Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

No Exit by Taylor Adams

14 reviews

yvo_about_books's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

4.0

Finished reading: February 28th 2024

"Don’t fear the pros, Darby. The pros know what they’re doing, and do it cleanly. Fear the amateurs."

I loved my first experience with Taylor Adams' work when I read The Last Word last year, and I've been meaning to dive into his backlist ever since. With No Exit fitting multiple challenges this year, I thought it was the perfect excuse to finally do so... I do love a good bout of bad weather to spice up the plot, and the premise of this thriller sounded SO good. And I have to say that it is one heck of a rollercoaster ride! Sure, it is definitely key to be able to suspend your disbelief and the plot is WAY over the top, but if you are able to sit back and enjoy the ride you are in for a wild one. I tend to love my thrillers on the high octane and dark side, but No Exit definitely goes beyond that and dips its toe in the horror genre with plenty of gruesome and gory scenes. I wouldn't recommend it if you have a weak stomach, that's for sure! That said, No Exit is basically one tense and dangerous moment after the other; the author not giving you a minute to breathe in between accute situations. I literally couldn't stop reading as I HAD to know how everything would end. The fact that the characters are trapped and Darby doesn't know who to trust only adds to the suspense... I do have to say that some of her actions were beyond stupid, and this prevented me from giving it an even higher rating. The bad guy was also a bit too much for me, and his actions and attitude almost felt cartoonish in points. BUT. The whole situation was too tense to stand still by these minor niggles for long, and it's a true pageturner indeed despite the confusing ending. If you are looking for a credible plot and thorough character development, I suggest looking elsewhere... But if you are in need of a dose of high octane, twisted and intense action and just care about being entertained, No Exit should work just fine. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Torture, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Trafficking, Violence, Animal cruelty, Gore, Body horror, Car accident, Vomit, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Cancer, Child abuse, Murder, Blood, Confinement, Alcoholism, Animal death, Medical trauma, Rape, and Abandonment

missgrangerr's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-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? Yes

5.0

To me everything about this book is pitch perfect. I felt like I was there the whole time and the description made it a little too easy to visualize everything (IYKYK) This cat and mouse was dead phenomenal.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Slavery, Grief, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Gun violence, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Kidnapping, Stalking, Violence, and Gore

claire_reardon's review against another edition

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? No

2.5

This was the exact kind of nonsensical stupidity I needed after two heavy fantasy books. Can’t wait to see the movie and laugh through the entire thing. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Cancer, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Blood, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Terminal illness, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Racial slurs, Death, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Gun violence, Medical trauma, and Physical abuse

weird_but_fucking_beautiful's review

dark 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? No

4.0

This book reads like a Liam Neeson movie. Once the action begins, it is rapid fire quick and the dialogue crackles with menacing suspense. The cliffhanger chapter endings beg you to push on even if it is 1am on a work night…you know you won’t sleep until you find out what happens next. Taylor Adams ratchets up the tension like the best of them a la Stephen King. In fact it if I didn’t know better, it felt like I was reading an earlier novel by Mr. King (the emphasis on “earlier”) 

Darby, the reluctant heroine of this book proves to be both resourceful and badass. In the course of this fateful eight hours she grows from an angsty college student with a chip on her shoulder to a pragmatic and selfless guardian to young Jay. 

The novel’s intent is to entertain and it delivers on that intent.  It was a creepy and fun ride with copious amounts of snow, which in my opinion ALWAYS ratchets up the anxiety and foreboding to the Nth degree (think The Shining). 

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Murder, Confinement, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Cancer, Medical content, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, and Vomit

Minor: Grief and Emotional abuse

ellisofia's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Torture, Body horror, Physical abuse, Murder, Violence, Death, Gun violence, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Confinement, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Cursing, Vomit, Car accident, Child abuse, Chronic illness, and Grief

Minor: Animal cruelty, Cancer, Pedophilia, Alcoholism, Animal death, and Police brutality

lucimolri's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Madre mía, como me he gozado este libro! Intrigadísima de principio a fin, me ha gustado muchísimo! El set up, los personajes, los plot twist… cuando sospechas de algo, la autora viene y te pone otra idea en mente para luego volver a darle la vuelta a la tortilla. Da gusto leer algo de misterio cortito y que te enganche tanto que no quieras dejar de leerlo. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Cancer, Car accident, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, Torture, Violence, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, and Trafficking

sophia2203's review against another edition

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? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Kidnapping, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Animal cruelty, and Gun violence

steigmd's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-paced

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

This book could have been so much more if it didn’t rely on racism for the main villain. The story was fine, unbelievable at times, but nothing too crazy for thrillers. However, I had to stop myself from throwing the book across the room more than once at its blatant racism and the fact that it seemed like Taylor Adam’s has never met a women in his life, with how Darby was written.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Cancer, Pedophilia, Racism, Torture, Vomit, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Trafficking, Violence, Animal death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Xenophobia

hellokatya's review

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

i really enjoyed this book. pacing is flawless, suspense kept me on edge, STRESSED ME THE FUCK OUT. highly highly recommend for an in-one-sitting binge. please read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Torture, Stalking, Kidnapping, Body horror, Trafficking, Murder, Confinement, Gun violence, and Gore

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gun violence, and Death of parent

annabulkowski's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Chronic illness, Child abuse, Car accident, Violence, Vomit, Trafficking, Terminal illness, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Cancer, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Gore, Confinement, Alcoholism, Torture, Sexual harassment, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Cursing, Blood, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Rape, Racism, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, and Death of parent