Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell

94 reviews

kay_green's review

2.5

dark mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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This was my first Lisa Jewell book, and I was not impressed. I figured it out like 6 chapters in and that still did not prepare me for the ending.

How on Earth can the just go on like a happy normal family. Floyd just kills himself with no consequences like he doesn't have another child to take care of. They "adopt" Poppy and she just fine with finding out her life was a lie? Laurel was not the best mom in the first place, but I guess we are just supposed to slide past that and forgive her like the rest of the family.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Pregnancy

Moderate: Torture

rhyanlillian's review

4.0

challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment

sydneycelam's review

4.0

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Pregnancy

pc_reader_sg's review

3.0

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Pregnancy

chelseap7's review against another edition

4.75

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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: Complicated

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Stalking, Abandonment

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Suicide, Pregnancy

Minor: Death of parent

minimicropup's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional mysterious sad tense

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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This one was so much darker than I expected. If you like flawed characters and emotionally vivid stories exploring fear, sadness, anger, and heartbreak, you might really like this. 

 

Energy: Tension. Dread. Poignancy. 

 

🐕 Howls: I had to skim some scenes because it was so anxiety-inducing (they’re so genuinely horrific my brain doesn’t need any help being paranoid about them!)

kidnapping/confinement + forced pregnancy + evil hiding in plain sight

. 

 

🐩 Tail Wags: The writing style. The foreshadowing. Exploring how seemingly innocuous, harmless decisions can lead to tragedy. Characters that are deeply flawed and human. Slow but absorbing pace.

 

Scene: 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 London, England

Perspectives (4): We mainly follow the parent of a teen who went missing a decade ago, and the teenager leading up to their disappearance. We also get additional perspectives of a math tutor and the parent’s love interest, who is raising a kid with a striking resemblance to their missing daughter. 

Timeline: Then & Now (2005 & 2015) 

Narrative: Invisible in the room, overhearing thoughts, being told a story. Reader mostly in-the-know compared to characters (first person or third person objective depending on the character). 

Fuel: Finding love after giving up, coping with grief, the circumstances leading to the mystery of the missing daughter. What happened to Ellie? How did the family handle it? W Is her mother seeing what she wants to see in her new relationship? Can she trust her new boyfriend? 

Cred: Realistic to plausible

 

Mood Reading Match-Up:

Old cooking and unwashed hair. Navy blue rucksack. Maths. John Lewis childswear. 

• Punchy, reflective, vivid writing style
• Eccentric, flawed, sympathetic, complicated, and unhinged characters
• Slow burn missing person suspense
• Emotionally vivid psychological drama
• Surreal ripped-from-the-headlines feel
• Can-she-trust-him later in life meetcute
• Simmering resentments and unhinged ‘pick me’
• Obsession, stalking, jealousy, loneliness
• High emotional stakes interpersonal drama
• Monsters hiding in plain sight
• Wrong place, wrong time
• Themes of cruelty, depravity, grief, desperation, forgiveness, healing, adversity, parenthood, and choice
  
  

Content Heads-Up: Animal death (mention; hamsters). Burglary (home). Child neglect. Custodial dispute.  Drugging. Emotional and cognitive issues (childhood). Kidnapping, confinement (room). Loss of child (illness; disappearance). Loss of sibling (as child). Miscarriage (memory). Murder. Parental abandonment. Pregnancy (forced; complications). Psychopathic behaviour. Stalking. Stroke (elderly parent). Suicidal planning, suicide. Torture. Toxic relationship. 

 

Rep: British. Irish British. American British. Cis. Hetero. Freckled, pale, tawny skin tones. 

 

📚 Format: Kindle

 

My musings 💖 powered by puppy snuggles 🐶

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Mental illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Stalking

Moderate: Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment

Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts

jamlaw's review

3.75

emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: N/A

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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While the theme is intense, this was a quick easy read, which I appreciated. I did enjoy the book, but feel like the ending seemed a lil rushed, which may have been what  she was going for. I found myself wanting more conflict in the end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Murder

carsuek's review

3.5

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Started slow and I was easily distracted, but the last 150pages sold it for me.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Infertility, Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy

nealy1365's review

4.0

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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super fast and engaging read. good characters and plot. twist came early but still had a good ending twist. ending was good but cliffhanger-y (more or less of Lisa’s style) 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Pregnancy

mickelena's review

5.0

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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This book is Soo good very gripping , gut punching, sad , but yet has a some happiness to it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol