Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

When No One Is Watching by Alyssa Cole

65 reviews

barefootbetsy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-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

4.5

I really liked this. Yes, the pacing could’ve been more even, but the concept was solid and I enjoyed the story!  I, like many other reviewers, could’ve done without the romance subplot; but those issues aside, I thought the story was well done and it certainly drew me in quickly and thoroughly.

The history was fascinating and I have a new appreciation for how difficult (and horrifying) living with the remnants (and current iterations) of slavery and redlining and stolen land must be 😞

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Classism, Colonisation, Confinement, Cultural appropriation, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Stalking, Torture, Violence, Misogyny, Murder, Racism, Blood, Grief, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Toxic relationship, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Gore, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Sexism, Sexual content, and Excrement

vaguely_pink's review against another edition

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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, Racism, Police brutality, Violence, Blood, Gaslighting, Classism, and Death

Moderate: Addiction, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Death of parent, Grief, Kidnapping, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Infidelity, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Drug use, and Hate crime

Minor: Cancer, Forced institutionalization, Stalking, Suicide, Vomit, Confinement, Dementia, Deportation, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Torture, Chronic illness, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Medical content, Racial slurs, and Sexual content

kumquats87'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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Violence, Colonisation, Murder, Blood, Chronic illness, Classism, Cursing, Grief, Alcohol, Confinement, Hate crime, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Slavery, Stalking, Cultural appropriation, Kidnapping, Medical content, Terminal illness, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, and Misogyny

Minor: Police brutality, Vomit, Infidelity, and Homophobia

thelibbyshow's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Grief, Police brutality, Emotional abuse, and Racism

Moderate: Death of parent, Alcohol, and Gun violence

cooper_reads_books's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious 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: Addiction, Physical abuse, Blood, Classism, Emotional abuse, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Police brutality, Racism, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Medical trauma, Slavery, Medical content, Stalking, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual content

Minor: Deportation and Forced institutionalization

caitlyn_rehs's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Moderate: Slavery

Minor: Addiction, Infidelity, Bullying, Classism, Death, Forced institutionalization, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Hate crime, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, and Grief

asteinke's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

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

2.0

This book was painful to read and contained so many cringy moments that were so unrealistic. It was such a slow moving book and nothing interesting happened until about 70% through the book. Interesting concept but it could have been executed way better.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Confinement, Murder, Racism, Emotional abuse, Police brutality, Gun violence, and Kidnapping

pj_steph's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I overall enjoyed this book. I enjoyed the writing of this book. My favorite parts of the story were discussing the history of gentrification and going in depth on the horrors of the people who live in the neighborhoods. I will say the pacing was a little off. The beginning was a bit slow, but the ending felt REALLY rushed. I thought the middle had the best pacing. The mystery started to pick up and pieces were starting to come together, but then it kind of snowballed at the end. I'm definitely adding more Alyssa Cole to my TBR!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Stalking, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Racism, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Alcohol and Police brutality

maregred's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark hopeful mysterious 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Racism, Death, Gaslighting, Classism, Grief, and Colonisation

Moderate: Alcohol, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Emotional abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Slavery, Medical trauma, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, and Blood

bookish_afrolatina's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

I had a hard time getting through this book at first because of how accurate many of the scenes of Sydney encountering racism were. A lot of it was triggering. 
The pacing definitely picked up 2/3 of the way into the book. Then it speeds up as evidence clicks into place. This could have started halfway in if the author really wanted to go with the kind of gothic horror vibe. I know it was meant to be one of those things that kind of sneaks up on you but the ending should have been longer. 
I feel conflicted about the author’s choice to make the second POV from a white straight cis guy and to have that romantic element. Many of Cole’s books have interracial couples as the MCs, so it shouldn’t be surprising, but this time it rubbed me the wrong way. Having this white character comes across as the author trying to appeal to a white audience and almost like a way to make Sidney seem more believable. Like, if this white guy is seeing this scary stuff, then it must not be all in Sidney’s head! Seeking validation from that connection to whiteness. 
The story was thrilling in the end because it didn’t seem super far fetched to me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Death of parent, Police brutality, and Violence

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Confinement, and Forced institutionalization