Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell

19 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

drstauffer918'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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Drug use, Murder, Suicide, Rape, and Toxic relationship

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

paperkindle's review against another edition

dark reflective fast-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? Yes

3.0

Rachel's chapters were my favorite. It was really interesting to learn about her and Michael's relationship. In that way, you also know how it was between Lucy and Michael. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

Moderate: Sexual assault

Minor: Vomit, Murder, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Alcohol, and Suicide

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

brynhayes's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Suicide, Abandonment, Alcohol, Grief, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Blood, Mental illness, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Rape, Death, Stalking, Toxic relationship, and Violence

jacs63's review

dark slow-paced

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

2.0

** spoiler alert ** I was told by someone that this wasn't very good, and boy, were they right. 
It was truely awful and so disappointing, as so many people rave about Lisa Jewell.
I borrowed this one from the library and saved my money, and I'm glad I did. 
I read in the 'Acknowledgements' that she wasn't going to write a sequel, but she gave in to pressure from her fans. Well, she needs to develop a back-bone.

I gave the book 2 stars, just for the fact that I am sure LJ can write. I'm just not sure that this is her best work. 

The first book was 'good'. A bit over-hyped, as all books are these days, with pages and pages of adulation from other famous authors and social media people. 
I was mildly underwhelmed though, but thought it was 'ok.' A different type of story, but it went on a bit. 

This book is so much worse. 
Nothing actually happens in it. 
It's so BORING. 
So many plot holes. 
Interpol are a bit 'pants', aren't they? Knowing all about Lucy and Henry etc but letting them travel back to the UK on false passports, and doing nothing. 
Rachel's character was a waste of good paper. 
I only read the book really, because her most intriguing character in the first book, Phin, might make an appearance. Except he doesn't. Not till the last 2 chapters or so. And he does nothing. What a wasted opportunity. 
LJ introduces a new character, with the Detective investigating the case, but even he can't save the story. He's so under-written. 
There's one suicide from a secondary character, who does it to save another character. 
There is a character who rapes someone, but this isn't new. He did it in the last book. 
And.........nothing else. 

I can't believe anyone gave this 4 or 5 stars, but then again there no accounting for taste, as they say. 
My recommendation is, give it a miss. It's awful.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Mental illness, Rape, Stalking, Suicide, Alcohol, Violence, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Confinement, and Death

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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

I didn't realize that this was the sequel to The Family Upstairs when I started, and I probably would have waited a bit to be a better headspace because of all of the assault. But I still really enjoyed it, and I like the author's storytelling a lot. 

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Content Warnings

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

nailartklaudia's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, and Suicide

sleeson's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

A solid sequel. Closure on everything. Happy with the outcome for each character. Well not every character. Except Henry. He needs some 24/7 professional help. Moderate sexual context. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Cursing, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Rape, Sexual content, and Stalking