Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell

107 reviews

h_elene's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, and Abandonment

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Eating disorder, Sexual assault, and Religious bigotry

sandysmith's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

It was an easy read for me, and I devoured this book very quickly. Told from 3 seemingly unconnected points of view, which gradually their connection is revealed. It's essentially about 4 children living in a sort of cult and a baby. The adults were really unlikeable either through weakness or just horribly dark. The four children include an abandoned baby inheriting a valuable house in London, Libby (serenity), Phin, Clemence, Henry, and Lucy. All the characters are brilliantly written, giving the reader a ride of emotions. This book should come with trigger warnings as it could be triggering for some. It's a very dark, twisty, engrossing read of betrayal, redemption, and brutal family dynamics. What's not to love? Fab stuff

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, and Murder

Moderate: Miscarriage, Rape, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Abandonment

leeartscot's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Toxic friendship

littlepelkey20's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Minor: Animal death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, and Abortion

readingwithel's review against another edition

challenging mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I have mixed opinions about this book. I found it a bit boring to start with and got so confused as to who everyone was, however as the plot got more dark and twisted I started to get into it a bit more as I was more interested. The plot twists were good but I do think there were a few to many that the overwhelmingness (not a word I know) of it took away a bit of the marvel as there was like three plot twists in one chapter about

who's the baby was.

That brother was a bit odd and I'm excited to see what he does in the next book. Overall, wouldn't be a book I would be excited to recommend, but I still enjoyed it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicide, Murder, and Pregnancy

Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death

amber_bookworm's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

I found the plot of this book a little slow to start with, but it soon speeds up and I found all the twists and turns very engaging. I wasn't the biggest fan of the writing style and although I got used to it, it's stopped me rating it higher than 4*.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Suicide, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal death

vexpress's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

drstauffer918's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Death of parent, and Murder

hp62442's review against another edition

emotional mysterious 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Miscarriage, and Death of parent

onlyflames's review against another edition

mysterious fast-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

I thought this book was going to be more of a mystery/suspense. And it was in the beginning a little bit, but then in the end I was disappointed in the outcome. It just made me go ok, I guess that's it! I did like the writing, just was expecting a more exciting outcome. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Animal death and Miscarriage