Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Brez nje by Lisa Jewell

81 reviews

rubberrosebooks's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

This was my first Lisa Jewell novel, and it definitely won't be my last. I absolutely devoured this book! The storyline was easy to follow, character development on point, and the twists just kept coming. I only predicted one part, but only shortly before the reveal. I appreciate that by the end, all my questions had been answered. This is exactly what I look for in a mystery/thriller! I've had this on my TBR list for a few years now, and I'm SO happy that I chose to finally read it! 

I only give 5 stars to books that I know I want to read again someday. Unfortunately, with mystery/thriller books, the excitement factor won't be there the second time around, so I gave it a very solid 4.75!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Grief

bookstwokathryn's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

avaa_reads's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Stalking, and Pregnancy

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

3.75

This was an interesting story, and I didn't predict a part of the climax.  I definitely thought the storytelling was stronger in the The Family Upstairs series, but this one was fine. The whole

hamster

thing was weird though and kind of felt like a detail added later to increase ~weirdness~.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement and Death

Moderate: Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Infertility, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Death of parent, and Alcohol

ashleysager's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad fast-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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Death of parent

Minor: Terminal illness

maddie_0930's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Sexual content, Torture, Kidnapping, and Stalking

Moderate: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Grief, Murder, and Pregnancy

katerinamckenna's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad slow-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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, and Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, and Pregnancy

kimveach's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

Good, creepy thriller. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

kccool12255's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

Original (3.25 stars): 

I kid you not when I say this is literally one of the most messed-up books I have ever read. The Liars series had bad stuff like this IN those books, BUT THE PLOT TWISTS MADE SENSE. This book literally feels like a fever dream. I can’t even put it into words. The only thing I can say is that it spellbound me. I literally COULD NOT put it down, I HAD to know how it ended. Just…I can’t. I don’t know what else to say. This book sucked.

Although it’s SO CUTE how Poppy calls Laurel Mama.

Still bad, though.

Revisited (4.0 stars): 

Yes, I reread it. And BOY OH BOY, I was READY for it this time. 

I think that for books like this, you really have to know what you're getting into. You need to know what level of disgusting, messed-up crap is gonna be in these types of books before

you're reading about a girl who gets kidnapped and unknowingly, WITHOUT HER CONSENT, gets inseminated with some random dude's sperm bought on the dark web. This book is MESSED. UP.

you dive straight in. There needs to be DISCLAIMERS. I know that there's content warnings on here, but they should have something actually IN the book before you read it, so you don't go in blind. I don't know, that's just my personal thoughts. 

That being said, for this genre? Then She Was Gone is MASTERFUL in its storytelling, and I think it paved the way for a lot more books like it, like I Invited Her In by Adele Parks. I'll have to fact-check that, but the two fall in the same category. However, where I Invited Her In is basically just a bunch of things happening in quick succession, Then She Was Gone is actually a narrative that is woven through multiple different time frames, and just about EVERYTHING ties together in the end. It's very smart, and honestly just very good writing. 

However, I still take issue for the multiple side character storylines that were unnecessary and kind of stupid. WHY did Hanna have to get with and MARRY Ellie's old boyfriend? That is...a lot, and frankly, it's disrespectful to Ellie on both of their parts. With Theo, WHY would you date your missing girlfriend's SISTER? With Hanna, WHY would you date your missing sister's BOYFRIEND? It's VERY unrealistic, and I do not like the storyline any way you slice it up. It's weird, and kind of gross. And WHY did Sara-Jade need to be having an affair with a MARRIED man TWICE HER AGE? And did she need to be a nude model, or whatever the heck she is? She's just a really weird character, she could've been much better but Lisa Jewell held back.

 

Ellie is very well-written for being a teenager, and no one can fault her for the mistakes she makes that lead to her downfall. You can feel genuinely bad for her and what she goes through down in that basement. 

Floyd, Laurel, and Poppy are all VERY well-rounded characters, and I liked them a lot. Not much to say on that front. Laurel and Poppy's relationship is very sweet, especially in the end.

Laurel gets to be the mother Poppy never had! *sob* Floyd is very well-written in his confessional, I love how his like entire personality is really just a facade, built up to please Laurel. He was in a BAD situation, and you can give him a lot of blame for that, but honestly, he did what he could. I can't believe he KILLED himself, THAT had me shook, but honestly, what else was he gonna do in his life? Noelle screwed up a LOT of people, and I STILL can't believe he killed her. That was just...wow.

 

I would probably rate this book higher, but we have history. Maybe I'll revisit it sometime in the future for a higher rating, but for now, I'm satisfied with what we have. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship and Kidnapping

Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Blood, Grief, and Murder

Minor: Physical abuse and Violence

mysterymom40's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Kidnapping

Minor: Suicide

someone is unwillingly impregnated; thoughts of a what could be seen as a psychopath; very disturbing thoughts and actions