Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

When No One Is Watching by Alyssa Cole

43 reviews

gm_vak's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-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

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Infidelity, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Stalking, Terminal illness, and Torture

sarah984's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious tense medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

This starts out with a romcom atmosphere and then just keeps ramping up the tension. There were both laugh-out-loud moments and full-volume gasp plot twists. I've seen a few reviews that think the villains are too cartoonish but honestly, there's very little that an antagonist character says in this that I haven't seen a real-world white person say or come close to saying when they think no one is looking. Having the two POVs kept me guessing and also gave the author a way to impart the real-world info (eg about redlining) in a way that made sense with the plot.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Medical content, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Racism, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death of parent, and Physical abuse

Minor: Animal cruelty, Dementia, Genocide, Slavery, Stalking, and Vomit

caseythereader's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

 📚 I was drawn into Sydney and her neighbors' story immediately. WHEN NO ONE IS WATCHING is tense right from the start, and somehow Cole manages to make a mystery that is mostly research-based quite compelling.
📚 There are so many wonderful details, from each neighbor's life story to the look of the buildings they live in.
📚 Cole weaves in so much actual history, too. She includes a list of resources at the end, lest a reader think this story is entirely fabricated.
📚 As much as I love Cole's romance novels, I could have done without the romantic thread in this book. It didn't really seem to add much. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Violence

hillarydanielle's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Great blend of real world gentrification and racism in action with a thriller/suspense story line. 

The ending was a bit too quick and convenient compared to the slow build up and long character development

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Slavery

Minor: Domestic abuse

sucreslibrary's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny informative mysterious 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death of parent, Gun violence, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Police brutality, Racism, Violence, and Sexual content

Moderate: Blood, Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship

amna_a's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Gun violence, Murder, Police brutality, Racism, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Alcoholism

Minor: Addiction

gentlethem's review against another edition

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Violence, Grief, and Hate crime

Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Kidnapping, Police brutality, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Addiction, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse

chaosreads's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Addiction, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Gun violence, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Minor: Blood and Forced institutionalization

bodiesinbooks's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Racism, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit

Minor: Addiction, Blood, Excrement, and Forced institutionalization

linguisticali's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Gun violence, and Sexual content

Moderate: Death and Domestic abuse