Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell

135 reviews

peeshpish's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

It was a slow start but once it picks up, it moves fast. The story flows well once the three POVs become more closely intertwined & the connections are more clear. There are many twists & turns along the way, & the story continues to develop until the very last sentence. Libby’s POV is an often needed relief from the heaviness of the other two, much less tense but still moves the story forward. Many characters felt flat or aligned with stereotypes that I’d expect more from a book written earlier than one written in 2019, but I still ended up reading most of the book in one sitting so I was definitely invested.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Murder, Grief, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Confinement, and Death

Moderate: Abandonment, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, and Misogyny

Minor: Suicide, Homophobia, Medical content, Sexual harassment, Pregnancy, Infertility, Medical trauma, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, Blood, and Pedophilia

Lucy’s chapters are heavy with

sexual assault & domestic violence. She is raped & murders her attacker. If it helps to know, she is not punished for killing him.

The chapters set in the past (labelled “Chelsea, [year]”) contain a lot lf

child abuse, domestic violence, & are where most of the content warnings come into play.

Libby’s chapters are generally safe for content, mostly vague details about the fate & story of the people who lived in the house she inherits.

jaydub0221's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Terminal illness, Chronic illness, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Murder, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Rape, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, and Death

Minor: Alcohol, Animal death, Deportation, and Homophobia

amyparsons's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Was not suspenseful like a thriller, but I enjoyed the twists and turns. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Pedophilia, Drug use, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, and Physical abuse

Cult depictions

theimposter's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Death, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, and Miscarriage

caoxtina's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Toxic relationship, and Violence

amgarrido's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Abandonment, Death, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Bullying, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Drug use, and Confinement

Moderate: Suicide, Sexual content, Blood, Sexual assault, Infertility, and Infidelity

lyla_wicks's review against another edition

mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.0

this was a good book and it did have an interesting premise, but a lot of it felt quite predictable and i was expecting a lot bigger of a twist by the end of it. i did like how it had interesting, and unreliable characters, but i was a bit confused with the continous pov switching and timeline of it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Murder, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Rape and Adult/minor relationship

gabibi4's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, and Dysphoria

laurennicole98's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Abortion, Confinement, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Chronic illness, Death, Murder, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Animal death, Abandonment, Drug use, and Mental illness

lhodgson26's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? It's complicated

3.0

This was a great psychological thriller and did keep you guessing right till the end. I'm not surprised there is a sequel and will read it as there are still a lot of loose ends. The book was so fast paced and told from the three different perspectives which slowly came together to reveal the truth of what the horror of the house became and what happened the night of the 'suicides'. I just found it a very unsettling read with a lot of dark themes and I definetly do not trust Henry or the man he became. I liked the book but it was an uncomfortable read too with so much death. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Murder, Child death, and Death