Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

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

47 reviews

birdbrainbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense 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? Yes

4.0

Wow. This book is a tragedy from start to finish. Brilliantly written. I felt so heartbroken for some of the characters and so angry at others. It’s much more intense than I expected.
.
The way Jones conveys the inner workings of an abused woman’s mind, how she has to view every item in her home and assess it for its ability to inflict pain, how she has to tiptoe constantly around anything that might anger her husband, is done painfully well.
.
The way she reveals the complicated nature of power dynamics between people, particularly between men and women—and the way she explores generational trauma and how that affects who you become—is masterful.
.
My main issues were that the pace was a bit slow and the sequence of events and glimpses into other character’s lives could have been tighter. I found myself not really thinking about the book when I wasn’t actively reading it, or forgetting about some characters after having been drawn into their story chapters before.
.
All in all, pick this one up but prepare yourself—and I will absolutely be following Cherie Jones in the future.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Infidelity

Moderate: Drug use

Minor: Infertility, Adult/minor relationship, Trafficking, Stalking, Miscarriage, and Death of parent

carolikesbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional tense 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? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, and Child death

eveningstar_reader's review against another edition

challenging dark sad medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Murder, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Incest, Grief, Domestic abuse, Child death, Child abuse, and Adult/minor relationship

lisabreads's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

 Thank you @harpercollinsca and @netgalley for a copy of How The One Armed Sister Sweeps Her House by Cherie Jones. All opinions are my own.

Strong content warnings for domestic and sexual abuse including incest mentioned off page. DM for specifics if you need them.

How The One Armed Sister Sweeps Her House was an incredible read. Told from many perspectives, it’s the story of women and their struggles in a resort town of Baxter Beach, Barbados. One of the main characters is Lala who spends her days braiding hair on the beach. Lala lives with her abusive petty criminal husband and she broke my heart. The characters in this novel were so well developed and complex and yet the plot moves along at a decent pace so you never want to put it down. Highly recommend this read if you don’t mind something heavier. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Incest, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Violence

theresenatalie'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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Incest

whatjaimereads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.0

This is a novel that explores the many facets of humanity, through inter-generational trauma, crime, poverty, womanhood, and what it is to live in a tourism-based economy. It was these discussions around Barbadian tourism and the cavernous wealth disparity between locals and tourists that initially drew me to this novel, and Jones delivered in swathes.
Our cast of characters are treated with generosity and kindness despite the difficult choices with which they are faced. Jones’ prose style is fluid and exceptionally accomplished, it’s hard to believe that this is a debut. This is undeniably an important, approachable entry point to Barbadian literature, I look forward to keeping an eye out for her future work.
This was a great entry point for my own #ReadCaribbean journey, with a similar vibe to My Sister, The Serial Killer through the fast-pace and tension building that is reminiscent of a thriller while straddling genre-boundaries in a similar fashion.
*ARC kindly gifted by Headline in exchange for an honest review

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Incest, Medical trauma, Medical content, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship

thebakerbookworm's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad 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

4.0

A hard story with some achingly compelling characters, this book feels like poetry. The setting is vivid, and it portrays a sharp contrast between rich and poor, black and white, woman and man. The title comes from a legend that Lala's grandmother tells her at the beginning, a cautionary tale that underlies the entire book. The story also explores how violence effects different people's lives.

We get several perspectives, and each new perspective adds a new layer to the story, giving complexity to every character, even those that at first appear to be minor. Connections between characters slowly unfold, as the timeline jumps around from present to past. Lala is a strong lead; you feel for her and how she struggles to break out of the life she's trapped in. She's experienced so much tragedy yet is still determined and strong and loving, and I loved seeing her growth throughout the story.

This book was hard to read at times (a lot of tragic backstory), but these characters will grip you and refuse to let go. This is not a story to be forgotten.

I listened to the audio, and the narration was perfection.

Thank you to Libro.fm, Hachette Audio, and the author for the ALC.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Death of parent, Drug use, Grief, Incest, Miscarriage, Rape, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Animal death and Blood