Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Sundial by Catriona Ward

83 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

sarah_bettina's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Mental illness, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Confinement, Death, Child death, Blood, Miscarriage, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Violence

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

lionfish_22's review

dark emotional reflective 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gaslighting, Murder, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Gore, Mental illness, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

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

hellokatya's review

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

4.75

the only reason this doesn’t have a 5 star rating is because it did have some lulls in it — otherwise, this book is beautiful. would highly recommend. 
beautiful tale of mother and daughter, of sisters, and escaping the path that’s been laid out for you. so gorgeous please read it 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Adult/minor relationship, Abandonment, Violence, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Confinement, Blood, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Body horror, Pregnancy, and Child death

Minor: Kidnapping

tarfishy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Animal death, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Pregnancy

jesssicawho's review

challenging 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? Yes

5.0

Another 5-star Catriona Ward novel. She has become a must-read, instant-buy author for me. 

This story was particularly haunting and emotional for me. The theme of a mother's boundless love for her daughter resonated. But, you know, with horror and generational trauma because it's Catriona Ward.

Definitely read the TWs for this one.

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Content Warnings

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

kwoz1008's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• 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: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Physical abuse, Murder, Death, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse