Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Sweetpea by C.J. Skuse

37 reviews

disguisedposer's review against another edition

4.0

dark funny medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Fatphobia, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail

grunbean's review against another edition

3.0

dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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I'm not sure how I feel at the end of this book. There are parts I love. The beginning and the introduction of this witty but dark, and frankly mean, main character is engaging. There was a good chunk of the book where I was rooting for Rhiannon, even though her moral compass is clearly skewed.

I think things went downhill when it started becoming about the affair and her pregnancy. There was something uncomfortable with the age gap (though I think that's the point) but there was something that made it really hard to read those scenes without thinking ‘What on earth am I reading’.

My experience with the last part of the book made the rest of it sour. I did enjoy it, but not as much as I feel I could if it was just different. There's potential.

I have seen some comments on the remarks Rhiannon makes, particularly the comment on Taylor Swift. I have, in good faith, assumed that that's down to Rhiannon fundamentally being a bad person despite her rationalizing her actions. However, I do understand how these can leave a bad taste in the mouth.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child death, Pedophilia, Self harm, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis

_nellie_'s review against another edition

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I stumbled upon a spoiler

(Rhiannon having an affair with 18-year-old AJ and getting pregnant by him)

and I hate reading about that, so I decided it's not worth finishing the book + the sequels.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Sexual harassment

Moderate: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Fatphobia, Gore, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape

huttonki's review against another edition

4.0

dark funny fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Murder, Sexual harassment

Moderate: Sexual content

dazzle_spider_reader_1212's review against another edition

4.75

challenging dark funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Death, Gore, Infertility, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual content, Blood, Kidnapping, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail

withkerri's review against another edition

2.5

dark funny tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Great plot ideas but not fleshed out enough for me. 

Rhiannon is a serial killer who kills people in her area that are sex offenders of some kind. This isn't some sort of social Justice killing, this is killing because she has a need to kill and just happens to stalk/kill these kinds of people. As the story progresses she gets more reckless which seems at odds with what we know about Rhiannon.

I feel like I needed a prequel to understand Rhiannon more and none of the other characters are developed enough to feel invested. There's a fine line between is Rhiannon heartless and doing nice acts to keep up appearances or could she actually be a nice person who does terrible things because of her past trauma. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder

Moderate: Body shaming, Death, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder

Minor: Eating disorder

roseltov's review against another edition

3.5

dark lighthearted fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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This is such a silly book. I enjoyed it for the most part. There was some really sharp, funny writing. But in addition to the murdering, the main character has a load of fucked up thoughts about people, which I rolled my eyes through. 

There were some incongruous murders as she began to devolve, which I didn’t find super believable. But really, now I’ve written that sentence, I didn’t find any of it super believable, I don’t think that was the aim of the book. 

Maybe I’ll read the next one? 👀👀

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Murder

Moderate: Fatphobia

chsm8's review against another edition

3.0

dark 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: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Murder

Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Gore, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Stalking, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Infertility, Rape, Self harm, Blood, Vomit, Car accident, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Gaslighting

madelinequinnee's review against another edition

4.5

dark funny fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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This was a fun read. A good mixture of disturbing scenes and comedic passages, definitely in the same vein as How To Kill Your Family. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Dementia, Grief, Stalking, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail

billorwill's review against another edition

4.75

challenging dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail