Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Phantom Limb: A Gripping Psychological Thriller by Lucinda Berry

62 reviews

haleea's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

2.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Suicide attempt, Death, and Self harm

Moderate: Eating disorder and Rape

megmccreery's review against another edition

mysterious fast-paced

2.0

Well this was traumatizing, and the writing was boring. Very clinical and not suspenseful for a thriller. The twist was meh, and the ending was… something! If anyone reads this, you MUST check TWs. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Self harm, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Car accident, Suicide, Mental illness, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Vomit

Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis and Excrement

gzaborski's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

2.0

Overall I found the book kind of disappointing, wasn’t really a thriller as much as I expected and the psychological aspect of the book seemed a bit fixated on the shock of abuse and self harm combined with pretty straightforward medical diagnostic attributes.
I found that the twists didn’t really pay off. Even thought I didn’t expect the final twist, I feel it fell flat. There wasn’t really any sense of high stakes in the main character’s self-discovery/healing process, and I also feel like this book was kind of a bad representation of how inpatient programs facilitate a positive mental health progression. I expected characters introduced to play a larger role in the story, but they felt simple, like they were only there to forward the plot prior to the twist. The book was well written from an objective pov so I’m sticking with 2 stars for this not-thrilling thriller.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Physical abuse, Death, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, Rape, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Car accident, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicidal thoughts

lbarnhill3's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

4.0

I’m giving it a 4 because it was well written. The imagery, the dialogue, the unreliable narrator was very well done. But I really didn’t like this book. Spoilers ahead

initially I thought perhaps Elizabeth had dissociative identity disorder and her twin Emily wasn’t actually a real person, just another personality due to the MC’s childhood trauma. That would have been fantastic to go with, although predictable. Then I bought the whole “Emily died years before” thing and I thought, ok this tracks. But the twist at the end of Elizabeth ACTUALLY being Emily and the rationale behind why she assumed Elizabeth’s identity just left me unimpressed.

I really didn’t like the portrayal of anorexia in the book. While the side characters weren’t the focus, it really bothered me the way Rose’s character and her treatment were written. I’ve never been in an inpatient psychiatry setting outside of my rotation in nursing school, but I did spend 16 weeks in treatment for my own eating disorder at a ED facility and most of those interactions for her wouldn’t have flown and definitely weren’t conducive to recovery. But I guess that was the point. I don’t know. The whole story just felt a little gross having been written by a former psychologist & child trauma researcher. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Sexual violence, Self harm, Sexual assault, Eating disorder, Death, and Child abuse

khowick24's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

I would buy every book this author releases! She writes absolutely brilliantly 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Child abuse, Mental illness, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Death, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Eating disorder, Fatphobia, and Self harm

hauntedantiqueshop's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

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

2.5

Not horrible but very predictable, literally called the twists from the very beginning. One of the better Lucinda Berry books I’ve read. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Body horror, Sexual assault, Medical trauma, Pedophilia, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Physical abuse, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Car accident, Eating disorder, Body shaming, Trafficking, and Torture

Minor: Vomit

aleann129's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Eating disorder, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Suicide, Child abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Blood, Death, Forced institutionalization, and Mental illness

tyreadsbooks_'s review against another edition

dark slow-paced

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

2.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Child abuse, Eating disorder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

tarantulagirl's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Death, Self harm, Sexual assault, Body horror, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Fatphobia, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Blood, Eating disorder, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Car accident, Child abuse, Grief, Rape, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Suicide

shortiebabe's review against another edition

challenging dark 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? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

The book was really good! I thought I had the ending figured out, so I did not see the final plot twist at the end coming. This is my second book of Dr. Berry's.  I personally liked this better than Allegedly. Can't wait to experience some more of her books!

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Rape, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Sexual assault