Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

The Golden Spoon by Jessa Maxwell

24 reviews

estar210's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.0

I loved the premise, but the execution was incredibly disappointing. The characters, with a few exceptions, were incredibly unlikeable, and so much of the writing was stilted and unnatural. There was also little satisfaction in the plot resolution. Would not recommend.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol and Violence

Minor: Alcoholism and Sexual assault

literatehedgehog's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Agatha Christie meets Bake Off! What a genius pitch. Very entertaining with suspenseful chapter endings, not knowing the victim or the murderer for most of the book. Does get a bit creepy and more detailed with dripping blood etc than Christie would have. Some characterization and emotional outpourings don't ring true (but then Christie also haphazardly married people off, so there's that.) Read it for the bakes and suspense.

Content warning: sexual assault, implied drugging, implied depression and alcoholism.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault

Minor: Alcoholism and Mental illness

mirlezen's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-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? Yes

2.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Blood, Mental illness, Alcohol, Death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Alcoholism and Infidelity

Minor: Classism

pamnc's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Alcoholism, and Murder

knicke's review against another edition

lighthearted medium-paced

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

1.5

The actual murder, though teased in the prologue, only happens right at the end of the book.

It’s not all that mysterious, and I found several threads of the mystery predictable. The setting/concept is original and drew me in, but the plot content is not original. The characters are not well-developed and lack dimension.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Alcoholism, Sexual assault, and Violence

wrenl's review against another edition

lighthearted slow-paced

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

1.0

Literally, what is this book

? It promises a murder, but that doesn’t happen until 2/3 through.

It has bits and pieces of interesting characters but slams its brakes by ending so quickly. It’s such a mess of a book with no likable characters because of the split perspectives. And I didn’t even get cozy baking vibes! 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Alcoholism, and Mental illness

grayb14's review against another edition

lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Blood, Alcohol, and Death

Minor: Alcoholism

one_more_chapter96's review against another edition

funny mysterious medium-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? Yes

3.75

Fun murder mystery with cozy vibes from the setting but several dark twists that kept unfolding. I liked the different characterisations and they all stood out in their own right, some of the surprises I didn’t anticipate and while others I did it was still satisfying being proven right for those along the way. The ending was interesting & there were some deep topics covered (sexual assault, murder, foster system, mental health) but overall it was fun being mixed in with the baking competition setting. 

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Murder, Blood, Rape, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Infidelity, Mental illness, and Alcoholism

rebgar727's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious fast-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? It's complicated

4.0

This is a great read! Some tropes are to be expected given the genre of the book, but there were multiple layers to the plot (layers... Like a cake.. get it...). The writing style is fantastic- descriptive, yet easy to follow along. Main complaint is that the ending left more to be desired.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Toxic relationship, and Death

Minor: Alcoholism

hazelsnoot's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious sad tense 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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Addiction, and Alcoholism

Minor: Sexual assault, Rape, and Sexual content