Reviews tagging 'Mass/school shootings'

The Last Word by Taylor Adams

25 reviews

chasingpages1's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Violence, Animal death, Death, Gore, Grief, Infertility, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Car accident, Child death, Murder, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Vomit

Moderate: Bullying

Minor: Mass/school shootings, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Confinement, Cursing, Sexual harassment, Drug use, Gaslighting, Medical content, Addiction, Excrement, and Eating disorder

yvo_about_books's review against another edition

4.5

 Finished reading: August 7th 2023

"Coincidences are fine in real life. But in fiction, they're bad writing."

I’ve been meaning to try his books for years now, and of course there was no way that I was going to resist the blurb of The Last Word for long. I love books with bookish angles, and what is more fascinating AND terrifying than a thriller read where an author slash killer goes after a person leaving him a one star review? And while things can be said about the plot being over the top and you definitely have to suspend your belief, I personally didn’t care because I was too busy enjoying the ride. This was exactly the dark, twisted and exhilarating read I needed! There is just something about the writing style that makes it very easy to fly through the pages, and the plot itself only increases that pace. The POVs are somehow blurred in points, and at times it takes a second before you realize who is in the spotlight; this would usually highly annoy me, but somehow in The Last Word it only added to the suspense. There are plenty of twists along the way as well, and with (at times) two contrasting POVs telling how the events happened it makes you wonder what is the real version. Again, this is usually something that would bother me, but in this case it somehow worked. Even the characters: none of them are exactly likeable, but since the main focus is on the plot and the life or death situation it's not as important. The Last Word definitely tips its toe in the horror genre though, and warnings are in place for particularly gruesome and graphic scenes as well as animal cruelty. If you think you can stomach those and like your thrillers on the dark and twisted side, I can highly recommend this story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Abandonment, Torture, Toxic friendship, Violence, Vomit, Alcoholism, Mass/school shootings, Car accident, Misogyny, Stalking, Death of parent, Gun violence, Infertility, Animal cruelty, Blood, Child death, Bullying, Body horror, Self harm, Suicide, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Confinement, Cursing, Gore, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, and Suicidal thoughts

rachwilken's review against another edition

fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Vomit, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Mass/school shootings and Alcoholism

bekah1210's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Animal cruelty, and Murder

Moderate: Death, Car accident, Suicidal thoughts, Infertility, Child death, Mental illness, Gun violence, and Grief

Minor: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, Stalking, and Mass/school shootings

emharris's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Body horror

Moderate: Child death, Vomit, Stalking, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Grief, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Mental illness, Mass/school shootings, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Infertility, and Gore

Minor: Car accident, Confinement, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

thesonnetsilence's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

3.75

I typically don't read thrillers, but I was happy I picked this one up. I couldn't put it down! I feel H.G. Kane was a refreshing and unique antagonist, and he was unlike anything I expected going into this book. I also think the emphasis on grief was very powerful, and I shed quite a few tears toward the end. There were twists and turns, and although I  did predict a couple of the major plot points, how we got there was filled with twists and turns that I wasn't expecting! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Blood, Gore, Gun violence, Grief, Murder, Body horror, Stalking, Violence, and Death

Moderate: Car accident, Death of parent, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Alcoholism, Infertility, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Fatphobia and Mass/school shootings

kunthearelinski's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Stalking, Car accident, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Blood, and Violence

vj_thompson's review against another edition

dark hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

The writing. The plot twists. I loved every moment of the story. My heart was racing the whole time!! I can’t wait to read more of Taylor Adams’ books. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Gore, Grief, Stalking, Mental illness, Vomit, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, and Torture

Moderate: Infertility, Child death, Animal death, Blood, Car accident, Death, Eating disorder, and Gun violence

Minor: Alcohol, Mass/school shootings, Pregnancy, and Bullying

cc_shelflove's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.0

We’ve all been there. A book that is soooooo fucking bad we can’t believe we actually finished it. We post our one-star rage reviews and we move along to the next, hopefully better, book. But what if the authors we hurt on the internet chose to seek revenge? This is what happens to Emma Carpenter. The Last Word’s pages are filled with darkness and horror. Unfortunately, like Adams’s Hairpin Bridge, this was a miss for me. I’m sorry, Taylor!!! Don’t come for me!! I have to be honest with my followers, and the fact is this—at times I was so bored of this book, I really didn’t care if the main character lived or died. I truly couldn’t wait to finish it so I could start another book. ☹️ I really loved the last chapter, though! I promise that I don’t think Taylor Adams is a bad author by any means, but based on his last two books I simply don’t think he is the author for me. Read for yourself and be the judge because as you know, our tastes can vary immensely from book to book. Reading is fun! 🤪

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Infertility, Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Violence, and Child death

Moderate: Mass/school shootings

rachelwhicker06's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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: Death, Murder, and Blood

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Gore, Animal cruelty, Car accident, Stalking, and Grief

Minor: Child death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Vomit, and Mass/school shootings