Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Yerba Buena by Nina LaCour

177 reviews

andreadelo's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

Simple yet reflective. I picked this up expecting mainly a romance but found two stories about the difficulties of finding oneself. I liked the bittersweet moral but sometimes the book felt a bit too on the nose with its metaphors, sometimes explaining  instead of describing. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Trafficking, Sexual assault, Rape, and Sexual violence

Minor: Child death, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Cancer, Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug use, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, and Panic attacks/disorders

mildred_mushroom's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I wanted to love this book and I liked the characters. But parts of this book felt unnecessary to me and I didn't really enjoy the structure either. My biggest issue is that it never seemed to reach the level of emotional intimacy that I felt like it was leading up to. But overall I'm happy that I read this book and it got me out of a major reading slump. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Death, Pedophilia, Death of parent, and Sexual assault

cethompson's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

Moderate: Addiction, Sexual assault, and Death

iamnotclara's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Murder, and Sexual assault

madiiilm's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

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

2.0

Overall, I thought this book was okay. I was excited to read a sapphic romance even though contemporary romance definitely is not a genre I gravitate towards. It felt kind of odd to me that this book featured a dual POV. LaCour seemed more interested in Emilie's story than she did Sara's. I felt like we spent more time with Emilie and that she got far more development than Sara. This is a shame since I thought Sara's story was more compelling and had more mystery to it that was never fully explored. I also felt like Sara's story ended in a weird spot. I wish we got more closure with her and found out more about what her future looks like. That's not to say I disliked Emilie's story. I found her struggles and character relatable in a lot of ways. I almost think this could have worked better if it was told solely from Emilie's POV and included her finding out things about Sara's past. The writing is fairly good, outside of some unnatural and awkward dialogue that is.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Child abuse

Moderate: Death of parent and Child death

antoniaodernein's review against another edition

dark lighthearted reflective medium-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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol

Moderate: Infidelity, Child death, Death, Death of parent, and Sexual content

Minor: Death of parent, Drug abuse, Chronic illness, Grief, Infidelity, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Cursing, Addiction, Alcohol, Sexual assault, and Death

jensch's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Death, Sexual harassment, Death of parent, and Grief

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Addiction

doubletherazzle's review against another edition

Good writing, nothing bad on the book, just a bit too depressing/heavy  for my current vibe (see content warnings)

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Drug use, and Sexual assault

Minor: Emotional abuse

readingwithcats's review

dark emotional reflective slow-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Sexual assault

alouette's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

the author has a beautiful way of writing prose that clicks with me, and finds a way to bring mundane plots to life. while the side characters fell kind of flat, the main romance was still very sweet- though, i do wish it started earlier in the novel so we actually got to see more scenes of them together! the ending was also kind of inconclusive and not super satisfying, but i really liked emilie and was glad to see her having finally found the starts of an identity and passion carved out for herself.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Death of parent

Moderate: Sexual assault