Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz

39 reviews

savorsophia's review

adventurous dark hopeful 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

Well-written, fast-paced, interesting mystery. Fairly gory, but not scary.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Body horror

Moderate: Bullying, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Cultural appropriation

meg_leigh's review

dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

I'm still figuring out how I feel about this book. 

The good: There are some great lines in here about writing/creation and womanhood. The scene descriptions give enough info without being boring. I very much wanted to keep reading and see what happened.

The bad: The main character is very whiny. The LGBTQ+ rep is on the exploitative side. Some of the plot points just get lost or blurred.

The WTF: I get going for an intense villain but some of this just seemed a bit much. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse

_charliesbooks_'s review

challenging dark mysterious 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

4.0

As a huge fantasy and litfic reader this book was very out of my remit. And yet I couldn't put it down. It was weird and wonderful and I did not expect a SINGLE plot twist that happened. I loved the discussions on race and sexuality and I ADORED the book about books vibe. I'd definitely read this author again

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Drug use, Blood, Addiction, Alcoholism, Gun violence, Classism, Child abuse, Alcohol, Toxic friendship, Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail

dilani's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

3.0

First strange book of the year. I enjoyed the writing and being able to listen to Alex’s book as it develops. Very OTT in the last few hours. I just wish Roza was dealt with differently 🤷🏽‍♀️. 

Also, as soon the rules of the retreat were explained, I immediately knew what Roza’s true intentions were. Maybe not everything, but I knew….

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Sexual content, and Death

Moderate: Gun violence, Blood, and Drug use

Minor: Child abuse

thehannahclaire's review

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Death, Homophobia, Sexual content, Blood, Drug use, and Murder

Moderate: Alcohol, Biphobia, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Drug abuse

lauren_shilling's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

I enjoyed this book a lot! I wasn't sure if I was going to like it because the reviews are very mixed, and I definitely see why some people really do not like it, but I personally had so much fun with it! This story focuses on toxic female friendships and also has LGBTQ+ themes that I enjoyed. It really delves into how women, and queer women in particular, have the capability to be dark, vengeful, and also strong. The first half is really good at creating tension and the atmosphere is incredible, and I think a lot of people will enjoy that part. The second part might lose people, because it does get a little crazy and wild, but it worked for me. My ability to suspend disbelief in order to enjoy something is very strong, and my limits are definitely looser than some people's (not saying it's a bad thing to not have loose limits, it's all about preferences. Mine just happen to be very loose). The characters weren't lovable, but they weren't necessarily unlovable either. The main character is a great example of this, because she's not necessarily a likable protagonist, but she is one that you will definitely root for. The same goes for one of the other characters, Wren. She's a terrible person, but by the end, I absolutely wanted to see her survive and go on with her life. I love reading about characters like that. It's so much fun to root for a character, even if you don't entirely like them.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Murder, Toxic friendship, Death, Gun violence, Confinement, and Drug use

Moderate: Blood and Alcohol

Minor: Child abuse, Racism, and Fire/Fire injury

jelkebooks's review

dark mysterious 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

4.0

I received a galley of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

 I have been really curious about this book because it has gotten such mixed reactions. I'm very glad to report that I had a great time reading this book. The beginning is a bit slow, but still very captivating. There's just quite a lot of flashbacks, and character's backstory at the start that kind of feel pointless. However, there's this undertone that makes you keep reading because it can't be that all this info was for nothing. I think this book does a great job at that, keeping you curious about what's going on. Therefore this was an incredibly quick read as well.

I quite liked our cast of characters. They were incredibly interesting. All of them were a bit fucked, and not really the best people but such compelling characters to follow, and I think the author did a great job at still making you root for all of them, even the "bad guys". I can't help but say I totally understand all of these characters and their actions, and not to say that the bad guys weren't actually doing bad things (they 100% were, and this book doesn't shy away from how horrific the things they do are) but there's just something about these characters you can't help but be absolutely captivated, and enamoured by.

Plot wise, this book does go a bit over the rails. I honestly thought, the many sudden twists and turns were extremely entertaining, and kept me on the edge of my seat the entire book. I couldn't put it down because I just couldn't wait to figure out what else was going to happen. Although, I do completely understand why other people could be put of by that, as it is truly unhinged at times, and that isn't for everyone. I honestly thought this was a great read, and I'm really glad I decided to pick it up. I'm definitely reading more by this author in the future. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Sexual assault, Homophobia, and Grief

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Misogyny, Suicide, and Child abuse

There is a scene were the characters get drugged. Roza’s backstory involves discussions of world war 2 and the holocaust.

sarahbobearah's review

dark 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? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Torture, Murder, and Gun violence

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Gaslighting, and Child abuse

violetvulptex's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement and Sexual content

Moderate: Death, Blood, Drug use, Alcohol, Murder, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Torture, Toxic friendship, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Misogyny, Antisemitism, Child death, Death of parent, Grief, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Sexism, Transphobia, Bullying, Child abuse, Cultural appropriation, Racism, Religious bigotry, Domestic abuse, Excrement, and Gore

nicole_zx'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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, and Sexual content

Moderate: Gun violence and Drug use

Minor: Child abuse