Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward

56 reviews

bxnnny's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.0

this is quite the sleeper hit. a bit of a slower start, somewhat hard to get into, but once you're in it, you can't stop. everything coming together piece by piece by the end is truly enthralling. every detail matters so pay attention! definitely go into it as blind as you can. heavy content warning with this one though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Physical abuse, Self harm, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Suicide attempt, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

Minor: Addiction, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, and Stalking

pretty heavy content warning.

mental disorders a main theme.

simplyammee's review against another edition

emotional tense slow-paced

• 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: Blood, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Homophobia

thornthistle's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

5.0

This was great and awful at the same time. I was nauseous 80% throughout due to how its content was described, but it needed to be written that way. It starts dark and confusing, then as it's twists are resolved, ends with hope.

Great book, but not for the faint of heart.

Lying will be the death of you, but the rebirth of your true self.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Suicide, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Bullying, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Torture, Death, Murder, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, and Panic attacks/disorders

aranmn's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Torture, Suicide, Kidnapping, Blood, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, and Death

spulls99's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Confinement, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Blood, Suicide, Child death, Pedophilia, Self harm, Stalking, Alcoholism, Kidnapping, and Mental illness

atiek's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Grief, Physical abuse, Animal death, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Torture, Blood, Emotional abuse, and Vomit

notlikethebeer's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.5

As a side-note: I'VE HIT MY GOODREADS CHALLENGE!!!!!

That aside, this was a fun book - I read it as part of an office book club, I don't think I'd have come across it otherwise but I'm glad I did. I enjoyed how twisty and turny it was, there were so many twists that I think it'd be practically impossible to predict all of them. I do feel like there were some parts that were unexplored, for example I feel like

Dee's death

didn't really do that character justice - although it was fun to talk about that particular character with the rest of the book club, as we all had some very different views. It was also really fun to talk about the SNAKES, and the symbolism they may or may not have had... Regarding the portrayal of

DID

, it does sound like the author did her best to research and create an accurate portrayal. I really don't know enough to comment, although I tend to be wary of books that

use mental illness as a plot twist

. It did also frustrate me that, at the end,

it felt like Ted's attachment issues and trauma were quite easily resolved

- I wish it could be that damn easy in real life!!

Overall it was probably a 3.5 for me - interestingly, as a book club we gave it an average of 3.78! I definitely really liked talking about it in book club, and it added a lot to my experience of the book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Confinement, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Kidnapping, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse

cait_henry56's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I just finished the audiobook and there are no words I can find to describe how this book made me feel. I need to buy a physical copy, but until then I know this book has lodged itself into my heart and brain. It's incredibly dark, however, so read the trigger warnings before starting. But my god, what a beautiful pain to experience.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Death, Grief, Self harm, and Suicide attempt

lilias's review

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

4.25

I absolutely hated the first 50 or so pages of this book, and I almost quit reading it, which I almost never do. But somewhere around that 50th page, I started to want to know what was going to happen and how it would unfold. Then, maybe 50 pages after that, I realized I did not want to stop reading and that I would finish this book before the day was over. 

The first 50 or so pages of this book just seemed full of misplaced whimsy and weirdness. I don’t like it when something, a book or a film, goes out of its way to be weird just for the sake of being weird. But nothing grabs my attention like a mystery. And when little reveals started to peel away the silly veneer that was, when it came down to it, author Catronia Ward speaking in (infuriating) riddles, I was hooked. I wish I had been so invested in the entire book, but, still, this was a really good reading experience for me, overall.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Torture, Confinement, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Child death, Mental illness, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body shaming, Alcoholism, Abandonment, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Kidnapping, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Fatphobia, Suicide, Death of parent, and Self harm

killmoore_'s review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad 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

5.0

I'm without words.

Best book I have read all year, and in the top 5 for all time. I cannot express how much I loved this book. 

It will make you feel all the things, drop you on your skull and do it all over again. 10/10 will be recommending to anyone who enjoys the genre.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, Stalking, Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Torture