Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Last Word by Taylor Adams

131 reviews

mmannlein1's review against another edition

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty and Violence

lauren_shilling's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This book was incredible! It was exactly what I was looking for in a thriller when I picked it up, and it has definitely put me in the mood to read more thrillers! It was so creepy and there are a lot of aspects of it that are genuinely horrifying! I do want to say about the dog in the story (and this is a bit of a spoiler, but for readers like me it was important to know before getting too deep into this book)

the dog does not die in!! Though she is in direct danger at multiple points, she never dies and never sustains lasting injuries

. This book was so fast paced, it was practically just non stop action! I have very little complaints and I am very excited to have found another thriller that I love so much! I've been having some trouble finding some recently, and I am so glad that i found this one! I loved following Emma as a character! She was absolutely incredible, and the strength and resilience that she showed throughout the story was nothing short of admirable. I loved her so much, and she was the perfect character for this story! The only reason I did not give this the full five stars was because of the ending. I did love the ending, but something about it felt a little off to me. I guess I kind of wished we had cleared that part of the story and gotten that particular plot twist earlier, because it kind of comes after most of the action and main plot has already taken place. I don't know why, because usually that kind of thing really works for me where there's one last surprise when you think it's all over, but for some reason it felt a bit over the top in this book. That being said, I loved the twist itself and I loved how it ended up unraveling, and in the long run, it made sense that it came at that point in the story, so I can't fault it that much. Check content warnings too because this book was a bit heavier than I expected! I felt as if the topics were all handled super well, and they made sense for the story, but check to make sure none of the topics in the book are triggering for you!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, and Grief

Moderate: Gore, Infertility, and Car accident

Minor: Domestic abuse and Stalking

alibi313's review against another edition

dark emotional fast-paced

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

3.25

A propulsive read, which probably kept me from noticing some of its flaws. It had enough interesting twists to keep me listening, even though I’d guessed a lot of them. However, I do not recommend the audio book, as the smug tone employed by the male narrator is incredibly annoying when delivering his mean spirited monologues. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts

stephmcoakley's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Infertility, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

collinsd's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, and Stalking

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Mental illness, Self harm, Car accident, and Alcohol

Minor: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

spennythejet's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Violence

lilifane's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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

4.0

This is a surprising and unexpected book. I did not expect the scary atmosphere in the first half. I was reading it at night, before bed, alone at home... would not recommend. Or maybe I would recommend it for the goosebumps. It felt a little too similar to the plot of the book, with the protagonist alone in an isolated house at night. At least she had a dog. It doesn't happen often that I am genuinely scared while reading, but this book managed to creep me out. Then it tuned into a full on action packed slaher, and it felt like watching a movie in my mind. On the other hand, the book doesn't take itself too seriously and the dark humor made me giggle several times. There were also more twists and turns than probably good for a plot, but I really enjoyed them, didn't even try to predict anything just because of how wild the story got. And when you think you've reached the end.. there is still 20% left, and you get another ending and another and another. I enjoyed these, so it didn't drag for me. 
I have one critique, though. There is a revelation towards the end which felt misplaced and unnecessary. It felt like something too serious for the kind of story this was. And it was used for shock value and to quickly add an emotional element, which worked. But it felt cheap, unearned and again unnecessary. So I recommend you look up trigger warnings. 
The dog mentioned above suffers a lot during the plot, but don't worry, it survives, thankfully. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

gabyspinktasticlibrary's review against another edition

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

4.5

This book kept me intrigued from beginning to end! Whenever I thought I knew what was going to happen I would end up shocked by what really happened! I definitely recommend reading this book for anyone looking for a nail-biting thriller. I DEFINITELY recommend checking out the content warnings before picking it up

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Car accident, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

chasingpages1's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Cursing, Drug use, Eating disorder, Excrement, Medical content, Mass/school shootings, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

rosemaryandrue's review against another edition

dark emotional funny slow-paced

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

3.0

After Emma leaves a negative review on a self-published book, she discovers that some authors take such things very, very personally.

I picked up this book because it amused me that someone would take the unfortunately true tales of authors coming after readers who've left negative reviews on their books (generally online, but at least in one case physically

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-34775814

) and write a thriller based on it.

This is a quick, fast-paced read, and I enjoyed the various twists and turns as 'H.G. Kane's' motives and Emma's backstory became clearer. The writing is very visual - at points I could imagine scenes like in a movie, down to the lighting choices the director would make. Laika the golden retriever is adorable (and mercifully survives). I liked how the author played with how we perceive stereotypes and turns them on their head when you least expect it, and the semi-comic tone that emerged at times.

However, I did think that the pacing was irritatingly slow, sometimes killing the taut feeling of suspense when the story could least afford it. The last third of the book, especially, was not as gripping due to the plethora of twists that were thrown our way one after another. I might have liked the book better if it were shorter.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Violence, and Stalking