Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Layla by Colleen Hoover

26 reviews

mel_s_bookshelf's review against another edition

mysterious tense fast-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? N/A

3.0

This was a unique take on a romance novel. I know that some people are put off by the paranormal themes explored in this book, however, I actually didn’t mind the concept and overall, I found it to be an enjoyable read. As usual, Colleen Hoover's writing style is great and easy to read - I binged it quite quickly as I was very keen to see how things unfolded. 

 

Although I enjoyed the mystery of this book, I found that the character development wasn’t up Colleen Hoover's usual standards. It is primarily focused on the present happenings; however, I feel as though a little more back story on Leeds and Layla would have helped me to be more invested in them. I also felt disappointed by the ending, which just didn’t sit right with me.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Confinement, Death, Eating disorder, Mental illness, and Torture

Moderate: Stalking, Self harm, and Sexual content

Minor: Alcohol

motivationsloch's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Murder, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Self harm, and Body shaming

Moderate: Death of parent

abbiejolene's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.25

Didn’t love, but didn’t hate this one. Without giving any spoilers, this book had very problematic themes surrounding abuse, captivity, and manipulation, but these themes can be reasoned away given the… lifestyle?… personality?… experiences?… of one of the characters. Not my usual read, but definitely interesting!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Medical trauma, Murder, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Eating disorder, Gun violence, and Torture

cbbyles07's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• 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

Moderate: Eating disorder, Gun violence, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, and Gaslighting

Minor: Blood, Body horror, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, and Physical abuse

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

eleanordonleyyy'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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Eating disorder, Grief, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Toxic relationship