Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

You'll Be the Death of Me by Karen M. McManus

31 reviews

sarahsbookss's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Murder, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Drug abuse

aformeracceleratedreader's review

mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes

3.5

Although I have generally loved this author's works (she has become one of my faves and must read), this one was a little bit of a letdown. It's on par with my meh feelings on "one of us is next". I wasn't super excited or pulled to finish it like many of her others but I still enjoyed it enough so it didn't feel like a waste of my time. 
I both liked and hated the ending because

Lara is out and about and got engaged to Mateo's dad?! The hell? But I liked Ivy deciding to go "scorched earth" because that woman should be in jail not only for her involvement with the drugs but also because she's a predator

. 
The characters were nice but I feel they were the least developed/interesting out of all her books that I've read (which is all of them except for her 2022 release). Or maybe I feel like they were too similar to her other characters maybe? Not sure, but I wasn't as invested in them as some of her previous characters. 
The book has it's slow parts but really speeds up towards the end when stuff starts coming together. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Infidelity, Gaslighting, Murder, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Blood, Kidnapping, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail

calamitywindpetal's review against another edition

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug abuse, Death, Blood, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Drug use, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Racism and Homophobia

emily_mh's review against another edition

mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

If I was rating this solely based off enjoyment, it would be 5 stars. There were some definite issues with quality that meant I felt I should dock it a full star. But first, the positives! It was incredibly fast-paced and gripping, taking place over just a day (to this end, I thought it lived up to the Ferris Bueller’s Day Off gone wrong premise). Actual investigation took place, and the romance was actually believable (unlike the other two romances I’ve read of McManus). Finally, the situations and subsequent developments of the characters were really strong. 

In terms of negatives, the character personalities (despite their diverse circumstances) were all fairly generic. More significantly, it was a little messy.

For example, it didn’t really tie up who the Coach got to kill Brian.

Finally, while I didn’t hate the resolution, I didn’t love it either. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Murder, Child death, Death, Infidelity, Adult/minor relationship, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Ableism, Cursing, Chronic illness, Gun violence, Violence, and Drug use

Minor: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Medical content, Racism, Sexual harassment, and Vomit

Minor warnings for gentrification, loss of a loved one, death of a pet, divorce.

leahmaslin's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Adult/minor relationship, Gun violence, Drug abuse, Chronic illness, Death, and Murder

quillify_'s review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful mysterious sad 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

4.25

As always, McManus's books are phenomenal. Can always rely on them to pull me out of a reading slump. I adored the main trio of characters. Their struggles and secrets and character development made this story all the more interesting. The pacing of this was phenomenal (better than OoUiL, sorryyy), which explains why I finished this in mere hours. Ivy and her overachieving struggles, her fear of rejection really resonated with me. Also appreciate how the book touched upon the topic of female predators and how they are let off easier than their male counterparts. I am so glad that Cal is doing better by the end and is finally happy. Same goes for Mateo; his sense of duty, streak of stubbornness and fear of failure also struck a chord. Excellent book honestly. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Adult/minor relationship, and Chronic illness

froggybooks's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Gun violence, Drug use, Drug abuse, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, and Chronic illness

Minor: Car accident

frantically's review against another edition

adventurous challenging reflective 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

3.0

An interesting enough story but one that sadly just didn't grip me enough. After not liking "The Cousins" too, I'm thinking this will be it for me and McManus.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Drug abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Death of parent, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Moderate: Chronic illness, Classism, and Car accident

Minor: Alcohol

haz19's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Classism, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Gun violence, and Adult/minor relationship

max_nico's review against another edition

tense fast-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Chronic illness, Kidnapping, Medical content, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Gun violence