Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Phantom Limb: A Gripping Psychological Thriller by Lucinda Berry

41 reviews

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

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

superslothlouise'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? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault 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

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

likeagilmoregirl's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-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

3.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Eating disorder, Body shaming, Physical abuse, Self harm, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Pedophilia, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Blood, Car accident, Child abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury

astoriareader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

SYNOPSIS

• Elizabeth and Emily are identical twins. Their childhood is horrific. Eventually, they were finally adopted by a good family, but not before suffering imaginable things.
• Eventually, one of the twins finds herself in an inpatient psych unit at a hospital. She is very confused by what people are telling her, and it’s not in line with her memories of the last few years. 

MY THOUGHTS

• Very dark! Be sure to check out trigger warnings because there’s a lot of potentially triggering topics.
• I love Lucinda Berry, and I think she’s a phenomenal writer.
• This is her 4th book that I’ve read. I gave 4 stars to “The Best of Friends”, 5 stars to “When She Returned”, and 3 stars to “If You Tell A Lie.”
• Complex characters with excellent character development. I enjoyed the side characters, like Rose & Lisa, too.
• Berry writes a lot about mental health and trauma in this one, and I enjoyed how she presented the DSM and the look into the diagnoses. 
• The whole story is told from the perspective of the twin, who is hospitalized. I loved learning from her eyes. Through conversations with others, she gains a lot of insight. There are flashbacks and memories as well. And, there’s a small portion of the book at the beginning that is prior to the hospitalization.
• I felt really connected to the main character, and I felt like I was right there with her trying to understand what exactly happened to her. The pacing was great. I was satisfied with the ending.

TL;DR: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Lucinda, girrrrrl, you’ve done it again! I would definitely recommend this one, but I highly suggest checking out trigger warnings. Some heavy topics in this book.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Eating disorder, Adult/minor relationship, Abandonment, Pedophilia, Mental illness, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Car accident, Blood, Sexual violence, Rape, Death, Sexual assault, Self harm, and Child abuse

Minor: Bullying and Schizophrenia/Psychosis