Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz

31 reviews

vj_thompson's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Very interesting book. I preferred the story within the story. Would recommend the audiobook. The narrator truly embodied the characters.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Toxic friendship, Sexual content, Death, Blood, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Murder, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Drug use, Gun violence, Racism, Bullying, Gaslighting, Grief, Cursing, Vomit, and Violence

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, Racism, Antisemitism, Excrement, and Child abuse

tamara_joy's review

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Blood, Confinement, Gun violence, and Death

Moderate: Mental illness, Child abuse, and Grief

Minor: Child death, Cursing, Alcohol, Biphobia, and Lesbophobia

amris's review

dark tense slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gaslighting, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Stalking, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Bullying, Excrement, Sexual content, Drug use, Gore, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Suicide, Genocide, Body horror, Cannibalism, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Cancer, Fire/Fire injury, Terminal illness, Vomit, and War

fadeddpages's review

dark mysterious tense

• 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Confinement, Cursing, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, and Physical abuse

araowl'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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Death, and Sexual content

Moderate: Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical trauma, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Vomit, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Racism, Gun violence, Outing, Gaslighting, Excrement, Misogyny, Mental illness, and Child abuse

bootsmom3's review

adventurous challenging dark funny hopeful mysterious 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Blood, Drug use, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Murder, Sexual content, Torture, Alcohol, Confinement, Cursing, Death, and Gun violence

Moderate: Antisemitism and Racism

Minor: Vomit, Excrement, Genocide, and Death of parent

laurafrances's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Alcohol, Biphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Confinement, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Child death, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Body horror, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, and Grief

displacedcactus's review

dark 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? Yes

A slightly trashy sapphic thriller, but the characters were well-developed enough to ground the over-the-top story. Pretty well-paced. You just have to suspend your disbelief that an author who came from poverty and only published 4-5 books over 40 years would somehow be incredibly famous and fabulously wealthy.

I only read maybe 1-2 thrillers a year, and this one kept me guessing. The fact that it's set in an isolated manor house, with a dark past, in February, gives it a definite Gothic feeling, so I was always wondering if there might be a supernatural or at least occult/cultish thing going on, or if it would prove to just be good ol' fashioned human depravity. You'll have to read to find out!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Gun violence, Cursing, and Violence

Minor: Vomit and Homophobia

readingwithcoffee's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

1.0

The book is incredibly superficial and predictable with a central argument that’s pretty ludicrous

towards the end it has An argument that authors only have one great work in them that’s just complete nonsense for actual well read authors to entertain given how many others such as James baldwin, Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, Isabela Allende and more have written so many great books. This and how it doesn’t actually challenge the idea that great art comes from tragedy and instead seems to agree with it is silly. The cast is diverse ethnic wise with a Jewish protagonist, British, Russian and Hungarian characters and entirely female cast except for very minor male characters but the Russian and southern woman are complete stereotypes. And as another reviews noted the only queer women comfortable with their sexuality are murderous psychopath that are obsessive that feels like a bad stereotype alongside the indecisive and anxious bi-curious rivals that are uncomfortable with their sexuality there entire book despite wrestling with that also being a clear theme

 

The main protagonist despite being thirty has a maturity of teenage girl and never seems to take almost maiming even if accidentally another author so she can’t write seriously but we’re expected to treat being ghosted by a friend as remotely a similar grievance especially as she imagines the woman as horrible friend any way but feels entitled to the woman never ending the friendship on terms different from the protagonist. It’s incredibly immature that we’re expected to both sides. Also the only black woman is constantly stereotyped and feels like she’s there to be the clan and collected characters and constantly associated with Africa, and slavery from lion necklace to someone who’s family is from Senegal saying her family came over the trans Atlantic slave trade when that’s African Americans. I genuinely think the majority of her on screen dialogue had the book discussing her in association with Africa or slavery more then anything else or having her awkwardly accuse the other white women reducing her to angry black woman that instead of critiquing racism in white liberal spaces felt the non black author feeling incredibly self conscious about her own black character and almost entirely white cast. 

Also I’ve enjoyed books within books before but while the one here is related to the events in the book it reads like bad historical fiction. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Trafficking, Misogyny, Blood, Vomit, Racism, Genocide, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Death, Cursing, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Drug use, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Grief, Addiction, Kidnapping, Drug abuse, Child death, and Child abuse

penandpaper's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-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

This book cleverly tricks you into thinking it’s going one direction and then subverts expectations in a way that it truly shocking yet feels so obvious in retrospect. It’s also a critique in a hyper specific community (white liberal creatives) in a way that is well done but might be a bit too niche.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Body horror, Alcohol, Blood, Violence, Physical abuse, Grief, Cursing, Confinement, Gun violence, Gaslighting, Stalking, Self harm, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Racism