Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

In My Dreams I Hold a Knife by Ashley Winstead

130 reviews

j_emerson18's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Blood, Toxic relationship, Death, Violence, Stalking, Death of parent, Grief, Addiction, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Suicide, Homophobia, Sexual content, and Sexual assault

dilani's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.0

what a let down. i loved the cover and title of this book, but unfortunately felt the complete opposite for everything else.

i absolutely l o a t h e d the characters. damn near no redeeming qualities for any of them. i only saw people who were immature, whiny, and way too secretive at their big age. Caroline is the only one who had some sense towards the end. and why did this whole group even bother staying friends with Court if she was a major bitch??? 😤

most of the “twists” were not twisting. they fell flat and by the end i didn’t care much about who killed Heather. in fact, i didn’t even really know who Heather was as a character because she wasn’t developed like the rest, yet i’m supposed to care about her death???

i’m giving this book two stars instead of one because of Jessica’s explanation towards the very end. i can honestly say i wasn’t expecting it.

this is also the second book i’ve read and disliked from the same author. maybe Ashley Winstead is just not for me…

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Infidelity, Sexual assault, and Addiction

Minor: Suicide attempt

kirstenpod_'s review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Alcohol, Toxic friendship, Death of parent, Addiction, Grief, Murder, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Blood, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Bullying, Eating disorder, Classism, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Rape, and Gore

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, Stalking, and Homophobia

chuck3791's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Toxic friendship, and Infidelity

Moderate: Blood, Addiction, Classism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Vomit, Sexism, and Outing

mari_is_here's review against another edition

mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Violence, Toxic relationship, Murder, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Gore

Moderate: Infidelity, Suicide attempt, Panic attacks/disorders, and Drug use

kirstencholewa's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Blood, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Stalking, Death of parent, Homophobia, Body shaming, and Drug use

chloe_green090's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

2.25

These characters are all toxic, to the point where it doesn’t even seem realistic. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Murder, Toxic relationship, Suicide, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Drug use, Drug abuse, and Alcoholism

Minor: Eating disorder, Rape, and Injury/Injury detail

matcha_cat's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Alcohol, Blood, Murder, and Infidelity

Moderate: Violence, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Toxic friendship, and Addiction

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Eating disorder, Rape, Suicide attempt, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

itzbrianna's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

5.0

In My Dreams I Hold A Knife is a tense and fast pace story of betrayal, murder, and revenge. Jessica Miller, the protagonist, is probably the most unlikeable main character I’ve ever had the experience of reading. Still, her awful personality did not take away from the story. In fact, it enhanced it. 

This book touches on classism, perfectionism, and misogyny intertwining it all into a deceitful narrative that will have you wondering who is telling the truth. Who killed Heather Shelby and why? 

If you enjoy fast paced mysteries with dual timelines you’ll enjoy this book. The dual timelines were my favorite part. The now vs the past and how it all interconnected by the end left me with a great appreciation for the editing and structure it took to make this novel. Ashley Winstead has found a fan in me. I’m excited to read her other works. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Classism, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, Murder, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Blood

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Suicide attempt, Homophobia, and Stalking

duckydarlingg's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Homophobia, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Mental illness, Death, Infidelity, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Classism, and Misogyny