Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

Midnight Is the Darkest Hour by Ashley Winstead

19 reviews

avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense 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

4.25

       You may not like this book if you are a fundamentalist Christian, as it deals with some of the hypocrisy of a fictional pastor, I'm sure modeled after some real ones. It also deals with an incorrectly labeled fictional Wiccan sect which was much more Satanist than true Wicca.
    That being said it was an excellent book, in my opinion, very dark, but a good romantic thriller. However, the end left me unsatisfied. I'd have liked an epilogue of what happened to the town after, and if the MCs made it through.
    I found the journey enjoyable, and it had some unpredictable twists. Overall, an excellent book.
 
 Narrator Rating:  4.25 stars
   Well the narrator did a good job, she didn't do enough tonal shifts for different characters' voices. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Fire/Fire injury, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Gaslighting, Violence, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Grief, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Child abuse, Classism, Death, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Misogyny, Murder, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Cursing, Gun violence, Sexual harassment, Medical content, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gore, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Physical abuse, and Racism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Antisemitism, Body horror, Colonisation, Forced institutionalization, Torture, Vomit, Addiction, Abortion, Drug abuse, Pregnancy, and Medical trauma

The graphic animal cruelty & animal death were not too drawn out and at the start of the book. The other animal death wasn't on the page, just some parts with talk or one of the characters having a dead animal (snake and deer).

tiiiger35's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.75

I really enjoyed this book, I’d have given it 5 stars if it wasn’t for the ending which was open ended. 

It’s definitely a southern gothic thriller with an underlying supernatural element. 

It’s set in a religiously zealot small town, the author does a great job of describing the hot, humid, swampy, surroundings of the Deep South. 

Ruth, the pastors daughter is naive, submissive and too easily influenced. Her blind ignorance towards her surroundings irritated me a lot. 

I was very drawn to Evers’ character, a tormented soul who’s been mistreated his entire life. His vulnerability around Ruth is endearing & balances out his lingering darkness. 

I see a lot of people slating the Twiligjt references but what they don’t get is that young girls are drawn to books like that and figures Edward Cullen because it’s a love interest outside of society and morality. This cries out to a girl like Ruth confined by religious beliefs & restrictions. It’s no wonder she looked at Ever, as her idea of a dark romance waiting to save her. 

Overall, I really enjoyed the book.

It was hard to put down at times and I raced through it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Sexual harassment, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Hate crime, Murder, Pedophilia, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Abortion, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Death of parent, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, and Drug abuse

judyhagan's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Rape, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Death of parent, Death, Misogyny, and Murder

teganbeesebooks's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Abandonment, Addiction, Blood, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Classism, Child abuse, Death, Rape, Abortion, Alcohol, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Adult/minor relationship, Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, and Religious bigotry

jamie_rich's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Gaslighting, Murder, and Sexism

brandilovesbooks's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense 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

3.5

Midnight is the Darkest Hour is a book about the fine line between good and evil.

Ruth is the daughter of an extreme minister in coastal Louisiana.  She has one friend- Everett, a boy who saved her from rape.  She dreams of leaving her small town and going to college.

Everett teaches her to climb trees and savor nature.  He is a reader like she is.  They read together and talk about books.

When Everett moves out of town, Ruth is forced to stay.  He returns after staying away for a year.

A skull is found in the swamp.  Ruth and Everett are worried the skull will point to them.  

Midnight is the Darkest Hour is told in two timelines- the summers beginning when Ruth was 17 and now.

It is the story of two people making one shady choice after another while they try to avoid the truth coming out.  This is the first book I've read where you know the MC committed murder in their past.

As the book goes on, they learn that evil in the most unexpected places.  Power in their small town means some people are above the law.

I almost put the book down a couple pages in.  Ruth has an obsession with the book Twilight and idolizes Bella.  I was not a fan of that character- I found her annoying and weak.  I decided to keep reading because I understood why a very sheltered minister's daughter might see something in Bella.

This book is a train wreck.  You can't look away.  Ruth and Everett continuously make bad decisions.   Everett convinces Ruth that committing small crimes is okay because the person is bad.  This continues as the crimes get progressively worse.

About half way through the book, the tempo really picked up.  It was hard to put the book down.

Ruth and Everett are lovable in the same way you love a stray animal.  You can't fault them for their issues because of the damage inflicted on them in the past.

I alternated between reading and listening to the audiobook.  The audiobook narrator had a perfect southern accent.  Listening to dialog was much better than the Midwestern voice in my head could do.  

I recommend this book for anyone who likes reading about moral grey areas, sheltered girls and the bad boy, or southern small towns.

My content warnings-  lots of fire and brimstone preaching, murder, attempted rape, child abuse, an unhealthy obsession with Twilight, sacrifice, old fashioned beliefs that women should be obedient, cursing (but appropriate and no F words).

The romance is closed door.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Drug use, Murder, Sexism, Bullying, Gaslighting, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Animal death, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, Blood, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Torture, and Violence

kerrygetsliterary's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Drug use, Blood, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexism, Death, Child abuse, Cursing, Alcoholism, Violence, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death of parent, Grief, and Sexual assault

cde10's review against another edition

dark hopeful mysterious tense medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Religious bigotry, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Violence, Pedophilia, Panic attacks/disorders, Abortion, Blood, and Rape

cuddlygryphon's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Classism, Cursing, Rape, Sexual content, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Religious bigotry, Addiction, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Abortion, Death, Drug use, Physical abuse, Violence, Vomit, and Death of parent

ohennui's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug use, Religious bigotry, Blood, Alcoholism, Death, Murder, and Violence

Minor: Gun violence, Rape, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, and Pregnancy