Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'

The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell

27 reviews

loonysaurus's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Child abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Drug use, Misogyny, Body horror, Physical abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Gaslighting, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Death

Moderate: Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Classism, Violence, Alcoholism, and Murder

Minor: Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Pregnancy, Animal death, Miscarriage, and Gun violence

ashwatever98's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship and Stalking

Moderate: Confinement and Murder

Minor: Suicide and Adult/minor relationship

This book ties in so well with the first one. The story flows through flawlessly and everything just meshed well together. This book is probably one of my personal favorites.

emilycheslock's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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: Child abuse, Murder, Stalking, Confinement, Abandonment, and Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Suicide and Self harm

Minor: Grief and Rape

robynbythesea's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Rape, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Child abuse and Murder

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Death of parent

ksmo's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

3.0

I really enjoyed listening to most of this audiobook, but I was so unsatisfied with the ending. It seems as though the author's message is

that it's fine if you kill people, as long as you only kill bad people, because the police are too stupid to figure that out. And even if you're pretty sure they have figured it out, they'll still take some weird pity on you and just let you live happily ever after. There was so much energy and anticipation built up for when Henry finally found Finn, and then they just had a chat? This drunk, narcissistic man who's been obsessed with this person for over 20 years finally tracks down the object of his obsession, while frantically saying he 'wanted to kill someone', and then he pushes him onto a sofa but is otherwise lucid and chill enough to just talk??

I was also just very surprised at the complete lack of accountability. I thought the same at the end of the first book, and thought that surely things would come to a head in this sequel, but everyone just got away with everything and went and had a family garden party. And Henry's adoption of other people's entire identities is treated as an 'Oh what is he like' character quirk, rather than completely insane.

I was quite invested in Rachel as a character,

but again that all got nicely tied off with a bow of 'Yeah he's dead and my dad got his money back, so everything's sunshine and roses'.

All of the endings and resolutions just feel rushed and too easy to me, so I finished both books kind of annoyed and disappointed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Murder, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, and Child abuse

jaydub0221's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-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

3.5

Since this sequel serves a purpose of tying up loose ends & filling in the blanks, it wasn’t as thrilling or nail-biting as “The Family Upstairs”. BUT that being said, I still enjoyed it for what it was and I was happy to delve back into the lives of the Lambs. I appreciated the additional storylines and characters that tacked onto the original story, and although the loose ends were tied up just a liiiiiittle too neatly for my liking, I would still recommend this to anyone that has read the first (and if you haven’t read the first, you absolutely should).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Alcohol, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Suicide, Death of parent, Murder, Child abuse, Cursing, and Death

Minor: Abortion, Infertility, Child death, Drug use, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Animal death, and Dementia

paperpetal's review

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

4.5

I read The Family Upstairs in 2020, and I recalled enjoying it. This was a less a mystery and more of a tame thriller, but I still enjoyed it. A little slow in the beginning, but picks up quickly. I haven’t picked up a mystery/thriller in a while, but this put me in the mood to start reading more of that genre again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Stalking, Sexual violence, and Rape

Moderate: Death, Suicide, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Adult/minor relationship

knikchevich's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Rape, Sexual violence, and Suicide

Moderate: Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, and Death of parent

michelles_book_nook's review

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

⚠️ CW: murder, child abuse, domestic abuse, gaslighting, rape, blackmail, grooming and suicide ⚠️ Wow Lisa Jewell certainly didn't disappoint with this sequel to The Family Upstairs and I absolutely adored it! On an early June morning in London a bag of human bones is discovered on the foreshore of the Thames leading to DCI Samuel Owusu being called to the scene as he quickly sends off the bag for forensic examination. The bones are those of a young woman, killed by a blow to the head many years ago. Also inside the bag is a trail of clues, in particular the seeds of a rare tree which lead DCI Owusu back to a mansion in Chelsea where, nearly thirty years previously, three people lay dead in a kitchen and a baby waited upstairs for someone to pick her up. The clues point toward a brother and sister in Chicago searching for the only person who can make sense of their pasts and with four deaths, an unsolved mystery and a family whose secrets can't stay buried forever the story is far from over. This book was so intricate and complex from start to finish and had me absolutely hooked. The breadcrumb trail of information throughout as you slowly piece together various pov's, character developments and pieces from the first book truly grip you and take you on such an incredible rollercoaster ride of twists, turns and shocking revelations. Overall, I cannot recommend this book highly enough!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Suicide, Child abuse, Gaslighting, and Rape

norwegianforestreader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Cursing, Death, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Child abuse, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Rape, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Infidelity, Mental illness, Confinement, and Stalking