Reviews tagging 'Grief'

They Never Learn by Layne Fargo

14 reviews

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*. 

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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

kitandink's review

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

well! 

also, hell of a plot twist

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Stalking, Gore, Suicide, Violence, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Vomit, and Murder

Moderate: Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Infidelity, Suicide, Biphobia, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Physical abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide attempt, and Grief

Minor: Toxic friendship, Mass/school shootings, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, and Vomit

thdunn's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Grief, Sexual assault, Violence, Domestic abuse, and Stalking

bringitona's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Murder, Vomit, Death, Blood, Violence, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Rape, Cursing, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Suicide, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Death of parent, Car accident, Grief, and Stalking

paulamgil's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Infidelity, Murder, Sexual content, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Violence, Blood, Death, and Grief

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

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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

annoyedhumanoid's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

3.0

Carly was really giving 2012 fanfiction main character with her “i’m not like other girls, no one would find plain old me attractive, i only wear black and Doc Martens” and it was annoying. the first major twist was good but i guessed the later one right away, so after

the halfway mark

the story felt predictable

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Misogyny, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Rape, Sexual harassment, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Grief, Emotional abuse, Biphobia, Gun violence, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Death of parent, Addiction, Alcohol, Physical abuse, Stalking, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Incest, Car accident, and Pedophilia

froggydanny's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Toxic friendship, Sexual assault, Infidelity, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Blood and Cursing

Minor: Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Medical trauma, Grief, Pedophilia, and Physical abuse

itsalina's review

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

• 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Rape, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, Stalking, Infidelity, Grief, Drug use, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual violence

Minor: Torture and Death of parent

aimzthereader's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

Vigilante feminist killer book with some great twists and very well written! I loved this. I love when an author writes an excellent full complex character that you should be rooting against because they are a murderer but then you find yourself rooting for them… 

I like the two different views. I felt the author went seamlessly between Scarlett and Carly . She also starts and ends every chapter excellently which makes the book super propulsive. There are a few things  that are far fetched which is why it’s a 4.5 instead of a 5 but tbh I’m okay with it because of how well written this book was. I loved the feminist feeling, how sexual assualt was handled , and also the lgbtqia rep. I will for sure be checking out more from this author. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Murder, Mental illness, Infidelity, Grief, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Violence, Toxic friendship, Stalking, Sexual violence, Sexism, Gore, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Drug use, and Blood

Moderate: Suicide, Car accident, Biphobia, Death of parent, Body shaming, Bullying, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, and Self harm