Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

The Castaways by Lucy Clarke

8 reviews

autismandniamh's review

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.25

Descriptions of the island were very detailed but, ultimately, too repetitive. Plus I didn’t really grow to root for any of the characters. But the vivid (intense) atmosphere of this book was great!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Murder, Terminal illness, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Death, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Infidelity, Sexual assault, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, and Sexual content

typedtruths's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

This superseded all of my expectations. I was wholly engaged from chapter one to the very end and flew through it in a single afternoon. The ending was a little rushed and half-hearted, but the overall experience was engaging and thrilling - exactly what you want from a mystery. I'll definitely be reading more from Clarke in the future.

Blog • Trigger Warning Database • StoryGraph

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Murder, Violence, Alcohol, Death, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Blood, Abandonment, Drug use, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, and Gore

Minor: Infidelity and Animal death

➸ Trigger warnings for spousal and parental abandonment, attempted rape (on-page), sexual assault (unwanted nonconsensual kiss, on-page), spousal infidelity discussed, suicidal ideation including an on-page scene where the protagonist begins an attempt (by jumping), alcohol consumption & abuse, drug use and abuse mentioned, parent with alcoholism mentioned, starvation and food scarcity, infertility discussed, blood & gore depiction including physical injuries and dead bodies, death of a lover by shark attack (off-page), disappearance of a sibling (theme), murder by drowning in self-defence from attempted rape, attempted murder by strangulation, near-death of an infant from choking, plane crash (theme), and animal hunting and butchering (mostly fish)/

amberinbookland's review

medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Infertility, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Grief, Death of parent, Death, Blood, Alcoholism, Sexual violence, Murder, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, and Alcohol

kareenadeah's review

lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Death

Moderate: Violence and Sexual assault

Minor: Alcohol

hayleyferguson's review

adventurous reflective tense medium-paced

3.5

Whilst some areas could have been developed more, this was a good read. The concept of being stranded on an island is nothing new, but watching the quick dehumanisation of the characters “normal rules don’t apply here” and their inability to keep a civil veneer made me want to reflect on how I would deal with such a situation and has definitely made me want to make sure I pack lifetime essentials for the next time I go on a plane! Whilst these characters were slowly deteriorating on the island, they still seemed more alive then Erin who lived a Groundhog Day of dead desire and regret which was a good way to keep us readers hooked and let the tension drop for a few pages. 

Spoiler from here:

The ending was a little predictable 
and I think that the main characters should have talked with each other a bit more, or even get to see Lori’s new house and way of life but I understand why that would be against Erin’s character. 
Overall a good read, there was just some parts that personally would have made this book amazing if it was done a little differently :)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Death

Moderate: Sexual assault and Blood

Minor: Alcohol

laureads34's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

4.0

Excellent book, much better than I expected from reading the blurb. Each chapter keeps you hooked! There are constant twists and turns, I think the author left one part of the plot purposely easy to work out but the rest was completely unpredictable. Upon reflection, the ending was subtly eluded to in such a clever and unsuspected way! My only quarm, leaving this book at 4 stars, is that I found a lot of the descriptions repetitive, IE (not a direct quote) "I drank it in, I stood drinking in the view" etc. Still an excellent book!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Infertility, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Gaslighting and Grief

Sexism/misogyny is only portrayed by one character and is telling more of how some people of a certain mindset would act in the book's circumstances. Infertility/IFV is mentioned twice. Sexual assault is attempted but never written in exact words, the character says "I knew what would have happened" so goes into no depth. Suicidal thoughts occur in one scene but the word suicide is not mentioned in that context

orangeoverload's review

mysterious tense fast-paced

5.0

If you love LOST for its survival storylines, then you'll love this! We have 2 incredible female protagonists, one trying to solve the mystery of her sisters 'death' and the other who is trying to survive her plane crashing on a deserted island! 🏝 
I loved the setting, the vivid descriptions of the beach, the heat, the island wilderness. And I loved the sisterly relationship that I relate to so much. It was a brilliantly paced book, with enough revelations to make you go Ooooh!
A great summer read! ☀️

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death

Minor: Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Blood, and Alcohol

oliviafaye's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Infertility, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Violence

Moderate: Vomit