Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris

11 reviews

lovelymisanthrope's review

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

I received this book as a gift.
"Behind Closed Doors" follows Grace, and her seemingly perfect husband, Jack. Grace and Jack seem to have it all and they live a very luxurious lifestyle. Their friends are all envious of them and their perfect marriage. Jack is a high-profile lawyer who never loses a case, and Grace is the picturesque homemaker. Unfortunately, things are never as good as they seem on the outside, and Grace and Jack are far from the perfect couple.
This story took me awhile to get into. I knew from the beginning that something was off, and I was very weary of Jack as a character, but it took a long time to finally piece together what was really going on, and what Jack's true motivations were. While I enjoyed the thrill of not truly knowing what was going on, once I did know, I was no longer invested in the story. Jack's behavior and actions towards Grace seemed plausible enough, but his true motivation for what he wanted and why he wanted it felt a little too unhinged to be believable.
Jack is absolutely insane, and the fact that he was able to hide that fact from everyone in his life is kind of impressive. I feel like someone who exhibits these types of behaviors for that long would have slipped up somewhere and had someone asking questions.
I was slightly disappointed in Grace as a character. I felt like she was broken too easily, and with so much at stake, she could have continued to fight harder. I empathize that she was in a difficult situation, but I kept yelling "come on" through the pages.
Overall, this book did not feel 100% believable in any aspect. There were too many plot points that relied on characters accepting what they were told without question. A thriller does not need to be believable to be good, but for me it definitely helps to make it more thrilling.
Overall, this story was fine. I had an okay time reading it, and I probably will not think about it much in the future. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death, Murder, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Grief, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Animal death and Animal cruelty

poopyanna's review

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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Torture, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Grief, Murder, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent

Moderate: Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Forced institutionalization, Violence, Drug abuse, Gore, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Physical abuse

Minor: Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Alcohol, Suicide, and Infidelity

hugsy85's review against another edition

challenging 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

4.0

I read a lot of dark thrillers and this one made me incredibly uncomfortable. Even though I read the trigger warnings before starting - or maybe I missed some - there were topics that came up that I was not prepared for. 

I had to take breaks and keep reminding myself that it is just a book. The subject matter is unsettling and the amount in which Jack tortures Grace both physically, mentally and psychologically as well as his promises for the future involving Grace's family ... It was a lot 

Overall it did keep me on edge which is the point and I was impressed with the ending. Definitely worth a read if you are into dark thrillers - but again - read the trigger warnings beforehand.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Torture, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Grief, Gaslighting, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Eating disorder, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Animal death, Body shaming, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, and Bullying

greenclovers75's review

dark tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Grief and Murder

thebookaddict's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring sad tense fast-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

3.0

🇳🇱: Een goed vlot boek. Het boek zelf is vlot geschreven.  Er staan geen onbegrijpelijke woorden in en je leest hem zo uit. Het boek gaf mij een beetje dezelfde vibes als the housemaid van Freid McFadden, alleen dan zonder plot. Dit boek was van het begin tot het einde erg voorspelbaar. Je had gelijk in de gaten wie de slechterik is en er gebeurde niets onverwachts. Hierdoor miste ik een stuk spanning. Een leuke toevoeging was wel dat je het verhaal in het verleden te zien krijgt. Dit zorgt ervoor dat het verhaal toch iets leer diepgang krijgt. Al met al een vlot te lezen boek met een leuke verhaallijn, maar waar wat meer diepgang in mag

🇬🇧: een good and fast paced book. The book was fast paced. It didn't have any hard to understand words in it and you finnishel it in no time. The book gave me the same vibes as "the housemaid" of Freida McFadden but without a plot. The book was very predictably and you know immediately who the bad guys was and nothing unexpected happend. The nice part were the now and past views. That way the book got a little bit more dept. So a fast paced book with a good story line, but it could contain more dept.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Mental illness, Murder, Toxic relationship, Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, and Violence

Minor: Suicide and Suicide attempt

knopperk's review

challenging dark sad tense

0.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Stalking, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Murder, Animal death, Body horror, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Confinement, Kidnapping, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Violence

alenafrankis's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Death, Infertility, Animal death, Body horror, Gore, Grief, Murder, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Animal cruelty, Blood, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Vomit

luvbear04's review

dark mysterious sad tense 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Gaslighting, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, and Toxic relationship

violetbentbackwards1036's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Gaslighting, Infertility, Torture, Abandonment, Alcohol, Infidelity, Medical content, Suicide, Death of parent, Grief, Toxic relationship, Animal cruelty, Murder, Pregnancy, Animal death, Confinement, Miscarriage, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Ableism, Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Car accident, Emotional abuse, and Violence

novellybritt's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Gaslighting, Murder, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Ableism, Animal death, Cursing, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Death, Grief, Blood, and Bullying