Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz

58 reviews

_lera_'s review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Confinement, Sexual content, Alcohol, Blood, Death, Drug use, Physical abuse, Murder, Kidnapping, and Gun violence

booksemmahasread's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Violence, Sexual content, Alcohol, Death, and Confinement

Moderate: Medical content, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Murder

Minor: Kidnapping, Grief, Gun violence, Terminal illness, and Mental illness

ashley_wohner's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-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

This was MESSY... in the best way? I felt it started quite slow, but with enough interest to make me keep reading. It's not necessarily that the twists are surprising, but that there are so many possibilities all the time.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content, Blood, Drug use, Confinement, Death, Alcohol, Murder, and Toxic friendship

_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

jessie_eidson's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Murder, Toxic friendship, Violence, Death, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Antisemitism, Cancer, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Gun violence

Minor: Vomit, Excrement, Addiction, Alcohol, Abandonment, Genocide, and Panic attacks/disorders

ravenpuff's review

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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: Murder, Blood, Toxic friendship, Drug use, Confinement, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Torture

essentialnpc's review

challenging dark 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

3.25

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Excrement, Vomit, Torture, Violence, and Gun violence

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

tabookish's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Drug use, Murder, Toxic relationship, Gun violence, Death, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Stalking, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Physical abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Misogyny, Vomit, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, and Excrement

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