Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'

The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell

122 reviews

elylu1's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Sexual assault

Moderate: Murder, Rape, Violence, Animal cruelty, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Miscarriage, Confinement, and Pregnancy

emmylamptey's review against another edition

dark emotional slow-paced

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

1.75

This book was horribly boring, slow, and confusing. I read the whole thing, despite wanting to DNF every time I picked it up and it felt like such a chore to finish. 

There was absolutely no appeal to this story for me. The “cult” aspect was underdeveloped, the cast of characters was extremely large and somewhat difficult to keep track of due to the differing timelines, and the story just seemed to simultaneously be too long and also left so much unanswered. 

Perhaps this should have been a short story or novelette. 

I *think* one of the narrators was unreliable since other characters discussed the events differently but I couldn’t even work that out by the end. I still am struggling to make out whether I actually understood the ending. 

This book was a waste of time to read - I cannot believe it has earned a sequel. Do yourselves a favour and put this book back on the shelf and walk away, knowing your life is better for not having read this book filled with graphic descriptions of child abuse, rape (way too graphic), “consensual” adult-child relationships, and more. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Child abuse, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Abandonment

Moderate: Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, and Abortion

frantically's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

5.0

i love reading about fucked up rich people

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Murder, Drug use, Drug abuse, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Stalking

Minor: Medical content and Animal death

msennflinn's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Miscarriage, Murder, Death, Grief, Infidelity, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Confinement, and Death of parent

Moderate: Rape and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Animal death

galexy_brain's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I definitely enjoyed my time reading this book. I found some of the twists surprising ,

but for the most part, the outcomes were as expected. I enjoyed the tripartite narration where the three main "siblings'" stories/perspectives were told in short, alternating chapters, and the discovery that Henry turned out to be an unreliable narrator. Though the ending didn't come as a shock, I was satisfied with how each mystery was uncovered and the coziness of the family reunion. Henry's closing chapter certainly left some things to mull over after the book was done.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Death of parent, Death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, and Physical abuse

Minor: Homophobia, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Car accident, Chronic illness, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Murder, Pregnancy, Suicide, and Toxic friendship

andatherrin's review against another edition

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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Rape, Stalking, Murder, and Suicide

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Toxic friendship, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy

Minor: Infertility and Abandonment

crosberg's review against another edition

dark 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Murder, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Infidelity, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy

sheena_sherburn's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Pregnancy, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, and Rape

spookybat's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

A really fascinating book filled with plot twists. Towards the end of the book, I found myself completely immersed and unable to put the book down! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Pedophilia, Miscarriage, Animal death, Suicide, Child abuse, Abandonment, Confinement, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Abandonment and Pregnancy

alywise's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Miscarriage, Child abuse, Death of parent, Abortion, and Drug use

Minor: Pregnancy, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Death, and Violence