Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Still Beating by Jennifer Hartmann

8 reviews

theinstabookworm's review

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This dark romance is not dark in a violent kind of way, although there definitely is violence, but more in a sad way. The before, during, and after the kidnapping made for a very well-rounded story when normally the book ends when the kidnapped are freed. As a reader you get to see the effects the kidnapping had on both MCs emotionally, mentally, and physically and how their trauma bonded them. I also appreciated the accurate representation of family and friends not understanding the trauma and why Cora and Dean couldn't move on despite time passing, even if it was frustrating to read at times. I will say that I hated Mandy and thought she was the most selfish and insensitive person. She showed no empathy or compassion for her sister or her fiancé and only cared about herself. Again, though, she didn't understand why Dean couldn't move past what he had been through, which is also sometimes accurate of loved ones of those who have experienced trauma. Know going into this that it's a very heavy read and be mindful of trigger warnings.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

Moderate: Death of parent, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Drug abuse, and Suicide attempt

klsreads's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Violence, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Self harm, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Torture, Addiction, Alcohol, Dementia, Gore, Grief, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Blood, Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Homophobia, Sexism, and Pregnancy

Minor: Animal cruelty, Death of parent, and Forced institutionalization

hannibanani29's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Kidnapping, Confinement, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Mental illness, Murder, Alcohol, Self harm, Cursing, and Alcoholism

Minor: Grief, Homophobia, Car accident, Pregnancy, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Animal cruelty, Torture, Dementia, and Death of parent

aliceloyallaleon's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Violence, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Dementia, Grief, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Car accident, Rape, and Self harm

moodreadererin's review

dark emotional hopeful 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Dementia, Fatphobia, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, and Miscarriage

Moderate: Death of parent and Miscarriage

ashlikes's review

dark emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Death, Sexual violence, Infidelity, Rape, Suicide, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Animal death, Cursing, Drug use, Grief, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Medical trauma, Dementia, Medical content, Sexism, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Murder, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, and Self harm

Minor: Abandonment, Ableism, Pregnancy, Stalking, and Homophobia

whatjasread's review

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

• super traumatic and haunting
• definitely going to stay with me for a long time
• not really a fan of the miscommunication, many times I wished things would’ve just been stated plainly
• Mandy sucked so badly I don’t think I could ever deal with someone so self centred
• pretty sure I had tears in my eyes the entire time I was reading this
• enjoyed dean’s character development but still some moments where I didn’t care for him, mostly in the first part
• really not a fan of pick me girls so Cora was not the best character in my opinion although she did get slightly better as the book progressed
• super complex, moments where I had mixed feelings and could see both sides of arguments
• understood the need for connection and familiarity and understanding but still don’t think the cheating was necessary
• also don’t know why he ended up with Mandy based on his high school experience lol

TWs: Alcoholism, smoking, bullying (before book), kidnapping, murder (before book), torture, sexual assault (in book), spiking (before book), serial killing, physical abuse, discussion of miscarriage, animal abuse, PTSD, cheating, pet euthanasia, self-harm, death of parent (father, before book, heart attack), dementia, attempted suicide (overdose), nicotine withdrawal

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Self harm, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Murder, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Death of parent

Minor: Dementia and Bullying

valeria_gzz's review

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

5 stars yeah Cora was annoying in the begin but she got better with time. Anyway 5 MFING STARS wow wow wow I was prepared for this to be a 3 star palate cleanser but NOPE it was anything but.

I highlighted this book so much and mostly because of the things Dean thought and said about Cora

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Confinement, Death of parent, Dementia, Grief, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Suicide attempt