Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Little Stranger by Leigh Rivers

10 reviews

bookshelf20's review

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adventurous dark emotional 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

4.75

I loved this book. I ate it up in one sitting, unable to put it down, eager to see what crazy thing Malachi would do next. I rated this book 4.75/5 stars because I felt that it was very well done. I was definitely not ready for it to end and wanted more and more of the story and the characters. 
I felt the plot was well organized and paced nicely so it didn't feel like anything was dragging, and it didn't feel like things were moving too fast. I felt that the characters were well-described so I knew their personalities and their intentions well. 
I loved how depraved and insane the MMC was, he had me on the edge of my seat wanting more of him as the pages went. I loved how intense, protective, and possessive he was of the FMC. I felt like the sign language and mute nature were a great addition to the story that you typically don't get to see with this type of storyline. I loved that the FMC was so innocent and naïve with her brother, but on some level, she was just as depraved as he was with her desires, and he was willing to fulfill every one of her fantasies. 
I highly recommend this book, after having read Haunting Adeline and loving it, I was told by others that "Zade walked so Malachi could run." And even though the stories are very different, I do feel like the story lived up to the hype. I enjoyed it very much and can't wait to read more from this author. 

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marieke17's review

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

5.0


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huitthuitt's review

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dark emotional tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

Yeesh.

What I don’t understand is why Olivia would testify against Malachi. Like if you’re gonna make adoptive siblings fuck in the blood of their adoptive dad after the MMC beat the shit out of him, don’t do a 8 year time jump. 

Malachi had so much control over Olivia to the point where (in my opinion) Olivia wouldn’t have testified against him if she truly “loves” him.

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devsreadsnrambles's review

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dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book is not for newbies of the Dark Romance genre. I have read quite a few dark romances and this one is definitely dark. I have tried to include a list of content warnings, however it is not exhaustive as there is content in the book that is not available from the provided options. 

If you choose to read this, READ THE CONTENT WARNINGS. 

On to my actual review- 
This book is wildly insane. I have learned many new things about myself whilst reading it. It is not for the feint of heart. There is fake brother/sister relations (both adopted separately) and lots of inappropriate touching between raised siblings.

That being said, I really did enjoy reading this twisted little book.

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kasara_elisa's review

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adventurous dark emotional 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

4.5


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alijaywat's review

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challenging dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Jesus fucking Christ, what a ride
Check your triggers warning for the love of god

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cheeserue's review

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dark emotional sad tense fast-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

2.25

"run, little stranger"

This book was an absolute rollercoaster. It's one of the more disturbing stories I've read.

Putting aside the brother-sister thing (I know they're not actually related), they both have absolutely no character. Malachis' whole personality is that he has an ASPD diagnosis. He's the "dark and mysterious" mute that wears black, has shaggy hair & probably wears too much eyeliner. Don't even get me started on Olivia. She has even less personality than her "brother." She does anything and everything that anyone tells her to do, especially her parents. She goes through four (maybe five) betrothals throughout the whole thing (including going along with her mother selling her virginity.) she makes me want to rip my hair out.

I'll gloss over the fact that they fucked raw-dog on top of their fathers beeding out body and then at the end her father (for some unknown and unwritten reason) completely flipped his script and was okay with his daughter running away from her wedding with her brother.

“Go,” Dad says, kissing my cheek. “We’ll deal with them. Be happy, angel."

Like WHAT THE FUCK?!


That ending was absolutely horrible. It felt rushed, like they were tired of writing and wanted to wrap it up.

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howboutjane's review

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

5.0

OBSESSED... 

I f'kin inhaled this book. Leigh pushed the limits of dark + taboo with this novella. It is deranged and twisted. Nothing about what happened in this book is okay. But it was also beautiful and raw and had me bawling like a child by the end of it.

This is not feel good or cozy. It's heavy smut with taboo kinks and fetishes. If you're one of those people that like to skip trigger warnings...Don't. Do not set yourself back years of growth + recovery because you wanted to f'ck around + find out.  If you've read the synopsis, trigger warnings, took time to reflect and think you can handle it then buckle up and get ready for the darkest ride of your life. Malachi is THAT psycho. 

"Run Little Stranger" 😈

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hannaspages's review against another edition

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

2.5

This book feels like a fever dream… 
I was told that Malachi was a Zade dupe but he is giving schizophrenia/ an autistic joker vibe instead. 
Some of the scenes really threw me for a loop though,
like when he shoved a skrewdriver up the fmc’s ass?

I would say that this book is more like ‘The Dare’ and not Haunting Adeline, it’s definitely heavy on the kinks.
Some of the scenes don’t make sense as well, like the end
where the father that Malachi almost killed and whose blood he fucked his sister in, suddenly just accepts that his kids are in a relationship…

The 2 stars I gave are for the narrators because they were actually good, but the story lacked plot.


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poupimali's review

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dark 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

4.5

This was… interesting.
Obviously taboo af.
The development of the FMC was a bit inconsistent. Like she switched to a sweet girl to a most devious person than her brother. It was a bit odd. 
But that’s okay. You have the right to be perfectly f*cked up with Malachi as a "brother".
This book is right on top of my « WTF AM I READING? » shelf.

I loved the audiobook!

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