Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House by Cherie Jones

47 reviews

bodiesinbooks's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Violence, Child death, and Toxic relationship

livreads16's review against another edition

challenging sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Violence, Domestic abuse, Rape, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Drug use, Racism, and Pregnancy

emilily's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• 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: Violence, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Blood, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Misogyny, Child death, Grief, Death, Medical content, Pregnancy, Racism, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Colonisation and Classism

susanknights's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Violence

annabulkowski's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Violence, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexism, Self harm, Rape, Racism, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Murder, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Medical content, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Incest, Infertility, Gun violence, Grief, Excrement, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Death, Cursing, and Confinement

tina94's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Blood, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Excrement, Gun violence, Grief, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Addiction, Dementia, Pregnancy, and Pedophilia

Minor: Abortion

battlecat's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Minor: Addiction, Death of parent, Drug use, Gun violence, and Infertility

edie_reads's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Domestic abuse, Child death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexism, Physical abuse, Murder, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Grief, Emotional abuse, Blood, and Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Incest and Child abuse

luckylauren98's review against another edition

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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Violence, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Murder, Grief, and Excrement

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Murder, and Incest

Minor: Drug use

jennikreads's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

5.0

 HOW THE ONE-ARMED SISTER SWEEPS HER HOUSE tells the stories of a handful of people in an island town. Two very traumatic things happen right at the beginning of the story that set the stage for the story to unfold. It’s a little bit mystery and a whole lot character study. 

 

This is gorgeously written and I could not put it down. The story that unfolds is so layered and nuanced. I loved that Jones would slip in the stories of other characters, told from their perspectives, that we could easily assume we would only hear about from the perspectives of others. It gave such a rich entangled feel to the story and made your heart ache just that much more for the central characters. 

 

I was honestly very hesitant to read this one after hearing everyone who mentioned it shout from the roof top that it was brutal and the list of content warnings (right fully so) were endless. But, a fellow bookstagrammer spoke about it in a way that intrigued me and when I reached out to ask her about her reading experience. She assured me that it is not gratuitous. And that’s absolutely true. 

 

The violence and abuse in this book are absolutely unsettling, and will genuinely trigger some people, but they are not without context and they are never there for the sake of shock. While the content warnings span the entire length of the novel, there are definitely what I would call breaks from that type of content to let your mind breathe. 

 

All that to say, that if you, like me, were unsure whether this would be for you, give it a go, but please review the content warnings first. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Abortion, Drug use, Incest, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Sexual content, and Toxic friendship