Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Out of Love by Hazel Hayes

62 reviews

cice_zanella's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad slow-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

Minor: Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual assault

badnb0ug1e's review

emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.5

This was a great read but it felt like it dragged a lot of times. I wish it was more to the point. It realistically shows how precious romantic relationships are and that they can break at any time. I wish the protagonist didn't date someone who is fundamentally does not meet her standards or her values but I do have some grace for her because it was her first relationship after being in an abusive one. Bt yeah, men need to go to therapy!

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Content Warnings

Minor: Emotional abuse and Rape

nclausel25's review

emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• 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: Mental illness, Grief, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, and Gaslighting

abi_dutton's review

emotional funny reflective medium-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, and Mental illness

meeklovestoread's review

emotional reflective slow-paced

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

3.5

Not gonna lie, I read this about two weeks ago and I barely remember any of it. I don't think I remember the main character's name. I don't even recall if it was ever given. But from what I do remember I think it was a decent portrayal of just how much a toxic relationship could damage a person. I think the idea of telling the love story in reverse was a neat concept and although the execution wasn't the absolute best in my opinion I do applaud the author for her effort. There was a lot of telling and not showing and to be honest I didn't really care for their relationship. Throughout the book I was wondering what drew her to Theo, to begin with, and although I do recall a few moments where Theo was a decent guy I still think he wasn't a catch from the start and there are a plethora of moments in the book where I was wondering why she didn't initiate the break up first.

Okay a few things are coming back to me. First, I seriously believe they both cheated on each other. We see the main character cheat on Theo twice (both with women; which contributes to the negative connotations people have with bisexuality). And I know it wasn't explicitly said but it was definitely implied that Theo cheated on her with his co-worker. Also (I know this is sporadic), but I found the scene between the main character and the woman going down on her to be highly disturbing. Not only because of the cheating, but also due to how wishy-washy the consent was in there. It made me feel extremely uncomfortable reading that because the main character was CLEARLY contemplating if she even wanted that to happen. The whole scene just gave me the ick!

I like the main character's mom and her friendship with her friend.

The scene where she was having that miscarriage broke me!

The best chapter in this book is "are you a banana?" I will FOREVER think about this chapter because I love it so much! The message was so clear, but reading it was so relatable. There are some great quotes in this book too!

Spice Rating:🌶️.5/5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Grief, and Gaslighting

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Sexual assault

temi1008's review

emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship and Mental illness

Moderate: Misogyny and Emotional abuse

Minor: Infidelity

eemiaxsham21's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Sexual assault and Drug use

chireadsandchill's review

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Animal cruelty, Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, Rape, Infidelity, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence

lizaxwin's review

emotional funny reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The concept of this book is so unique and intriguing. However, I found it a bit difficult to basically read the story from end to start rather than the other way around. I found myself thinking of reading it in the opposite direction if I should ever pick up this book again and I‘ll probably do that sometime.

This book deals with so many important topics and so many horrible people (all or at least some of which all of us have had or sadly will have in our lives sometime or another). Theo was a walking red flag basically, although a lot of his toxic behaviour nearly went undetected. This, imo, was one of the strength of the „upside-down“ storyline. You knew what to look out for.

I‘m still unsure if I find it infuriating that we never find out the protagonist‘s name or if I think it‘s a clever way of showing that every woman could be her.

All in all, a clever story with lots of depth, ma be a few pages too many and definitely a book which practically screams to be read at least two or three times to be grasped in its entirety.

(Definitely check trigger warnings for this one)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Rape

iloivar's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Miscarriage

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, Alcoholism, and Mental illness

Minor: Homophobia, Grief, Sexual assault, Cursing, Abandonment, Vomit, Panic attacks/disorders, Gaslighting, Body shaming, Lesbophobia, Death, Cancer, and Sexual content