Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

The Cousins by Karen M. McManus

15 reviews

jadeandherbunny's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

2.5

McManus does the same thing over and over again
Same characters, same narrative scheme as her other books
I won't read any of her books again

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Gaslighting, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Death, Grief, Infidelity, and Murder

Minor: Incest and Abandonment

ashleysager's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Pregnancy, Grief, Mental illness, Death, Abandonment, Abortion, and Car accident

Moderate: Classism, Grief, Emotional abuse, and Drug use

marenm's review

adventurous dark mysterious 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

4.25

i really liked this! i enjoyed all the characters and their dynamics and it was a pretty fast read with a few plot twists. 4.25/5 stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Murder, Gaslighting, Death, Miscarriage, Emotional abuse, Dementia, Addiction, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Car accident, Blood, Death of parent, Cursing, and Vomit

emmajh91's review against another edition

mysterious 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Cursing, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Dementia, Death of parent, Addiction, Gaslighting, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Dysphoria, and Blood

spworley's review against another edition

mysterious 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Chronic illness, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Murder, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, and Emotional abuse

violetbentbackwards1036's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Murder, Violence, Abandonment, Alcohol, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Addiction, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Incest, Medical content, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Cursing, Blood, Dementia, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, and Sexism

kshertz's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

A very good mystery! I was surprised by the twists! They all got me. It didn’t wrap up the way I hoped in the end but I definitely could not put it down. A great mystery thriller for anyone looking for one. Reminds me a lot of Ruth Wares novels whom I also love. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death, Dementia, Infidelity, Alcoholism, Child death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Miscarriage, Murder, Incest, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Bullying, Car accident, and Fire/Fire injury

bella_cavicchi's review against another edition

dark 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? It's complicated

3.0

Catching up on my Karen McManus in honor of the new season of "One of Us is Lying" on Netflix (!); let it be known I am a sucker for a YA mystery, especially one that involves a convoluted family saga. That said, I'm bummed to say this is likely my least favorite of her published bunch -- it read too soap opera-y for me to get invested, and the pace is oddly slow despite the action that's packed inside. It happens -- they can't all be winners!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Alcoholism, and Death

Moderate: Dementia, Gaslighting, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy

Minor: Car accident

trishnasaha's review against another edition

challenging 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Emotional abuse

jojo_'s review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism

Moderate: Alcohol, Death of parent, Dementia, Fire/Fire injury, and Miscarriage

Minor: Body shaming, Car accident, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Murder, Pregnancy, and Toxic relationship