Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Brez nje by Lisa Jewell

154 reviews

wreadaptation's review against another edition

sad medium-paced

4.0

That was gut-wrenching and the twist was good. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Sexual assault

jasmine0705's review against another edition

dark 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicide, Kidnapping, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual assault, Stalking, and Pregnancy

Minor: Animal death

hgootz'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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I initially picked this book to be my last book of 2024, but instead ended up my first finished read of 2025. This was not a bad read to begin 2025 with. Then She Was Gone was a book that had moments of predictability,  times where I “I knew it” as a revelation happened, as well as “I should have seen that coming”, but also moments where I was on the edge of my seat, or feeling of shock where I had to take a moment to soak in what happened before I could continue reading. It was also so interesting to have the different POVs presented in this book and get the different perspectives as pieces of the story were lining up together.  Towards the end it definitely gave me vibes similar to the Netflix show You. This book in the end kept pulling me in and made me stay up until after midnight on a work night to finish it, so I can’t say it didn’t hook me. I don’t think I’ll go back to re-read it personally, but would recommend it to others. I’m glad to have chosen this as my second psychological thriller and can’t wait to explore more of this genre. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Moderate: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Dementia, and Pregnancy

Minor: Sexual assault

janecassar's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping

Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy

The premise of this book is a child who is kidnapped/dead. About 2/3 of the way through the book, we find out that she is forced into pregnancy (I marked this as sexual assault, but not entirely sure), emotionally/physically abused, given numerous pet hamsters (which they talk about being dead), and briefly understand that the kidnapper is mentally ill and has suffered miscarriages/infertility. At the end of the book there is the death of a parent and death by suicide.

diaryofavoid's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Kidnapping

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Sexual assault, Grief, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

lizgom30's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

4.5

If it wasn’t because I struggled a bit to get into it in the beginning, this would be the absolute perfect book. The writing was pleasant, the characters felt real. The storyline was just heartbreaking and still hopeful. It’s honestly everything I want in a book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Miscarriage, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Child death, Cursing, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Murder, and Abandonment

richarawrites's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad medium-paced

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

2.0

The pacing was a bit slow, but I liked the story. I did feel a bit of deja vu while reading it, which immensely took me out of the story.

It’s a very sad story which leaves you wondering how anyone will find out the truth. I found empathy for Ellie, she really didn’t deserve what happened to her. I wish the tutor wasn’t so callous, but I understood the reasoning behind her shitty behavior. There are many women in this world who are exactly like the tutor, so she was the most believable character for me. As was Ellie. She was just a child, with her whole life ahead of her, as so many real children are. I feel for these two characters the most, as I felt like I spent the most time with them.

With that being said, Floyd could have been written better. It felt like shit was just happening to him and he was just accepting it. The only time he really stood up for himself was when he

killed the tutor,

and even that came out of nowhere. There was no buildup to that supposed burst of anger. He’s really just a boring character with no backbone.

I wish we had spent more time with Laurel finding out what a shit mom she’d been and making amends with her children, even Ellie. I hated the tutor explaining things to the reader. We’ve established she’s an unreliable narrator, so there could have been a second pov for certain events. I also wish we spent more time with the sister and how she started dating her boyfriend. That would’ve been a nice plot point instead of breezing past it:

The ending, I felt, was rushed. We don’t spend too long on everyone’s emotions or sitting with them as they learn the truth of what happened to their family member.

Overall, the book was an emotional letdown. I was expecting more emotionally from the characters given the nature of the story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Confinement, Death, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, and Pregnancy

Minor: Animal death and Miscarriage

themegface's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Kidnapping

Moderate: Child death and Sexual assault

brennieree33's review against another edition

dark emotional sad

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

3.0

While I don't generally like thrillers, this was pretty good. I really connected with Laurel and Ellie, and I felt invested in their stories. While maybe a little slower than I would have liked, it was still engaging and fun. 

364 pages

 - I still think it's weird that Hannah marries Theo. Your dead sister loved him, he's off limits girl
- Noelle is a terrible person. Her just leaving Ellie to die in the cellar is so disturbing. Especially with her just slowly losing interest in her and Poppy. You ruined her life because of that and then you just don't care anymore? Chilling.
- I love the scene with Poppy and Laurel brushing her hair. That was sweet.
- I feel like Floyd wouldn't have been charged with the accomplice thing if he could've spun the story right. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, and Murder

sproutlaaar's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• 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: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment