Reviews tagging 'Sexual harassment'

The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell

9 reviews

frankensteinscreature's review

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

1.5

I have rather conflicting feelings about this book, I picked it up as a blind date with a book and it’s not something I would usually gravitate towards. I think the writing style was objectively bad but it did draw me in (I suppose that is what thrillers are supposed to do). It could have been good if not for the horrendously stereotypical and frankly homophobic depictions of the one queer character clearly written by a straight woman that does not like gay men. The sort of predatory relationship that she wanted for the story did not need to manifest itself in such a homophobic way. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Child death, Infidelity, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Murder, Domestic abuse, Rape, Kidnapping, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Drug use, Death of parent, Abortion, Confinement, and Adult/minor relationship

heather_harrison's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Abandonment and Death

Minor: Miscarriage, Sexual harassment, and Pregnancy

soniaa5's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug abuse, Sexual harassment, Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Drug use

vexpress's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Sexual harassment, Rape, Animal death, Murder, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Infidelity, Abandonment, Violence, and Cursing

norwegianforestreader's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deportation, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Drug use, Physical abuse, Body horror, Grief, Alcohol, Animal death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Animal cruelty, Bullying, Car accident, Death, Cancer, Cursing, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Murder, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Homophobia, Infidelity, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Torture, and Toxic relationship

sophieamreacher's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Brilliant, read it all in one day. Ending disappointed me a little and lost the creepy feeling I had the whole way through. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, Murder, Rape, Sexual harassment, Confinement, Domestic abuse, and Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Animal death, Abortion, and Pregnancy

Minor: Vomit and Homophobia

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.

dorsetreader's review

dark mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Stalking, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Blood, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Child death, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Violence, Animal death, Miscarriage, Drug use, and Emotional abuse

amayya's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• 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: Rape, Pedophilia, Violence, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment