Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell

146 reviews

bek_p87's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.5

I was captivated by this book. I didn't know where all the twists and turns were going, but they all eventually revealed themselves into a sinister and satisfying ending. The one thing that annoyed me a little at times were that Libby and Lucy's chapters were written in third person, and Henry's in first person - it was a bit tricky to adjust to initially. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Murder

Moderate: Violence and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Rape

sparetimebibliophile's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

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

3.25

I wasn’t a huge fan of this. I did like the audiobook with the three different narrators, but this seemed very confusing to me and a lot of things were thrown at you in the last 5% of the book that made it hard to follow. It almost seemed like there was too much going on and too many different secrets of each character. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Sexual assault

missredreads20's review

challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Rape

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

pausbookshelf's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Miscarriage, Domestic abuse, Confinement, Child abuse, and Emotional abuse

unablelemon's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse and Murder

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Rape

cammisasabrina's review against another edition

dark

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Rape

kendahlia3's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense

3.75

I usually hate the dual pov but I found all three perspectives impossible to stop listening to, especially with the reveals of unreliable narration. While I predicted a big twist, there were still huge moments that caught me off guard so it was a fun listen. Some scenes were really dark, so not for the faint of heart, but very captivating. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Child abuse, and Confinement

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Murder, and Domestic abuse

bugaboobear's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

Something about the 3 perspectives was interesting, but broke the pacing and tension. Every chapter I would have to reorient myself as to who's talking now and it pulled me out of the story.

The last few chapters are full of reveals, but none of them hit like they should. It feels like a tacked on happy ending that's out of place with the rest of the book. 

The plot itself was interesting, but the tension you expect from this kind of story dissipated around half way through the book. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Child abuse, and Miscarriage