Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Credence by Penelope Douglas

248 reviews

charlot_fairey'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? Yes

3.75

Feel like the book was weird but good but there were some flaws. 

The whole jake and tiernan thing was strange I was into it but thought it was strange how happy he was to just drop her when he realised Kaleb loved her, even though it was made out that they both loved eachother- it was literally just a 48hr fling and was made out to be so much more than it actually was. 

Wish that Tiernan and Noah had stayed platonic, I think they both really needed a person to rely on, be there for them and to be their family and love them unconditionally.

Now Kaleb I liked him, however he literally SA'd her TWICE?! I also feel like his character could of had ssooooo much development if we had found out about why he was so weird instead of finding out at like 80% of the way through.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship

destinynichole11's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

4.0

Only giving it a 4 star because I pictured them as not family. That was nasty and a no thank you. However the story line outside of that was decent.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

vbarker91's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing and Sexual content

Moderate: Animal death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cancer, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicide, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

smartcookiesca's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent

machteldv's review against another edition

emotional

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Addiction, Cancer, Self harm, and Pregnancy

everythinginbetween's review against another edition

challenging 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? Yes

4.0

So I really struggled with how to rate this book. The writing was SO well done, and Tiernan made incredible growth as the story progressed, but I struggled with the characters and namely, some of the choices made by these characters. Noah was probably the most likeable, and even then, I feel like he was advantageous of a GIRL who was struggling with the loss of her negligent parents. (Jake was even worse in this regard. I really couldn't stand him.)

I'm still uncertain about how I feel about Kaleb- part of me wants to like him. My heart aches for him, but his trauma doesn't justify how he treated Tiernan- especially in the beginning. There were moments where I felt I could forgive his behavior- holding her each night through her night terrors, protecting her from Terrance, the birthday gift, the hidden notes in his books... but then I also feel he should have made his feelings known in a concrete way (even more so considering her need for words). While I understand her pull towards Kaleb considering how they're both quiet and closed off, I feel Noah should have had a happier ending. I wish he could have found the connection he found with Tiernan with someone in a romantic sense.

Overall, this is a great read if you can look past some of the taboo. Tiernan really does grow into herself in such a short amount of time and appropriately stands up for herself when the time comes.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Moderate: Child abuse, Blood, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Cancer

meg53's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Abandonment

Moderate: Animal death, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cancer, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, and Alcohol

katepalmer's review against another edition

0.5

What the fuck. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment

Minor: Addiction, Cancer, Drug abuse, Misogyny, and Sexual harassment

sam_willson's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

kelinickole's review against another edition

dark fast-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? It's complicated

1.5

First of all- what the fuck was that

Second of all- I would just like to know why Tiernan started out as 17 when she could have been 18/19 from the start and just gone to the mountain to get away from the tabloids/paparazzi. The step family taboo would still be there without grooming a minor. It would have made the book 10x less awful. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Pedophilia, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Sexual assault and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Child abuse and Death of parent