Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell

9 reviews

rosyburrow's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

• Loveable characters? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Rape

Minor: Alcoholism

luelle_'s review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement and Death of parent

Moderate: Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Rape, Murder, Toxic relationship, Violence, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Drug use, and Miscarriage

Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death

kaitlyns22's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Murder, Violence, Domestic abuse, Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, Vomit, Sexual assault, and Trafficking

bookmark3brodi's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Miscarriage, Car accident, Sexual assault, Torture, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Child death, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Body horror, Kidnapping, Blood, Body shaming, Gaslighting, Murder, Forced institutionalization, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Bullying, and Pedophilia

batcaves's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Confinement, Adult/minor relationship, Abortion, Alcoholism, Abandonment, Animal death, Rape, Pregnancy, Death of parent, Infertility, Child abuse, Death, Miscarriage, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Infidelity, Murder, Sexual assault, Violence, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, and Chronic illness

peeshpish's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

It was a slow start but once it picks up, it moves fast. The story flows well once the three POVs become more closely intertwined & the connections are more clear. There are many twists & turns along the way, & the story continues to develop until the very last sentence. Libby’s POV is an often needed relief from the heaviness of the other two, much less tense but still moves the story forward. Many characters felt flat or aligned with stereotypes that I’d expect more from a book written earlier than one written in 2019, but I still ended up reading most of the book in one sitting so I was definitely invested.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Murder, Grief, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Confinement, and Death

Moderate: Abandonment, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, and Misogyny

Minor: Suicide, Homophobia, Medical content, Sexual harassment, Pregnancy, Infertility, Medical trauma, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, Blood, and Pedophilia

Lucy’s chapters are heavy with

sexual assault & domestic violence. She is raped & murders her attacker. If it helps to know, she is not punished for killing him.

The chapters set in the past (labelled “Chelsea, [year]”) contain a lot lf

child abuse, domestic violence, & are where most of the content warnings come into play.

Libby’s chapters are generally safe for content, mostly vague details about the fate & story of the people who lived in the house she inherits.

crosberg's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Murder, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Infidelity, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy

kjm_x's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Abandonment, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Murder, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Stalking, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Minor: Alcoholism

kelseyr713's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Loved this twisty thriller. Not many loose threads left at the end, but enough for a final twist of the knife. I made a few predictions while reading and none of them were correct! I would be curious about a sequel, I think there’s certainly enough here for one.

Reread in 2022 before reading the sequel, yay!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Pregnancy, Infidelity, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Child abuse, Miscarriage, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Kidnapping, Murder, Drug use, Stalking, Medical content, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Blood, and Physical abuse

Minor: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Homophobia