his true colors. He's an asshole, poking fun at the murder of Andie Bell multiple times throughout the murder mystery birthday party they're attending and prank scaring his friends, disregarding his friends' feelings when they ask him to stop. In this novel, he is so wrapped up in his relationship with Lauren and he believes online comments, that he disregards Connor's pain, as does Lauren. He mocks Pip the day Max Hastings is pronounced not guilty, provoking her into attacking him by joking that she's hidden Jamie for more internet clout, calling his disappearance "convenient". I hope they're dropped from the friend group in the next novel.

This sets the stage really well for Ant's dad to be one of the people who protest the funeral. Jackson does a fantastic job depicting the negatives of small towns - the bigotry, and the closing of ranks. Ravi is the blueprint boyfriend, and his willingness to be there for Pip, supporting her through everything, is really beautiful. He understands what she's going through more than most. I'm also glad Pip was able to repair her relationship with Nat DeSilva.

I guessed the killer was Pip's neighbor, about 3/4 of the way through the book, but it was a feature of the clues peppered through the writing, and I'm not disappointed that I was able to guess it. The twist was still satisfying to read. Pip's suffering because of Charlie's actions, killing a man in cold blood, in front of her, is thoughtfully written. Her tenderness for a man she barely knew, and who most would say didn't deserve it, whether it be for his past and apologized for racism, or his part in his father's crimes as a child, juxtapose greatly with the reactions of the townsfolk who new and loved Stanley before his identity was revealed. Pip cares about the truth and the preservation of life, and her coming to terms with her new perception of right and wrong, and who she is as a person make for a very compelling subplot to this novel.

I'm excited for the next book, but I'm sad I have so little time left with these characters.

Great story if you love to read about feminine rage. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Child death, Stalking, Violence, Alcohol, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Cancer and Confinement

Minor: Drug use

whoever_'s review

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Toxic friendship, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexism, Rape, Racial slurs, Deadnaming, and Abandonment

serendipity421's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Violence, Blood, and Death

Moderate: Car accident, Gun violence, Murder, Alcohol, and Kidnapping

Minor: Drug use

wishyouweresober's review

challenging dark sad fast-paced

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

5.0

I don't know what drugs Holly put in this book, but I definitely want them by themselves.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, Violence, Child abuse, Blood, and Gun violence

Minor: Cursing, Alcohol, and Addiction

sissiemilia's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

I prefer the first book, but the ending of Good Girl, Bad Blood was marvelous. I think the third one will be the best. At least the set up is womderful.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, Murder, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Blood, and Death

Moderate: Mental illness and Child abuse

Minor: Cancer and Alcohol

maddison20's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Drug use, and Grief

Moderate: Car accident, Stalking, Cursing, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Medical content, Rape, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Murder, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Blood, and Child death

Minor: Kidnapping, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Car accident, Gun violence, Terminal illness, Blood, Cursing, Medical content, Mental illness, Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, Toxic relationship, and Murder

bubbly_lara's review

adventurous challenging dark 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? Yes

4.25

Another brilliant story! This fell slightly flat against the first one, probably because I read them back to back. However, we unravel even more mysteries in Little Kilton and Ravi and Pip are too cute. Very solid sequel, looking forward to finishing the series!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, and Murder

Minor: Kidnapping, Suicide, Drug use, and Alcohol