Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

A Light in the Forest by Melissa Payne

12 reviews

hva's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, and Transphobia

positivelyyarnie's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Murder

lyndi_rivers's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Transphobia

Minor: Animal cruelty

julianairving's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

charlieafahl's review against another edition

emotional inspiring mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, and Transphobia

darkhorseash's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

I enjoyed this book; the timeline jumps in terms of the narrative didn't feel out of place and felt like they added to the story rather than just exposing all the secrets of it. The characters were quirky but in a way that they felt like real people, not caricatures. My one real complaint was that the final sort of revelation section felt like it wrapped up way too quickly; it would've benefited, I think, from another few pages at least just to be allowed to feel the enormous weight of both the twist and the culmination of the main plotlines. But overall, I found it very well-written and I especially enjoyed Vega's mentality towards Crystal and the people in it changing

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, and Transphobia

dmackreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

This is one of those books where everything comes full circle, comes together, and just makes sense. Other than being written in 3rd person, I absolutely loved it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Transphobia, and Pregnancy

sizzlesteaks's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty

jacqueline234's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse

bookmarkedbybecky's review against another edition

dark hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

What I really enjoyed: 

✨Generational Trauma - heavy topics without being heavy-handed. 

✨Small Town Vibe - portrayed beautifully as the community pulls together to help Vega! Everyone is “family” in Crystal, OH. 

✨Supporting Characters: Eve, Heff, Carl, Betty, and even Tera, all showing different ways of love and support. These characters are the light amongst the darkest of situations, secrets, and trauma. 

Overall, A Light In The Forest is a great character-driven novel that blends drama and mystery. The story contains a few topics that could be triggering, so please review before reading.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Incest, Sexual violence, and Transphobia