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loonysaurus's review against another edition
- 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
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
greatexpectations77's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Gaslighting, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Rape, Emotional abuse, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Murder, and Suicide
Minor: Grief and Infidelity
whatiqreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Stalking, Rape, Child abuse, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual assault, Gaslighting, Misogyny, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Drug use, Domestic abuse, and Alcohol
kaseymkelley's review against another edition
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Rape, Gaslighting, Misogyny, and Sexual assault
unboxedjack's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Sexism, Stalking, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Rape, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Violence, Murder, Child abuse, Death, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
travelseatsreads's review
- 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? It's complicated
4.25
When I originally read The Family Upstairs I was completely enthralled and captivated by its twisted storyline, I got to those final chapters and knew I needed a sequel. So I was delighted to be approached to read The Family Remains as part of TheWriterReads blog tour. TFR was everything a sequel should be and more! I had so many unanswered questions from TFU and while Jewell answered those niggling curiosities she's left me with some new lingering thoughts and yet again I'm looking for more!
TFR is so cleverly written with alternating POVS and timeframes which have an intensity that forces you to keep reading just one more page, just one more chapter. To explain how captivating it is - the book is 448 pages, I read just over 400 of those in about 5 hours. This is something I've not done in a very very long time.
It's a hard one to review without giving away too much but this is a strikingly intense, complex, dark and compelling family drama intertwined with an equally disturbing domestic thriller. It's bursting with well developed characters, some who will make your skin crawl and others who you will be genuinely fearful for.
Finally, when I heard that people were reading TFR without reading TFU I was honestly so baffled as to how they were going to know what the hell was happening. TFU was quite a twisty read with lots of characters and I couldn't fathom how someone could keep up without that prior knowledge. Well, Jewell made an absolute fool out of me and those notions as I can honestly say TFR is so well written with an intricately woven catch up of TFU that it can easily stand on its own two feet. So, yes while a reader would enjoy the clever links and follow ups in TFR much more after reading TFU it is in no way necessary.
Quite frankly I'm not quite sure how Jewell pulled off this masterpiece but this "Standalone Sequel" is a must read for all mystery/thriller fans especially those who like it dark.
Graphic: Child abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Murder