Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Brez nje by Lisa Jewell

81 reviews

kmthorson2's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad slow-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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Child death

Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Dementia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting

koreydobbert's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? Yes

2.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide, Kidnapping, Murder, and Pregnancy

Minor: Infertility, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, and Death of parent

spellbindingtomes's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

3.5

𝘐𝘧 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦, 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘰𝘰𝘭, 𝘴𝘩𝘦’𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘺𝘢𝘳𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘴. 𝘓𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘣𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨.

•

This was my first book in the thriller genre in a very long time and I really enjoyed it. Lisa's storytelling was both captivating and disturbing. 

There wasn't much suspense throughout the story and I think that's in part because of how Lisa chose to tell the story. She provided a lot of information upfront on the 'who' and 'why' and the reader just had to figure the 'how'. Because of that, the reveal toward the end didn't surprise me.  

I like that each part started with a different narrator and we got to see inside the heads of the main players in this story. Some of the content in the second half were incredibly hard to read, but I thought this was still a good reintroduction into the genre. I can't wait to read more of Lisa's works!

•

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘩𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥 . . . 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴, 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

Minor: Animal death, Miscarriage, and Suicide

morgannayman's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy

juanat77's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

sierrabowers's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This was a great read that told a chilling story. I did predict the ending, but I thought it was still a great book. I was sad for Elle the entire book and found myself gasping when I found out all of the things that happened to her. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Alcohol

jennacollier1512's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder, and Pregnancy

isabezza's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

4.5

I don't often read thrillers but Lisa Jewell is my go-to. Each novel I have read has been packed with suspense and disturbing psychology and this story was no different. The story discusses family dynamics after trauma and contains a distressing mystery. I really enjoyed the multiple POV which garnered an insight into each characters motivations and perspectives of others. A little slower than some of her other mysteries but ultimately just as gripping. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder, and Pregnancy

crowray's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

i loved the twists in this book i hate when i can guess but a few of them really caught me by surprise. the characters felt fleshed out and human and the emotion and writing was brill. didn’t feel very tense apart from towards the end but that’s really the only thing.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Mental illness, Sexual content, and Terminal illness

jpt007's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.75

This was a book I chose to read on a whim while on a Barnes and nobles run with a friend, and wow I just have to say my luck that day was really good! 

Characters- 5/5*
The characters felt rich, deep, and most importantly real. You hated some of them but understood the 3D image of them.

It was impressive Jewell even did that with such a horrible person as Noelle Donnelly. Authors sometimes struggle to give depth to “villains” but Jewell did it beautifully.

Conflict- 5/5*
Once you get into it you couldn’t put the book down. Trust me I tried! 

Plot- 5/5*
The structure of the story was beautifully done. Even the exposition drew you in. Every moment of the journey had thus unsettling feeling that just made the book so much better.

Setting- 4.5/5* 
It was basic but that was the point. I added the the gravity of the story an every day neighborhood. My only complaint is as someone not from London I was lost with a few thing and would have loved a hair more description. (But that’s just me being knit-picky)

Theme- 5/5*
Even after life gives you hell you can find a way to live again, it will take time, but you can do it.

also never inform gut feelings!

I wasn’t expecting to cry from a book like this but at the end I was left with a message I really needed to hear.

Overall Score: 4.9/5⭐️

I recommend this book to anyone who wants a thrill and needs a reminder of why they like to read. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Moderate: Cursing