Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera

84 reviews

colorcrystals's review against another edition

dark 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

5.0

This book was amazing. I was literally hooked with the very first sentence, and I read the first 70% in one sitting, only stopping because I had to go to bed for work in the morning. I absolutely loved the main character, Lucy. She was sassy and snarky and tough, and yet Tintera was still able to show us how vulnerable and imperfect Lucy underneath the bravado. 

The cast of characters around Lucy were exceptional. There were some minor characters that didn’t get fleshed out, but all of the major players were dynamic and well-developed. Ben, as the podcaster investigating the murder, obviously played a major role, but I really enjoyed how Tintera wrote his character. He was decently developed, but he was written to be somewhat of a mystery. We never really know what he’s thinking. And not only does that fit really well with the purpose of his character within the story, but it also meant that he was never really central enough to upstage Lucy. This is Lucy’s story, not Ben’s. And I really like how Tintera handled that dynamic. 

And overall, it was just really engaging and fun. Even with the seriousness of the topics discussed (which include domestic violence, gaslighting, murder, etc.), Tintera still made me laugh. I was invested in the story from the beginning, and it was a fantastic ride. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Blood, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Violence, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Death, Murder, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Grief

Minor: Medical content

kristensreading's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Domestic abuse, Murder, Gaslighting, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Alcoholism

Minor: Sexual content

thespinystacks's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Murder, Blood, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Alcohol

itsheyfay's review against another edition

dark emotional funny informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Domestic abuse, Grief, Medical trauma, Alcoholism, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

Moderate: Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Gaslighting, and Sexual content

brannanana's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Death, and Toxic relationship

crazybooklady89's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny mysterious 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

This book was great! I’ve never laughed so much reading a murder mystery/thriller before. Putting this book down in order to go to sleep each night was painful. I could be heard proclaiming, “Just 1 more chapter” several times over. This is definitely an author I would read from again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Blood, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Violence, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Grief, Infidelity, Physical abuse, and Sexual content

kimveach's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious reflective tense fast-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

4.5

With the unreliable narrator and excellent storytelling, I raced through this novel.  The author kept me engaged with the twists, and I didn't realize the ending until she told me.   I bet this would be great on audio, too.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Bullying, Vomit, Blood, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Stalking, Murder, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Violence, Gaslighting, Grief, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Alcoholism, Toxic friendship, Gore, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content

luverbyrd's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

1.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Domestic abuse and Toxic relationship

amalauna's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Toxic friendship, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Sexual violence, Death, Sexual assault, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Grief, Infidelity, Murder, Emotional abuse, and Violence

amysalwaysreading's review against another edition

dark funny 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? It's complicated

5.0

Lucy isn’t exactly sure what happened several years ago when she was found wandering the streets of her small hometown, covered in her best friend’s blood. All she knows for sure is that Savvy is dead & the entire town is convinced Lucy is the murderer. A true crime podcaster named Ben is determined to find out what really happened. 

 

Listen for the Lie is a story of small town politics, female friendship, and how victims are portrayed after they are gone. It’s also a story of why we choose to believe (or not believe) someone. This book has a cast of mostly unlikeable characters (except for Grandma; she is clearly the best character in this book) who make questionable choices. 

 

This story is propulsive and engaging the entire way through. I loved the mixed media format; I read on Kindle but have heard the audio is fantastic. It’s dark, morally grey, and laugh out loud hilarious in many places. The pages flew by as I anxiously waited for Ben and Lucy to figure out what really happened the night Savvy died. The podcast element of this book peeled back the many layers of lies that the members of Lucy’s hometown had hidden for all these years. This would be a great one to add to your TBR for spring break! 

 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 

 

Thank you to @amytintera, @celadonbooks, and @netgalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Murder, Death, Infidelity, and Domestic abuse