Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth

26 reviews

kiwichill's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Character flaws caused by a chaotic upbringing in the foster care system.   The scenarios in this book may seem to be far-fetched but unfortunately they are not.  The whole system needs an overhaul because there are far too many kids with psychological damage from the foster care system 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, Death, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Gaslighting, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Child abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, Kidnapping, Rape, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Bullying, Pregnancy, Grief, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Murder, Death of parent, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Sexism, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Slavery, Cursing, Alcohol, and Body shaming

meghan_w's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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? Yes

5.0

Wow. This one was a hard read. I typically DNF books with references to child abuse or death, but I felt connected to this one in a different way. Hepworth does a very good job approaching the topic delicately and also straightforward without graphic detail which I really appreciated. I wasn’t totally sure how I felt after finishing. The book was addicting, well written, satisfying plot, but saying I enjoyed a book with these themes is hard for me. What got me in the end was actually the acknowledgments after the book finishes. Hepworth talks about her research speaking to foster children, parents, etc. She speaks of the importance of remembering that for all the evil in the world, there is also good. She speaks to the importance of chosen family, which I speak about often as well. It’s because of this, that I am choosing to rate this 5 stars even with the darker themes. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Rape, Sexual assault, Addiction, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Vomit, Pregnancy, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Panic attacks/disorders, Confinement, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Drug use, Torture, and Child death

cyndi1966's review

adventurous dark mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Child abuse, Child death, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Drug use and Drug abuse

Minor: Kidnapping, Pregnancy, and Panic attacks/disorders

princessblueyes's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, Sexual violence, Bullying, Mental illness, Death, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Murder, Violence, Toxic relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Grief, Drug abuse, Child death, Addiction, and Alcohol

bmpicc's review

dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

Hepworth's books are very readable, and this one was no different. I "solved" it pretty early on. Yet, I'm not mad because it was a fun ride.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, and Toxic relationship

0ldoini's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Abandonment, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Bullying, Incest, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Body shaming, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Cursing, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Violence, Drug use, Murder, Suicide, Addiction, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Torture, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Rape, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, and Pedophilia

blueeyedshook's review

dark

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Child death, Drug abuse, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Cursing, Infidelity, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Adult/minor relationship, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Bullying, Drug use, and Abandonment

Minor: Sexual content

LGBTQ character/romance

ashleyjean6's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.0

I had to knock a star off for content; it's so difficult to read. A lot of child abuse, gaslighting, emotional trauma. I wasn't aware how vivid that would all be. But as always, she's a really excellent writer and I flew through it. Audiobook is really excellent. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Body shaming, Rape, Child death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Murder, Addiction, Death, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug use, Gaslighting, Vomit, Domestic abuse, and Grief

atrinh's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Gaslighting, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Drug use, Trafficking, Body shaming, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent

katyannreads's review

5.0

WOW!! I am surprised at how much I loved this book. I couldn’t put it down. Not many twists, but the story was so riveting. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Child death, Toxic relationship, Rape, Kidnapping, and Death of parent