Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward

59 reviews

fencernick's review against another edition

dark hopeful informative mysterious sad tense slow-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Kidnapping, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

magnoliabloomfield's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I can’t remember what show or movie it was, but i clearly remember two people arguing about whether a lie could be a twist- ah thank you Google, it’s from Bobs Burgers Hamburger Dinner Theater episode. Anyway. It feels like we don’t get a twist so much as a lie when we read the book after reading the blurb. Is it interesting? Sure. Is it the nerve wracking thriller Stephen King said it was? No. Was he high? Doesn’t he do horror, it’s like his whole thing? Geez. 

Half the characters you’re promised in the blurb aren’t actually physically present in the story.

The plot twist is not what you’re expecting at all but not in a good way. 

The more I think back on it, the less it makes sense tbh, when you get to the end think back to the whole mall trip with Lauren where he went in the little girls fitting rooms and Lauren’s feet still worked. And him being the “dad” when you find out where and when she came from. 

By the end I really really really wished I’d read a story about “Mommy” instead, whatever she was doing and the “green boys” and her home country seemed waaaaaay more interesting than this story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Torture

Snakes, snake bite.

fozlandgirl's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

2.0

Oh goodie, another book using ill informed mental illness as it's backbone. I enjoyed dinner pass if it butv yeah this wasn't for me. The ending was also such a cop out. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Murder, Child death, Domestic abuse, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Self harm

maimy_santiago99's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.25

Well written. Not Gothic, not really horror. Psychological, upsetting, heart breaking, rage inducing. Includes physical and psychological harm to children.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, Medical trauma, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Physical abuse, Grief, Child death, Animal cruelty, Kidnapping, Domestic abuse, Death, Suicide, Murder, Torture, Animal death, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent

Minor: Homophobia

kcelena's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Torture, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Dysphoria, Fatphobia, Murder, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Violence, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Gore, and Mental illness

aardwyrm's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense slow-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

3.0

It's fun to read, and the genre is full of works that are great atmosphere 90% of the way through and then don't stick the landing. If you just want spooky eeriness, it's not a bad choice. It's just ultimately got nothing it's actually about. The setup seems to promise a situation where lots of cliche genre stuff seems to be true, and then the big twist is all the cliche stuff is in fact true, just obfuscated. It's definitely going for twisty and intricate, but a twist and just changing the story partway through aren't really the same thing. Exactly the sort of book I think ought to have a warning sticker you can optionally peek under so you can know before you get invested if the supernatural is just a bad metaphor. When the big reveal is nothing interesting has really happened, then it's hard to care about what comes before. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Classism, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Murder, Self harm, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Ableism, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Animal death, Body horror, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit

boffinandthebooks's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Death of parent

eleanormair's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Suicide, Self harm, Domestic abuse, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Fatphobia and Animal cruelty

Minor: Homophobia

wackly93's review against another edition

challenging dark informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Violence, Torture, Death, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Animal death, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Animal cruelty, and Mental illness

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Grief, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Alcoholism, Blood, Confinement, Medical trauma, and Medical content

b_lownds127's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

5.0

I devoured this. I think is best to go into it knowing nothing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body horror, Death, and Gore