Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell

123 reviews

mhinch's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Blood, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Child death, Domestic abuse, Murder, Sexual assault, Incest, Toxic friendship, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Gaslighting, Gore, Toxic relationship, and Violence

spellbindingtomes's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Blood, Death, Grief, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Murder, Pedophilia, Mental illness, and Stalking

emmy_readz's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

2.0

What did I just listen to? Way too many uncomfortable handlings of sensitive topics like child grooming, sexual assault, mental disability, mental health, the list goes on and on. It's like Jewell was trying to be edgy by including certain aspects but instead came across with him victim blaming energy. Alix's kids were an afterthought, honestly not even sure why they were included other than to make the two MC kids go to the same school and connect them. I think we were supposed to be unsure of who to believe with the dual POV and making Josie have a semi sympathetic voice but it came across as pathetic and selfish. Whether you believe Josie or not her motivations don't make sense regardless. The multimedia aspect of the podcast made it interesting and the pace was great. The audiobook is definitely worth a listen as it has a full cast and gives you the full multimedia experience. With the hype this book and Jewell as an author has, I'm pretty disappointed.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Pandemic/Epidemic, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Stalking, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Death, Murder, Gaslighting, Ableism, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Medical content, and Alcohol

weasley1912's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

in spite of the title being "none of this is true" i was still shocked when the "truth" came out. I think the last chapter was meant to sort of make you wonder maybe she was telling the truth but i dont think so. I definitely did not believe a word of what she said at the end. Wow what a trip though. Super dark. Like an episode of SVU or Snapped but cranked all the way up. I wouldnt say i "liked" this book but it was extremely captivating. People keep saying "the twist" but I didn't really feel like there was one. I was suspicious of Josie very early on so finding out shes crazy wasnt a shock. It was more of a question of okay how crazy is she.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexual violence, Alcoholism, Murder, Pedophilia, and Death of parent

thetearex's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Mental illness, Alcohol, Pedophilia, Eating disorder, Grief, Infidelity, Child death, Stalking, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Blood, Incest, Bullying, Child abuse, Death of parent, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Violence

girrllie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

2.0

Like binge watching a show and getting to the end and saying, “What did I just read?” A waste of my life even though the writing is excellent. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Stalking, Kidnapping, Grief, Child death, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, Gore, Pedophilia, Torture, Violence, Murder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Incest, Mental illness, and Physical abuse

mandareads222's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Pedophilia, Alcoholism, Stalking, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Addiction, Death, Sexual assault, Incest, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Mental illness, Animal death, Pandemic/Epidemic, Grief, Death of parent, and Violence

yennn's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Josie and podcaster Alix, meet by chance celebrating their 45th birthday. Josie, feeling that destiny is at play, reaches back out to Alix and proposes a new podcast project about ‘her truth,’ which is dark and gets darker. As they continue to unravel Josie’s story, the line between observer and participant blurs, and the point of no return is crossed.

This was a very chilling and dark read - despite all the cues that told me to turn back, I couldn’t stop listening to the audiobook. The pacing was a little slow at the beginning, but it artfully traps you in the plot’s web before it reaches a fever pitch and culminates into a perfect ending. 

I loved almost everything about this, despite not being a strong reader of the genre. I loved the plot twists, which left me guessing and gasping until the end, and the disturbing themes were just tolerable. I am giving it 4 stars because I wasn’t utterly in love and was not a fan of the themes covered and how they were portrayed and resolved. However, I did recommend it to someone immediately after reading, so I'd give 4.5 stars if I was in the habit of doing that. 

Please check content warnings, as the content definitely may not be for everyone. Includes themes such as paedophilia, abuse and many more.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Murder, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Kidnapping, Gaslighting, and Infidelity

Minor: Death of parent and Eating disorder

hillarym's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Murder, Kidnapping, Death, Blood, Torture, Stalking, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Toxic friendship, and Child abuse

coco78337's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Confinement, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Abandonment, Child abuse, Child death, Toxic friendship, Death of parent, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Murder, Pedophilia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and Violence

Minor: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Torture, Excrement, Pregnancy, Drug use, Kidnapping, and Pandemic/Epidemic