Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

When No One Is Watching by Alyssa Cole

155 reviews

jenbertface's review against another edition

dark emotional funny informative mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.5

This book was a fun read and very informative, I learned a lot about Brooklyn history! The down side was it took a while for the characters to get to the heart of the mystery at work in the story. Once they did, the last few chapters flew by and it felt like the story wrapped up a little too quickly. I really liked Sydney but wasn’t really a fan of Theo’s narration.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Slavery, Gun violence, Grief, Violence, Police brutality, Medical trauma, and Death of parent

Minor: Confinement, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Forced institutionalization

rurouni's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Moderate: Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Classism, Colonisation, Murder, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Sexual content, and Death of parent

Minor: Addiction, Slavery, Stalking, Deportation, Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, and Police brutality

megan_bbender's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense slow-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

3.0

I felt like this story was very slow in the beginning. When I got to around 200 pages, I logged it on my StoryGraph and said "holy sh*t, I'm not even halfway through?", but it really started to pick up towards the end, the last 150 pages or so were thrilling and it felt like the plot was finally moving, however the ending was so abrupt that genuinely can't believe that was it; it finally felt like something was coming out of this book and then *poof* it was gone.

With that being said I can actually appreciate the abruptness throughout the book, for example the very fast-ending sentences and scenarios really help to gain an understanding about how the characters are actually feeling and how fast everything in their community is actually changing. 

To be honest, I was having more fun learning about the history of the community and kind of forgot about the plot. I did really like the characters though, Sydney is someone that I would love to be friends with, and the way the neighbours always had each others backs was heartwarming, and I definitely got super invested in the slow burn romance. 

I liked the concept of this book and it was really intriguing but I feel like if it was shorter, I would've rated it a bit higher. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, and Colonisation

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Slavery, Death of parent, Gun violence, Blood, and Confinement

Minor: Alcohol and Emotional abuse

bessadams's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Animal death, and Racism

Moderate: Sexual content, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Classism, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, and Trafficking

Minor: Infidelity

rcarr14's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Classism, Death, Gun violence, Slavery, Racism, Police brutality, and Colonisation

Moderate: Mental illness, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Blood, Death of parent, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug use, Emotional abuse, and Medical trauma

Minor: Forced institutionalization, Fire/Fire injury, Excrement, Deportation, and Abandonment

lianathereader's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Colonisation, Gaslighting, and Racism

Moderate: Alcohol, Stalking, Gore, Addiction, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Police brutality

Minor: Suicide and Drug use

jnl0's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.75

People say it’s too slow in the beginning parts, and I quite agree. BUT, all those parts in the beginning were needed. It’ll all be worth it in the end. I think I stopped breathing reading the last three chapters. And then that epilogue? Oh wow. It was like a warm hug after all that darkness. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Violence, Hate crime, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Classism

readingismyluvlanguage's review against another edition

challenging dark informative mysterious sad fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Grief, Colonisation, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, and Hate crime

hollywobble's review against another edition

dark 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Colonisation, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Murder, Racism, Blood, Mental illness, Death, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Police brutality, Death of parent, and Violence

Moderate: Drug use, Alcohol, Deportation, Grief, Medical trauma, Terminal illness, Confinement, Cursing, Kidnapping, Torture, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

Minor: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, and Gaslighting

findingt_ri's review against another edition

emotional informative mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.5

Kinda slow for me at first, but once the dots started connecting I was HOOKED! Did an all-nighter finishing this, very worth it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Racism, and Blood

Moderate: Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, Cursing, and Blood

Minor: Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Vomit