Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'

Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill

16 reviews

stephanieluxton's review against another edition

dark sad medium-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

3.5

This book really isn't what I thought it'd be. I didn't find it scary but I did find it reasonably stressful. It's essentially about a man who becomes haunted by a ghost and sets out to uncover the truth about the haunting and find a way to free himself of it. There's some really excellent character development and I do like the story unfolded in a way I didn't expect. The story had a medium pace. I think it would have been better if it was either a fast paced thriller or if it was more of a slow burn horror that built a sense of dread. The second half of the book is better than the first!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Animal death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Sexual content, Gaslighting, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

Moderate: Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Pedophilia, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug use, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Mental illness, and Alcohol

Minor: Infidelity, Sexual assault, Homophobia, and Incest

There are two graphic dog deaths in which injuries are fairly detailed. The antagonist in the book tries many times to make the protagonists kill themselves or eachother via hypnosis. It's also revealed later that he used hypnosis on his stepdaughter so she wouldn't remember him sexually assaulting her. Sexual assault of minors is another theme throughout the book although it's not described in detail.

boundforinfinity's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

4.0

Rock meets Stephen king/Shirley Jackson and creates this stunning story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Suicide, Self harm, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Child abuse, Death, Alcoholism, Grief, Drug abuse, Adult/minor relationship, and Mental illness

Moderate: Animal death, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship

booksof_fern's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, and Self harm

Moderate: Car accident, Chronic illness, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Mental illness, Suicide, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Violence

pricklypear's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death and Blood

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Animal cruelty, Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, and Suicide

Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, and Vomit

caidyn's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

4.0

What a quick read. This is a pretty short ghost story book, but one that takes turns I didn't expect. Years ago, I tried to read this and failed because I wasn't into Hill yet. And now I'm getting more into his work. This story follows Jude, an older rock star who has a thing for the occult. He buys a dead man's suit so he can have a ghost, but things don't go as he thought they would. It's a good read and Hill takes after his father (except, he's a bit better at endings so far). He shoves in a lot of tough topics that people deal with and has more modern pop culture references to pick up on. I wish that some things hadn't been included in the book, but it was a good one. The next on my list to try again is definitely Horns since I've tried it a few times and wasn't a fan.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Sexual assault, and Pedophilia

thecreature's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, and Suicide