Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

My Darling Dreadful Thing by Johanna van Veen

5 reviews

aparker89's review

dark emotional sad tense 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

5.0

Wow! I just could not put this one down! I spent an entire day devouring this book and I imagine many others will too! I liked it so much- I plan on purchasing a hard copy in addition to the ebook! 
Absolutely fantastic writing! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, Hate crime, Murder, Abandonment, Bullying, Gaslighting, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Blood, Gore, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Misogyny, Stalking, Terminal illness, Violence, Chronic illness, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Toxic relationship

elmanana's review

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.0

If you’re looking for something more paranormal and trauma focused then this is a good pick. It’s pretty dark, but not super gory. It feels more akin to psychological horror and I like how the author applied the experiences of trauma to the characters in a way that makes you want to know what they’re gonna do next and how it’ll affect the ending. A true gothic tale where it’s left to the reader to decide what was real and what wasn’t. I did see other reviewers mentioning that the middle dragged on a little. I didn’t feel that way, although I do feel like it’s not strictly horror which can feel disappointing if that’s what you’re looking for. 
This is a tragedy of a young woman who is abused as a child and continues to experience trauma even after finding a safe haven. Then, her mental state is called into question after some mysterious deaths. There’s a strong sense of isolation in the plot and storytelling which provided a lot of interesting tension. Makes for a simple plot yet the author provided a lot of substance through the characters sense of the world as she yearns for companionship and approval. 
I liked it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Eating disorder

Moderate: Incest, Racism, Domestic abuse, and Sexual assault

illtakethenightshiftx's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.5

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I don’t think I’ve met a gothic horror story that I didn’t like, and My Darling Dreadful Thing is no exception. I was immediately drawn in by the cover, the blurb is what sold me, and I was so surprised and excited when I found out my request was approved!!

My Darling Dreadful Thing is dark, unrelenting, mysterious, and heartbreaking. I absolutely loved van Veen’s prose and her characters. They are so tragic and deeply flawed, but I also wanted to sweep some of them up in a hug and give them some love, especially Roos, Ruth, and Agnes. I really enjoyed how the majority of the book was told in first person through Roos’s eyes, which is something I never thought I’d say. Roos’s internal monologue broke my heart and watching her learn and grow through her eyes as the story passed made it feel like I was an active participant in the story.

Stripped down to its core, My Darling Dreadful Thing is a love story and love (of all kinds!) is the throughline that connects all of the characters, for better or for worse.

There were some spots where the pacing could’ve been a bit tighter, but when there was action, it was page-turning and I couldn’t read fast enough! (There was a scene that reminded me a bit of the topiary animals scene in The Shining which made my heart RACE!!) 

My Darling Dreadful Thing was a fantastic read and I can’t recommend it enough if you’re a fan of queer gothic horror!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Eating disorder, Self harm, Chronic illness, and Child abuse

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Incest, and Injury/Injury detail

emily_journals's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious slow-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? It's complicated

4.0

This book was a really solid read and a strong debut novel and I will definitely have my eye on this author moving forward. 

I really enjoyed the inter-character relationships going on in this book and I really loved the world-building.  You can tell that the author really took time to develop the relationships in this book, especially those between Roos and Ruth and between Roos and Agnes. The ghost/spirit lore established in this book was so intriguing and unique. The level of intricacy in this lore of relating not only how someone dies, but where their body resides to how a spirit comes to be and has to be reawakened was really brilliantly done. 

As typically expected when reading a debut novel, there were some craft issues with this book. While I did really love the inter-character relationships in this book, I did think that the character development of singular characters could have been explored more. I also thought that the pacing of this book was a bit off, this book felt very slow and drawn out for the level of plot and character development that were happening within this book, but I think learning when to draw out or condense parts of a story typically come with practice so I'm usually a little more forgiving of debut authors on pacing. My biggest complaint about this book is that even though it was a horror novel and there was a level of anticipation as certain points, I felt that this book was greatly lacking in suspense. For me, the interview framing device was taking suspense out of this story rather than adding to it and I wish that the framing had been done a little differently so that I still felt suspense going through this story. 

Overall, this was a very strong debut and the character relationships and lore building generally outweighed the craft issues for me. 

ARC provided by NetGalley.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Body horror

Moderate: Abandonment, Forced institutionalization, Cursing, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Torture, Self harm, Murder, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Incest, Medical content, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Cannibalism, Child death, and Racism

Minor: Colonisation, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Eating disorder, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Mental illness, Animal death, Classism, and Drug use

kristinareadz's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Eating disorder, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Bullying, Blood, Violence, Murder, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Dementia, Terminal illness, Self harm, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Vomit, Cultural appropriation, Racial slurs, and Gore

Minor: Sexual assault