Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

What Have We Done by Alex Finlay

5 reviews

fanboyriot's review against another edition

dark 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

1.0

Honestly I didn’t really care for this book.  I couldn’t get into the plot and I just overall didn’t like the characters all that much.

Spice Level: n/a

POV: Multiple, Third Person

Release Date: 07, March 2023

Rep: n/a

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Police brutality, Murder, Addiction, Bullying, Abandonment, Gun violence, and Violence

Moderate: Gun violence, Kidnapping, Torture, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Drug use, Alcohol, Murder, Addiction, Trafficking, Child death, and Cursing

Minor: Toxic relationship, Car accident, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Sexual violence, Racism, and Terminal illness

coyotecasket's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

2.5

I did enjoy this book, but it was just okay to me. I enjoy books with multiple POVs, but this one fell a little flat for me. The author kept explaining the same events multiple times with different characters and it became very confusing to me. Also, the characters all seemed a little flat to me. We didn't really get what the characters very feeling, only what they were doing. It was very much "this happened, then this happened" instead of "this happened and these are the emotions I'm feeling as this chatacter" Something else that bothered me is that all of these characters are supposed to be from foster care and all of this... yet all of them basically won the lottery of life. We have a billionaire, a pretty successful Rockstar (washed up sure but he was making it big at one point), a producer of a hit show, a rich judge, and an ex assassin who married well. Im not saying this doesn't happen to foster care kids or that they can't be successful, but all 5 of them seems very far-fetched for me. Capitalism ya know. Furthermore, in a lot of the circumstances, it was obvious that the author was speaking from an outsiders perspective and didn't really understand how an addict or someone going through what the characters were going though would act. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Abandonment, Sexual assault, Bullying, Alcohol, Child death, Drug use, Rape, Death of parent, Drug abuse, and Pedophilia

yvo_about_books's review against another edition

4.0

 Finished reading: September 14th 2023

“In the dark, the gentle boy utters the words none of them will ever forget: 'What have we done?'”

I'm a big fan of Alex Finlay's writing, and I've been looking forward to read his newest story. It's true that I was a bit worried when I saw the lowish rating, and I decided to go in with low expectations just in case... I shouldn't have worried though, because once again I ended up having an excellent time with his writing. I do understand why What Have We Done has a lower rating though, because it does have a different feel compared to his previous books. It's a story that won't work for everyone, but if you like your thrillers on the action-packed, dark and exhilarating side this is the book for you. It took me a little while to properly warm up to the plot, but once I did I was completely hooked. This is one of those books where it's just best to sit back and enjoy the ride... Things can be said about the credibility of it all and the plot being over the top, but it sure provides one heck of an entertaining ride. I loved learning more about the past as well as the present, and the multiple POV structure worked really well to add tension to the plot. What Have We Done will get pretty dark and twisted along the way, so make sure to brace yourself for a wild ride... There were also a couple twists I didn't see coming, which is always a bonus. All in all, while not my favorite Alex Finlay, I still had a blast reading this story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Grief, Gun violence, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Violence, Stalking, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Torture, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, and Trafficking

bekah1210's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Murder, Addiction, Abandonment, Bullying, Death, Torture, and Gun violence

Minor: Pedophilia, Terminal illness, Child death, Grief, Child abuse, and Drug use

kaylasbookgram's review

dark emotional 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

What Have We Done follows Jenna, Nico, and Donnie as they try to figure out who is trying to kill them and why. They are all linked by meeting at a group home at teens and one big mistake that was made 25 years ago. Will their secret come to light or will they be able to keep the past in the past. 

This was my first book by Alex Finlay and I enjoyed it. The beginning was a bit confusing to me but once you got through the 3 POVs a few times things began to line up and make sense. This is a great who dun it mystery thriller. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Grief, Torture, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Sexual violence, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Addiction, Child death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, and Violence