Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Layla by Colleen Hoover

61 reviews

nickgalentine's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

1.75

The more I ruminate on this book, the more I dislike it.
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I enjoyed reading this one just because it kept me guessing, but I hated Willow before I knew she was Layla (and kind of after too) Sable and Leeds (what an awful fucking name). It was interesting, but I wouldn't say good. I don't think it deserves 3 full stars, but it deserves more than 2. It felt very... problematic.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, and Physical abuse

shannybee's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Death, and Injury/Injury detail

toofondofbooks_'s review

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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I'm gonna need at least 200 more of these thriller/supernatural books from Colleen Hoover, because this knocked me on my ass almost as much as Verity. I didn't even know what this book was half the time, but I knew that it was really hard to detach myself from my kindle because I just wanted to know what happened and what it was all leading up to. It didn't disappoint me, I'm happy to report. However, I wanted to push the main character, Leeds, off of the nearest cliff. Have I ever hated a male protagonist more? I don't think so. I feel like that was almost the goal of the narrative, though. If it was, congrats Ms. Hoover, you win at writing insufferable men 😂 i don't even know what to do with myself after this one. I already cried, now what?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Gun violence, Violence, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Eating disorder, and Body horror

Moderate: Drug use, Stalking, and Self harm

aflseniors09's review against another edition

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

1.0

I went into this book blindly aka I didn't read the summary of what it was about. I did this because I'd heard so many good things about the author. I can now say even if I had read the summary, this book wouldn't have went where I thought it would. 
To my understanding this isn't the type of book Colleen usually writes, but was an attempt at something new. Something new it definitely was, but it also left a bad first impression on me.
This book centers around a lot of abuse, murder, and triggering topics, so it definitely needs a heavy TW. 
I'm all for reading books with heavy topics, but I just don't think this one was really necessary.
Essentially the entire book is trying to justify Leeds' actions and convince you he's ~not a bad guy~, but even with the twist that aims at justifying his actions, he's still really shitty and it doesn't make any of it okay. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Murder, Torture, Violence, Mental illness, Gun violence, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, and Death

Moderate: Sexual content

sennaje's review against another edition

dark 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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gaslighting, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, and Gun violence

Minor: Alcohol, Death of parent, and Infidelity

ella_1203's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Medical trauma, Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, and Violence

bookishjenn15's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Stalking, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, and Gun violence

Moderate: Confinement, Death, and Murder

emilyhawk's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

1.0

I thought about not finishing this book, but I stuck with it and I will say the twists in the second half really surprised me. But this is not a book I would recommend. The characters are all very superficial, extremely obsessed with sex (and this is reflected in the repetitive writing style - so many descriptions of kissing and making out). The plot is also superficial and mostly relies on technology and social media to advance despite being about the supernatural. The main relationship is also not one I felt comfortable rooting for - the whole thing felt borderline abusive/obsessive. Not a fun read, overall.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Toxic relationship, Gun violence, Infidelity, and Mental illness

Moderate: Addiction, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicide attempt

_thelitlibrarian's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

4.25 stars
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TW; Confinement, Gun Violence, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks
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When Leeds meets Layla he's convinced he'll spend the rest of his life with her, that is until he meets Willow. After a tragic accident leaves Layla fighting for her life, after weeks in the hospital she recovers physically but emotionally she will never be the same. Leeds decides it would be a great idea to take them on a vacation to the B&B they first met. He hopes that this will reconnect their relationship and they'll be the same as when they first met, over time he realizes that the spark is no longer there as he'd found solace in Willow another guest at the B&B. As his curiosity for Willow grows he realizes that helping her could put Layla at risk and is faced with a difficult decision. 

I applaud CoHo for writing and branching out of the contemporary romance we normally see from her - it just goes to show her true talent at expressing emotions and writing amazing characters. Without spoiling too much of the plot I felt really annoyed with Leeds as it seemed he was forgetting Layla for Willow, but the twist just brought everything together. At times I was worried the ending would have gone in a different direction and we would be left with a sadder (and darker) end to the story! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Gun violence, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

taymackwar's review

dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, Confinement, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual content