Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

The Perfect Child by Lucinda Berry

13 reviews

nee_shelf's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Excrement, Gaslighting, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Death of parent, Physical abuse, Blood, Death, Pregnancy, Vomit, Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Murder, and Violence

Minor: Sexual harassment, Confinement, and Panic attacks/disorders

bookdeviant86's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Gaslighting, Infertility, Pregnancy, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Grief, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Death, Murder, Toxic relationship, and Vomit

lish02's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Medical content, Grief, Death, Pregnancy, Violence, Sexual violence, Drug use, Drug abuse, Animal death, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Infertility, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Animal cruelty, and Addiction

alreinwarth's review

Just no. This feels like it is demonizing mental illness and childhood trauma survivors. And then the brutal animal cruelty was just too much for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Animal death, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Self harm, Abandonment, Excrement, Murder, Physical abuse, Eating disorder, Medical content, Miscarriage, Confinement, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, and Violence

emilycyr14's review against another edition

dark

• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

0.5

I’m giving this less than 1 star because it doesn’t even deserve that. I DNF’ed at 70% because it made me sick to my stomach. Do not take trigger warnings lightly. This book is graphic as fuck and I’ve read my fair share of horror. This was worse especially because it was graphic just for the sake of being graphic

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Blood, and Child abuse

Moderate: Infertility and Gaslighting

kaylasbookgram's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

🤯🤯🤯

What did I just read?!?! I don’t think I’ve been this hooked on a book like this since I read Verity By Colleen Hoover. This was my first Lucinda Berry book and most definitely won’t be my last, especially if all her books are as great as this one. This book was impossible to put down the second I started it. 

Hannah and Christopher are a lovely couple who are struggling with infertility. As they start to consider the option of international adoption a little girl is admitted to the hospital whose mother was murdered and has clear signs of abuse. After being part of her surgical team Christopher falls in love with the little girl and talks his wife into fostering and then adopting her. What they didn’t fully expect was the toll it would take on their marriage. The little girl ends up pitting the couple against each other and causing Hannah to eventually have a mental breakdown. 

I absolutely couldn’t stand Christopher. Even with the therapist confirming Hannah’s fears he still refused to support her or even be there for his wife. I felt so bad for Hannah and understood her terror although I definitely think she went to far in her actions near the end. The ending of the book was extremely frustrating because it just ended pretty much in the midst of a thought. Left us wondering what happened I think a more satisfying ending was definitely needed. Overall I enjoyed this book and it got a 5 star review in my book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Vomit, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Abandonment, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Excrement, Gaslighting, Infertility, Mental illness, and Murder

Moderate: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Animal death, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, Alcohol, Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, Animal cruelty, Blood, Medical content, Physical abuse, Self harm, Torture, Pregnancy, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gore, Mental illness, and Miscarriage

emrecor's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Miscarriage, Dysphoria, Gaslighting, Infertility, Murder, Death, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Child abuse, Abandonment, and Forced institutionalization

Additional trigger warnings important to include: dangerous child, murder attempt, manipulation

aspyfinny's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Abandonment, Forced institutionalization, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Infertility, Gaslighting, Animal death, Pregnancy, Vomit, Death, Murder, Medical trauma, and Child abuse

brookey8888's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.25

This book is so hard to rate and review. The whole time I was reading it I was so uncomfortable and honestly annoyed with certain characters. I felt like this was obvious and it’s more of a thriller not a mystery at all. I didn’t see one thing happen, but I thought something along those lines was going to happen so it wasn’t that shocking to me. It was interesting to see how this all played out.

All that being said I could not stand Christopher. At first I liked him just fine, but then he was just down playing everything and not listening to his wife and then listening to her to much(not getting help when she doesn’t want it but everyone is struggling). Like you see your wife struggling(losing weight, not sleeping, not eating, losing hair) and you don’t think of any solution to help? Then he literally just brushed everything Janie did off. Like obviously(before we knew what we find out) she was abused, but that doesn’t mean you let her get away with everything(he didn’t really but everything took him forever to agree or see). Honestly Hannah should divorce him. And honestly after she killed her cat they literally didn’t do anything I feel like. Like yeah they were in a wait list, but obviously she was a danger. 

Also I hated the ending. Like it ended on a happyish note, but we don’t get to see the reactions of the bad/good news(depending on who’s receiving it). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Infertility, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Murder, and Physical abuse

kotashomelibrary's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, and Death

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis