Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

When No One Is Watching by Alyssa Cole

161 reviews

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

bookishkellyn's review against another edition

mysterious sad tense

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

3.5

Sydney’s concerns were valid and palpable. But the cartoon villain dialogue of the gentrifiers and the positioning of Theo as a white savior left a bad taste in my mouth. The climax was outlandish and came out of nowhere. This book was kind of all over the place.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting

Moderate: Colonisation, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, and Racism

Minor: Death and Death of parent

maladaptivebookdreaming's review against another edition

dark hopeful informative mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

When No One is Watching is a psychological thriller that tackles the reality of gentrification in a historical black neighborhood in Brooklyn, with the protagonist Sydney fighting to save her neighborhood. Although I found the pacing slow, it is undeniable the talent Alyssa Cole possesses with her writing. The story doesn’t pick up until the end, but the beginning and middle were not written in vain. The amount of information Cole sets up about the historical racism that is affecting Gifford Place residents and surrounding black communities is imperative. Especially for anyone NOT aware that these events are everyday life for many Black and other marginalized communities. 

I was a little thrown off by her love interest being white, but after reading I realize that in the context of this novel it makes sense. This story although with its horrible twists and turns serves an important purpose: breaking the pattern set up but colonization and historical racism. What starts as a melancholy narration of Sydney’s neighborhood ends with a message of hope and poetic justice. Would definitely recommend to anyone interested! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Alcohol, Racism, Mental illness, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Violence, Chronic illness, Racial slurs, and Death of parent

jackie_reads_314's review against another edition

challenging dark funny mysterious sad tense slow-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? It's complicated

4.0

I did have to put this book down for a little because it felt like I was being gaslit, just like Sydney. This felt like more of a horror book than a thriller; it almost felt like there would be supernatural elements at some points. The social commentary was exquisite, the characters relatable and believable, and the settings real. I would say that the first 3/4 of the book was an intense slow burn, and the last 1/4 was a racing and impactful end. I am very excited to read Alyssa Cole's next thriller in 2024!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Racism, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Police brutality, Stalking, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Sexism, Medical content, and Medical trauma

yourbookishbff'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? It's complicated

4.0

When the reality of gentrification is a horror story, it makes a compelling premise for a thriller. Cole weaves together a story that should feel impossibly evil and calculated, but every time the reader is tempted to think so, she points again to history - it happened here, and here, and here. I enjoyed the dual POV, and Cole's use of Theo's narrative helps to highlight the advantages white people - even in abject poverty - have over Black people and other people of color. Sydney's narrative, meanwhile, is the haunting reminder that the abuse of - and gaslighting of - Black women is far from fiction. My only challenge in this was the pacing in the first half - I struggled to stay invested - and some dialogue that felt flat toward the end and lessened the emotional impact. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, Drug use, Gun violence, Murder, Racism, Kidnapping, Confinement, Drug abuse, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Vomit, Alcoholism, Addiction, Grief, Alcohol, Blood, Cursing, Classism, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury