Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

In My Dreams I Hold a Knife by Ashley Winstead

30 reviews

itzbrianna's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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

5.0

In My Dreams I Hold A Knife is a tense and fast pace story of betrayal, murder, and revenge. Jessica Miller, the protagonist, is probably the most unlikeable main character I’ve ever had the experience of reading. Still, her awful personality did not take away from the story. In fact, it enhanced it. 

This book touches on classism, perfectionism, and misogyny intertwining it all into a deceitful narrative that will have you wondering who is telling the truth. Who killed Heather Shelby and why? 

If you enjoy fast paced mysteries with dual timelines you’ll enjoy this book. The dual timelines were my favorite part. The now vs the past and how it all interconnected by the end left me with a great appreciation for the editing and structure it took to make this novel. Ashley Winstead has found a fan in me. I’m excited to read her other works. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Classism, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, Murder, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Blood

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Suicide attempt, Homophobia, and Stalking

duckydarlingg's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Homophobia, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Mental illness, Death, Infidelity, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Classism, and Misogyny

tessvosper's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Murder, Rape, Biphobia, Emotional abuse, Suicide attempt, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Drug use, Suicide, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Cursing, Death, Bullying, Eating disorder, Grief, Abandonment, Body shaming, Classism, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent

jessiejonesbentley's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Drug abuse, Outing, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Drug use, Physical abuse, Bullying, Classism, Death, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Addiction, and Grief

meeklovestoread's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

I'm not going to lie, for the first 60-70 pages of this book, I wasn't enjoying it which made me sad because I absolutely ADORED "The Last Housewife" by this author. I was almost going to DNF it, however, in  "The Last Housewife" I also didn't enjoy the first 60 or so pages so I thought I'd give this book the same courtesy and I'm so glad I did.

Although I wasn't enjoying the first 60-70 pages there was something about Ashely Winstead's writing that got me. It was like it was laced with something because I still read it pretty quickly. Same with the previous book that I read from her; I just really enjoy her writing. However, I think a big part of me not enjoying the beginning was that I felt like there were too many characters being introduced at once for me to imagine who was who. 

After my rough patch in the beginning, I started to really enjoy the book and the things that went down. There was so much drama and secrets and that's what kept it so entertaining for me. There were so many crazy things happening. A lot (if not most) of the characters were unlikeable which isn't a deterring factor for me when it comes to a good book. I honestly think their unlikeability was the point. To point out that no one in that friend group was innocent as well as revealing the toxicity that engulfed them. 

I also enjoyed the subtle subplot of romance in this book once I understood the dynamic because in the beginning I was confused about who Jessica was really falling for, but that becomes clear a bit later. 

And as I was reading, I couldn't help but notice that Mint and Jessica kind of parallel each either. Both are concerned with image and status and it's pointed out a couple of times in the book that both view each other superficially. Mint views Jessica as "the good girl" who will stay loyal to him no matter what. And Jessica views Mint as "the golden boy" to elevate her status as she strives for her father's dream. It's also important to note their parental situation and the fact that both their fathers are dead. I'm glad that the author pointed that out in the end. That they're two sides of the same coin.

I got the twist about halfway through the book however it was still fun to see how things unfollowed. It was so crazy!

Overall, I had a good time with this book and that's honestly thing only thing one can ask for when you read a book! Also, I loved Coop! (and Jack and Frankie) 

However, I don't encourage Jack's cheating on Heather with Frankie at all. I feel like this has become normalized, but I honestly can't stand it when it's portrayed that a closeted person cheats on their significant other with someone else. Cheating is cheating regardless of the reason behind it (except in abusive circumstances). He still hurt her and I cannot stand for that. And I also don't condone Coop's cheating on Caro as well as Jessica's cheating on Mint (as bad as Mint was).

 

Side note: I saw some comments about the title. I'm not sure if this is a reoccurring theme in Ashely Winstead's book, but I've noticed that both the books I've read by her have titles that didn't have much to do with the book, but I have noticed that they do match certain scenes in the book. Like this title, "In My Dreams I Hold on a Knife" may reference the fact that Heather was stabbed 17x. Just a theory.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Toxic friendship, Death, Violence, Abandonment, Murder, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Cursing, Grief, Alcohol, Blood, and Drug abuse

Minor: Drug use, Rape, Classism, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Child abuse, Homophobia, Outing, and Sexual assault

pageafter_paige's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense 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? Yes

5.0

This books was so good! There was insane drama and toxic friendships that had me glued to my kindle! The characters flaws all come to light and it’s just so messy in the best way! I know I’ll be thinking about this one for awhile! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Chronic illness, Classism, Grief, Infidelity, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Eating disorder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Blood, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Child abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Addiction, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Adult/minor relationship, and Drug use

aas's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Homophobia, Alcohol, Grief, Sexual content, Drug use, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Rape, Blood, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Murder, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

markedwithanm's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, Blood, Addiction, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Rape, Sexual assault, Infidelity, Homophobia, Drug use, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Murder, Gaslighting, and Classism

mklein319's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Alcohol, Violence, Misogyny, Murder, Addiction, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, and Toxic friendship

katto06's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

Okay personally, i liked the fact that i highly disliked the majority of the characters… I don’t why it’s just with this story it fit i think.. I loved how twisty it was, it kept me guessing the whole entire time which honestly isn’t something i usually find myself doing. The ending was pretty good. I didn’t like how long the chapters were. Which of course i liked the book but i’m the type that pays attention to chapters regardless how much i’m interested in the book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Addiction, Blood, Bullying, Death of parent, Genocide, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Death

Moderate: Death of parent, Rape, Drug abuse, Bullying, and Drug use