Reviews with content warning for Toxic relationship - Diavola

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Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Diavola by Jennifer Marie Thorne

79 reviews

_readerfromtheblacklagoon_'s review against another edition

3.5

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

boba_nbooks's review against another edition

4.75

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Spice Rating: 🌶️ / 5

A funny horror/thriller about a family vacation gone terribly wrong? Count me in!

Anna has dreaded going on the annual Pace family vacation, but now that it's finally here, she's determined to make sure there isn't a blow-out fight this time. She just wants to keep the peace and enjoy relaxing at an Italian villa. But that's hard to do with your family members breathing down your neck, especially when they're upset that you don't quite fit the mold they want you to. Anna is blamed for every single thing that goes wrong on the vacation--even the strange noises at night and warnings from the locals to stay away from the villa.

Diavola explores how family dynamics can sometimes create a mob mentality against those who don't quite fit the mold and how they shape us for better or for worse. This novel takes an already terrifying notion--family vacations--and layers it with the horror of a haunted house. The author expertly uses humor amidst the dark and dreary atmosphere to give readers a different sort of final girl who is less "woe is me" and actively fights to right her situation.

Thorne made me love and hate almost every single character, and her writing is truly one-of-a-kind in its combination of horror and humor. I highly recommend it to fans of horror and thriller novels. Just beware that it may incite some dread for your next family vacation.

Content Warnings

snslagle's review against another edition

3.75

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

nad_books623's review against another edition

4.75

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Wow this book was amazing. It’s very creepy, but I could still tolerate it enough to finish the book. The descriptions and the writing style are perfect for this type of story. I could definitely see this being turned into a movie.

I think that the emotional abuse from her family was a part of the horror. Also, omg idk who’s worse her sister or brother.

Content Warnings

law_8290's review against another edition

3.5

dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I am very torn on how I feel about this book. While it was definitely not boring, it did feel like it dragged in parts and could have been a bit shorter. The beginning with the arrival to the villa gave me such creepy vibes and the family tension added to it but beyond that it seemed to be JUST family drama and little else. It became very repetitive (we get it..her family treats her like crap). Sometimes the book made ME feel like I was losing time (this will be more understood once read). I loved the idea of this book but wish some things could have been tightened up a bit more. It definitely set the mood for spooky season though.

Content Warnings

tamara_joy's review against another edition

3.0

dark mysterious 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

Content Warnings

ky_q_xoxo's review against another edition

3.0

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Definitely creepy, but didn’t strike the right balance that I like in horror.

Content Warnings

jo_stanford's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Creepy! Main character is super flawed but I love her. I washed to slap everyone in her family other than the nieces.

Content Warnings

livlamentloathe's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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: Complicated

This is slow burn horror done right. I couldn’t stop thinking about this story whenever I set the book down. The pacing worked really well for the slow building of suspense, and it ticked enough trope boxes without over-saturating the story. I appreciated the way many questions had messy answers and how strong Anna was for facing the villa for or maybe in spite of her family.

In hindsight, I could see Anna being neurodivergent to a neurotypical family. She can’t understand them and they can’t her, but she’s an easy scapegoat cause she smiles and bears it.

Is it really the villa she’s trying to escape from?

Content Warnings

jourdanicus's review against another edition

5.0

dark fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Everything-I-love horror! Family issues, meta (and sassy) acknowledgement of the haunting, a kickass if somewhat unlikeable Final Girl.

Thorne's writing is propulsive, highly readable, and doesn't try too hard. Her aggravatingly believable characters have just the right amount of depth. The short chapters and not-too-long overall length of the book lended to the readability. Just Goldilocks horror for me.

The cover was probably scarier than the story itself, though... I had to turn my Kindle over at night 😂

Content Warnings

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