Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

They Never Learn by Layne Fargo

8 reviews

wwsimon93's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Murder, Violence, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Physical abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Sexism, Toxic relationship, and Stalking

foldingthepage_kayleigh's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

4.5

A serial killer FMC with a thirst for justice with a dark academia setting? Excellent 👏🏼 A 4.5 star read for me. The dual POVs were well done and the twists were *chef's kiss*. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder, Gore, Medical trauma, Toxic friendship, Sexism, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Grief

Moderate: Sexual content and Alcohol

lottie1803's review

challenging 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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, Violence, Gore, and Blood

zombiezami's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Cursing, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Murder, Sexual violence, Stalking, Sexism, Rape, Death, Violence, and Gore

Moderate: Bullying, Suicide, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Biphobia, Medical content, and Vomit

Minor: Gun violence and Death of parent

jodean's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Gore, Stalking, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Sexism, Death, Blood, Toxic relationship, and Misogyny

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Drug use, Biphobia, and Medical content

msradiosilence's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.0

TLDR; 3 rating, I love women’s wrongs, I love queer women, but there is something missing here.

Content warnings at the bottom. :)

I am a sucker for bisexual female main characters, and this one kills men who hurt women?? It sounded so far up my alley. I went in hoping Scarlett and Carly would team up and take down all the horrible men on Gorman’s campus but that’s just…not exactly what happened.

So Scarlett and Carly are the same person. I figured that out just a little bit before the reveal, so cheers!

I really appreciated Carly’s arc, but because the time was ambiguous, the four or five page chapters and then the switches back and forth between Carly and Scarlett did give me whiplash in a few places. I understand why (to keep you on the edge of your seats during tense moments) but there was something lost in the back and forth. 

I’ve seen a lot of people complain about how there’s quite literally a single man in this book who is a genuinely good guy, and it’s sort of explained away because he’s gay. I think people pointing this out are missing the fact that Scarlett is a horrendously unreliable narrator. Someone described this as genderbent American Psycho, and while I’ve never read that book, I’ve seen plenty of reviewers who bite back at incel misogynists who look up to Patrick Bateman enough to realize that the comparison is likely an apt one. Scarlett is so consumed with her belief that men ain’t shit, and while it’s very likely the men she kills haven’t committed crimes egregious enough for the reader to sentence them to death, Scarlett’s had enough. She reads a lot into situations, often colored by her own trauma, and since this is from her perspective, we should take her observations with a grain of salt (in most cases). With the exception of Drew, all the men in this book read as horrible predators, and we as the audience only have Scarlett to rely on until another character confirms it (Mina with Kinnear,

Mikayla with Jasper

, jury’s still out on Stright). But whether you believe Scarlett or not, the point is she’s unreliable, but these men are still pretty awful.

And that’s the point, isn’t it? It’s a cautionary tale against trust, because it’s not always the ones you don’t know. Scarlett is a dream, and one that I’ve heard quite a few of my friends echo. Because even in the year of our lorde 2023, the doctors and the deans in Carly’s storyline are still saying the same shit. I saw it happen in undergrad to friends of mine. We have a long, long way to go before the events in this book are only the work of fiction.

Anyway. I thought the book was fine but it didn’t change my life. So, solid three stars.

Rating: 3

Would I recommend? A tentative yes, but mostly for the TWs and content.

Content warnings: Graphic: Fire, Sexual violence, Stalking, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Gore, Grief, Sexism, Cursing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content (about sexual assault), Sexual content (on page, consensual), Sexual harassment, Blood, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Sexual assault, and Violence. Moderate: Death of parent, Rape (mentioned, not on page), Alcohol, Domestic abuse, and Suicide (mentioned). Minor: Torture (mentioned), Car accident, and Drug use

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Sexism, Sexual content, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Blood, Mental illness, Gore, Grief, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Violence

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Suicide, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Rape

Minor: Car accident, Drug use, and Torture

cheye13's review

dark 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? It's complicated

5.0

The first half felt a bit slow, but then a switch flipped and I sped through the rest. Everything after that point was predictable, but in the best way. Knowing where the story was going didn't undermine the tension at all, but increased the need to know how it got there. Absolutely stellar, need more.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Murder

Moderate: Violence, Alcohol, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, and Vomit

Minor: Toxic friendship, Suicide, Rape, Misogyny, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse

As a benchmark, there is a mild secondhand description of a past rape in the first chapter, and the description never really gets more graphic than that.

booksthatburn's review against another edition

dark 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

THEY NEVER LEARN is a sapphic serial killer thriller about women getting control and taking revenge. 

The narrators alternate between an English professor getting ready for her yearly kill and a freshman who plans revenge after her friend is assaulted. Carly and Scarlett feel distinct at the start of the book and their chapters are very easy to tell apart. Early on I liked Carly better but by the end I was rooting for Scarlett and I'm very happy with how things turned out. If you liked (or wanted to like) DEXTER but wished it were sapphic, check this out. 

There's enough detail to make it very clear what the various perpetrators/murder victims did that got them on Scarlett's radar or drew Carly's ire, but without glorifying sexual violence or giving graphic details of abuse. Refer to the CWs for more information. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Cursing, Misogyny, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Medical content, and Rape