Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

Sundial by Catriona Ward

42 reviews

jrocbutterfly's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-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

4.5

This book passes a little slowly at the beginning but does not take long to Amp up to a full throttle roller coaster. Told from 2 perpecrives, one of Rob and one of her daughter Callie. Sundial is a terrifying tale of the question, does human experience or true nature make a person evil. Or is it a little bit of both. Ward keeps you guessing through the whole book on what is true, what you truly know, and what really happened. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Addiction, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Murder, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Animal death

Minor: Child death, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abortion, Self harm, and Suicide attempt

jesselyn's review

dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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: Child death, Child abuse, Blood, Toxic relationship, Gore, Death, Confinement, Mental illness, Infidelity, Grief, Drug use, Addiction, Self harm, Death of parent, Violence, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Drug abuse, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Pregnancy, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Injury/Injury detail, and Gaslighting

ehoustonmyatt's review

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, Child abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, Violence, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Drug use, Addiction, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Trafficking, Animal death, Miscarriage, Blood, Confinement, Infidelity, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, and Toxic relationship

lebishop13's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad 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

5.0

This is very possibly the most terrifying book I've ever read. It's definitely going to keep me thinking for a looooong time. Read it, so we can think about it together. 

From the start, Rob's relationship with her husband, her family, and the world around her is bizarre and kind of skewed. You can't quite put your finger on what is so unsettling. Every time you find something else out, you have to just keep asking yourself, "but why?!"

And then the pieces start coming together. And you can't look away. But are they coming together? The two narrators are so at odds with each other, you really don't know who to trust. 

I can picture this as movie with a really strong color palette that changes as the plot progresses or depending on whose POV you're in.

There's also some really great unspoken commentary on the ethics of science which was the cherry on top of this thriller. 

Read this if you like thrillers with the house/setting as a character, along with unreliable narrators, and a dash of ethics thrown in. 

TW: abuse - child, spouse, animal

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Animal cruelty, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Miscarriage, Death, Death of parent, Addiction, and Self harm

aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

4.0

Please check trigger/content warnings. 
Quite enjoyed this. The twists and turns kept me interested along with the sister dynamic. Will def be checking out more from the author. 
If you choose to listen to audio with the ebook, just a heads-up some wording is different from each other. Minor differences but could potentially throw someone off 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Blood, Miscarriage, Medical content, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Gaslighting, and Violence

Moderate: Trafficking, Vomit, Kidnapping, Self harm, Torture, Confinement, Cursing, Abandonment, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Medical content, and Child death

Minor: Murder

noemi_qu's review

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Violence, Addiction, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, and Sexual assault

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Trafficking

honestlysean's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

will add full review later 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Child abuse and Addiction

emmyann2319's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This book had some pretty great twists, I love trying to figure them out before they show up and I really enjoyed when the clues the author laid out from the beginning clicked. I think this one will be interesting to read again

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Domestic abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Addiction

feainnewedd's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

5.0

This is my second Catriona Ward book after The Last House on Needless Street, and once again, I am STUNNED.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, and Child abuse

Minor: Death, Miscarriage, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Addiction

reggiethebird's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.5

It's a thriller, alright. Vivid imagery throughout, and the plot twists and turns till the very last page. Plot twists can sometimes feel unearned, but I think here they were all reasonable, and nothing felt too out of place by the end.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Kidnapping, Gore, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Child abuse, Mental illness, Violence, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Animal death, Confinement, Death, and Trafficking

Moderate: Trafficking, Bullying, Gun violence, Self harm, and Vomit