Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Harrow Lake by Kat Ellis

11 reviews

henrygravesprince's review

dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.75

The first 75% is okay, the mystery being compelling enough to keep me from DNFing, but the characters are all rather unlikable and the writing is somewhat repetitive. However, the last 25%, and the ending in particular, are REALLY strong. I also think the unlikability of the characters was intentional, but I wish they had been made a bit easier to root for, especially Lola, in the beginning. I wouldn’t mind trying out the author’s other work in the future, provided the premise was interesting, but I don’t think I’ll actively seek it out.

Overall, I think the book pulled off what it intended to do.

I found the usage of three different characters suffering three distinct forms of abuse at the hands of a parent—Lorelei having experienced childhood sexual abuse, Lola being emotionally abused by Nolan her whole life, and Carter experiencing physical abuse from his mother—very effective, tying well into the themes of unreliability and of abuse taking many different forms, both layered into the potential supernatural elements as well.

I do wish the interview framing element had been utilized a little more, rather than just as book-ends, maybe even just one more segment of it in the middle of the book. Ultimately, I think this is a solid horror-adjacent YA mystery/thriller novel with some dark themes and heavy unreliability.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Death of parent, Murder, Blood, Child abuse, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Mental illness

Minor: Sexual harassment, Suicide, Alcoholism, and Incest

Hallucinations; Unreality

courtney_scott1025's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

I liked this book and am a sucker for a book set in Indiana as I grew up there. It just kind of fell flat in certain areas. I don't regret reading this, but I thought some of the ideas could have been a little better fleshed out. I also did not realize that this was about a teenager, and I wasn't super into the young love scenes. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Abandonment, Body horror, Confinement, Murder, Death of parent, and Domestic abuse

ruthmoog's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

4.25

Really gripping from the beginning, this had a quite unique setting and I was into it!

But in the end it was less of a horror spectacle than just a really sad story. 
The repeated use of "optimal" was irritating, I had thought Lola's behaviours were pointing to some neuro-spiciness but by the end I thought not so much. And still some mysteries were unanswered.
Loved the descriptions of the tree and the Jitterbugs.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting and Alcoholism

Moderate: Kidnapping, Murder, Death of parent, Alcohol, Abandonment, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Body horror, Mental illness, and Suicide

Trauma, Sexual abuse, Missing persons, Grooming, Memory suppression

kier__'s review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Violence, and Sexism

foldingthepage_kayleigh's review

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Pedophilia, Incest, Confinement, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Grief

Minor: Suicide and Gore

persephonefoxx's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Abandonment, and Death of parent

Moderate: Suicide, Murder, and Alcoholism

aileron's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Emotional abuse, and Incest

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, and Death of parent

Minor: Sexual harassment, Alcoholism, and Abandonment

tabby2920's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Murder, and Death of parent

antoinettem04's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

Plot twist after plot twist, and definitely a book I would recommend. The world building is amazing and very atmospheric
It felt like watching a comfort horror film even though it wasn't too scary. Really well done and a fun, dark read for fall. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Violence, Vomit, and Death

Minor: Sexual assault

max_vampire's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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? It's complicated

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Alcohol and Alcoholism