Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz

66 reviews

ferdie's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.25

The Writing Retreat was a a quick and dark read that explores feminism, human complexity, and motive. It captivated me pretty quickly and the narrarator did GREAT voice work here. It felt about 2 hours too long and there was a bit of disconnect brought by surface level relationships, but I would still recommend it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexual content, Death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Murder, Toxic friendship, Blood, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, and Kidnapping

kyanitecourage's review

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Alcohol, Sexual assault, Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Drug use, Kidnapping, and Vomit

Moderate: Cursing, Antisemitism, Biphobia, Outing, and Excrement

archaicrobin's review

adventurous challenging emotional funny mysterious reflective sad 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

4.5

This chilly winter thriller is over the top and overdramatic and I loved it. The premise was intriguing but a little obvious and the characters interactions were cringey at times, but overall I enjoyed the craziness of this thriller, that always had me 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Rape, Blood, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence

ashleyxx8's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Blood, Sexual assault, Gun violence, and Death

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

jackie_reads_314's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

This was a thrilling look into the writing process, the desperate need to be seen and understood as a victim and creative, and the addictive nature of toxic relationships. I did want this to be a little more supernatural; though the small depictions did well establish the unreliable part of our narrator (who was unreliable since the beginning, so this is not a spoiler). I was also able to guess about 1/3 of the plot twists, which made gave me a lil serotonin rush, but it would have been better to be completely taken aback. The penultimate twist did get me though, that one got me out of nowhere. I might read this book again, I feel like you could definitely get a few good reads out of this and still pick up on new hints, metaphors, and nuances. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Murder, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

aliciavalenski's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Excrement, Gore, Death, Emotional abuse, Murder, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

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

emsim's review against another edition

medium-paced

3.75

Still not sure what I read...Some wild sh*t happened.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Chronic illness, Gaslighting, Terminal illness, Bullying, Drug use, Murder, Death, and Domestic 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