Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Truly Forbidden by L.J. Shen

16 reviews

acdc716's review against another edition

4.5

dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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

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I love how flawed both main characters are. I especially loved the unapologetic quirkiness of the FMC. It was like watching how my friend and I talk and interact with each other (minus the spice). Some parts of the plot were a bit confusing but didn’t take away from the story. Overall, fantastic read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Death of parent

Moderate: Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Sexual harassment

Minor: Abortion, Abandonment

yennayappers's review against another edition

1.0

challenging lighthearted slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Oh gosh I hated this book so much. I was just so so sick of it by the end, this could have been 350 pages vs almost 500. It was just written so weirdly that I kept cringing every other page. It gives Hallmark down bad so if you are into that, I’d recommend it but unfortunately there were only minor moments that I actually liked or laughed at. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual harassment

Minor: Domestic abuse

Definitely it felt super casually brought up, it was kinda crazy!

justcallmetess's review against another edition

4.75

emotional funny lighthearted reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Death of parent

Moderate: Alcoholism, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders

daement25's review against another edition

3.5

slow-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Grief, Death of parent

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail

sparklingpynk's review against another edition

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The narration is great and thankfully so since this is longer than I normally like to listen to. I'm unsure of how I feel about this one overall. Given the length of this book, I personally liked how we got enough time to get to know each character fully and get to understand them individually and as a couple. There were certain parts that make my inner feminist really struggle to keep listening but I was invested in how things would turn out. The spicy parts were to me, cringe at best and not really done well in my opinion. I did like the small town setting and the glimpses into NY and London. 

Lots of trigger warnings for this one do keep that in mind if you choose to dive into this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail

fictionandfern's review against another edition

4.25

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad 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: Yes

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I'm swooning over Row Casablancas!
The way he thinks, looks, speaks, and his choice in friends!
Even if he weren't all that, I absolutely adore Calla! I FELT so much from her backstory and related with her quirky personality. Shen gave us the wit, banter, and steam, but hands down, my favorite part of Truly Madly Deeply are the characters' personalities.
I'm confident that this is now my favorite L.J. Shen book, and I am so happy to have a copy. I'll be re-reading this one!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Acephobia/Arophobia