Reviews tagging 'Grief'

No Exit by Taylor Adams

49 reviews

xlipkins's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Blood, Murder, Confinement, and Torture

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Panic attacks/disorders, Ableism, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, and Child abuse

Minor: Trafficking, Terminal illness, Alcoholism, and Rape

saraavowlerr's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Trafficking, Blood, Cursing, Death, Gore, Murder, Torture, and Violence

misscarlaxox's review

emotional hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Stalking, Trafficking, Fire/Fire injury, Child abuse, Death of parent, Gore, Violence, Confinement, Kidnapping, and Terminal illness

kat_rowlen's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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? No

3.5

A very gripping read! It was hard to put down, so I read it very quickly! There is graphic animal cruelty that was upsetting, and didn’t add to the story so it gets points knocked for that, and the ending got a bit far fetched, but was still enjoyable 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Body horror, Torture, Cancer, Kidnapping, Trafficking, Animal cruelty, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Vomit and Violence

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Gore, Grief, and Car accident

meeklovestoread's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad 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

3.0

I put this book down 22 pages in the first time, but I just couldn't help not knowing what happens especially considering how popular it was online so I decided to give the book a chance. I did finish it this time. Overall I'd say it was a very entertaining read for me. All together I read it within a few hours. Very fast paced in my opinion, however there were numerous inconsistencies, idiotic behavior, and unsettling details that didn't need to be included. 

We find out who the perpetrator(s) is/are pretty quickly which to me wasn't a surprise. The person revealed themsleves earlier but the main character just didn't pick up on the dialogue.

The part about Lars and Ashley being brother's was unexpected. I'll grant the author that, but having Sandi involved felt ridiculous. She didn't really contribute much to the story. Also I wasn't too surprised that she was involved cuz she was a little too calm for me to believe something wasn' t up.

Also, the author has a tendecy to utilize plot points only when they're convenient for the story to either move the plot along or to enhance the stakes rather than having the plot points make sense. 

For example, we're told they're in a blizzard, but when the characters would go outside there's rarely any mention of them being affected the gushing winds pulling them back or suffering from frost bite or them shivering at all.

Another example is how the abducted child, Jay, was portrayed. She has Addison's disease and is told that extreme stressful situations can indirectly lead to her death. But this element is only utilize when the author wants to raise the stakes because when Darby ultimately finds her way to Jay she is unbelievably calm. And she remains calm in most of the situations the main character encounters. Not once did she shed tears or cry hysterically. I thought this was deliberate and that the author was gonna reveal some big twist that the girl was in on it too or something, but no, it's just poor writing.

Also, I found the use of racial slurs in this book to be so unnecessary. As well as the potential incest/molestation and animal cruelty. Like we get the main perpetrator is a reprehensible psychotic human being, but I think we established that the moment it's revealed that they sex traffick young girls and don't care. All that other stuff wasn't just unnecessary icing an already drenched cake.

Also we find that Lars suffered from fetal alcohol syndrome which to me, was very unnecessary and I think was only used to establish that he was a "mindless" follower and a victim to his brother's conditioning. But I don't think it was necessary to add things like fetal alcohol syndrome and pancreatic cancer when they literally contributed little to nothing towards the plot.

Also, the ending felt kinda ambiguous to me, but maybe I just looked too much into it. I'm glad I read it so I can assuage my curiosity so I know to never pick it up again. Don't think I'll ever read anything this author writes. It just wasn't for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Torture, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

Moderate: Cancer, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gore, Gun violence, and Trafficking

Minor: Animal cruelty, Grief, Incest, Medical content, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, and Vomit

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

violetbentbackwards1036's review

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Animal cruelty, Blood, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Alcoholism, Addiction, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Pedophilia, Medical content, Terminal illness, Torture, Trafficking, Alcohol, Physical abuse, Animal death, Gore, Cursing, Drug use, Grief, Kidnapping, Rape, Gun violence, Murder, and Vomit

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

kmsander4's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

The twists and turns just never stop in this fast paced thriller. At first, you get caught up in the mystery of it all - I mean, who can resist asking "whodunit"? But then the book transforms.

If you're anything like me, you start to pick up clues. You think to yourself, ah I know where this book is going. He's good and she's bad and this is how it'll end. And then CRACK, this twist shows up. And then BOOM, here comes another.

I honestly found myself in complete and utter shock right up until the first last paragraph. 

A quick and enthralling read. A bit gory, if that's not your thing. But, otherwise, it's nearly impossible to put this one down once you get started! Will recommend over and over!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gun violence, Gaslighting, Confinement, Child abuse, Murder, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Animal death and Torture

Minor: Grief, Vomit, Car accident, Death of parent, Addiction, and Trafficking