Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren

9 reviews

avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

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

4.0

   I enjoyed the book, but it was darker than I expected or at least more emotional. The toxicity of Liam's family holy shit! I can see how he would have been brainwashed to fall in line or everyone would lose their inheritance, but it was frustrating. I was with Anna, NO ONE needs all that money! Liam could say no to his father, his siblings wouldn't have been out on the street, and they all had good jobs, or spouses who were also loaded.
    If I'd been in that situation, Anna would have disgusted me, disgusted with the wealth and excess. Overall, it was a good book, just more emotional than I was prepared for. It harkened back to the Beautiful Bastard days but with more emotional depth. I wish we'd gotten more into Anna's past and issues as well. 

Narrator Rating: 5.0 stars

   Both narrators did an amazing job. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism

Moderate: Cancer, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug use, Mental illness, and Abandonment

Minor: Fatphobia, Infidelity, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail

The toxic relationships are between Liam and his family. As well as a bit between Anna and her mom, though that's not nearly as much of the story.

gwenswoons's review against another edition

funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.0

I liked this one! Christian Lauren can be hit or miss for me and I think I’m finding that their more recent work feels more creative in the use of tropes, with better character development. I loved the setting and the “rich people behaving badly” of it all, and (as always) the CL chemistry between the two main characters is so good. I do struggle with the flaky artist stereotypes, so this wasn’t my favorite female MC, but Patti Murin’s audio narration was excellent (also as always; I didn’t love the male narrator but he grew on me a bit as I kept listening). Overall a fun read for some long car trips and mind-numbing errands I had to manage this week. :)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

mandareads222's review

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, and Classism

Moderate: Cancer, Infidelity, Sexism, Xenophobia, Medical content, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Vomit, Grief, Pregnancy, and Cultural appropriation

sariereads's review

emotional funny hopeful medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Gaslighting, and Classism

madsmcw_reads's review against another edition

funny lighthearted tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Gaslighting, and Classism

singalana's review against another edition

funny inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.0

I basically picked this book based on the cover because I was trying out a new audiobook app. I would have never guessed how thoroughly I'd end up enjoying this. 

Look, this book is the perfect beach read: fake dating on a paradise island. The only trouble on the horizon are extremely rich and obnoxious relatives. 

I was surprised that the main characters didn't annoy me, in fact I was rooting for them. The family dynamics and friendships were also interesting. 

And I'm sure no one is surprised that there's quite a lot of spice, but I was surprised how much plot there was! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Minor: Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Alcohol

ceruleanseas's review

adventurous emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Classism

Moderate: Body shaming, Cancer, Child abuse, Cursing, and Alcohol

Minor: Drug use, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation

atamano's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted medium-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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Classism

Moderate: Body shaming, Cancer, Cursing, and Alcohol

Minor: Child abuse, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

bookrecsbyjess's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

Thank you to Gallery Books for the ARC of The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren. All opinions are my own. 

One of the things that I love about this author duo is that they write such unique stories with lovable characters. The Paradise Problem was so fun and had an amazing setting. It also had lovable main characters, a unique plot, and dealt with some hard topics. 

I loved the beautiful setting, and it was so different to read about people with so much wealth and outlandish lifestyles. It was fun imagining the places described and was unlike anything else I’ve read. 

Both Anna and Liam were lovable characters that had real character flaws and issues to deal with, and I was rooting for both of them the entire time. They also had amazing chemistry between them, and I loved watching them bond and form such a sweet friendship and romantic relationship. 

The other characters were all pretty unlikable in this story, but that was to be expected with how toxic Liam’s family was. 

This book has quite a few open door scenes, so keep that in mind if you don’t like books with a lot of spice. It was more than I prefer, but you could easily skip over those parts if you wished. 

Overall, this was a great book with a fun premise and lots of family drama. I read it over a few days, and I would recommend it! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Cancer, Child abuse, and Gaslighting

Minor: Body shaming and Medical content