Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

None of This is True by Lisa Jewell

230 reviews

silverhill's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

A total page-turner! Simultaneously horrifying and engrossing. Josie was awful, but I devoured the book to see what would happen or be revealed next. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Toxic relationship, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Mental illness, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Kidnapping, Bullying, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Pedophilia, and Physical abuse

writer_egreene's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Stalking, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Toxic friendship, Violence, Child abuse, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Kidnapping, Alcoholism, Gaslighting, Murder, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, and Toxic relationship

clairemitchell's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Infidelity, Mental illness, Murder, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, and Gaslighting

Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Rape, Pedophilia, and Violence

colorcrystals's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Alcoholism, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Stalking, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Child death, Child abuse, and Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Murder, Violence, and Blood

Minor: Bullying

mountainstobeach's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

4.0

This is a fast moving, disturbing book. It definitely held my interest but I was disappointed that in the end multiple areas were not tied up or explained such as the smell in Erin’s room (if there was one) and why she was having baby food (was that part of the Autism diagnosis). Some of the aspects seemed a bit unbelievable too-such as Walter marrying Josie-why would a married 46 year old man who has had kids do that? It seems a bit far fetched. Some of the extreme behaviors seemed to go a bit too far as well. Overall it was entertaining and thought provoking.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pedophilia, Stalking, and Mental illness

meggold4's review against another edition

1.0

I feel like this book was probably good structurewise and the mystery was probably well-constructed, but I really found every character to be unlikeable and I felt really,  really badly about life while I was reading it.



*Spoiler alert and all the trigger warnings*

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The sympathy and redemption for a certain character, depsite the fact that a young teenager CANNOT willingly consent to a relationship with an older man, no matter how psychotic you think she is, was disgusting.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, and Toxic relationship

kelseyr713'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

5.0

Lisa Jewell is a must-read for me, and her books keep me flipping pages without blinking because I NEED to know what happens next. This one is no different. The plot grips you and doesn't let go, with every chapter revealing a bit more tantalizing information that means you've got to read just one more chapter. This one has sequel potential too, with a few loose ends (who does the phone case belong to, for one).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Mental illness, Murder, Violence, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Stalking, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Abandonment, Confinement, and Blood

Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic

daniphantommm's review against another edition

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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Violence, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship

hxlleann's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Violence, Physical abuse, and Pedophilia

alliebookworm's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

2.5

Well-written, but not my cup of tea. The first three quarters of the book are *beyond* slow but sure do hint at SOMETHING THAT HAS HAPPENED thanks to the Netflix documentary clips (“and then… well, we all know what happened then, don’t we?” x20). But then the last quarter is so insanely different that it almost feels disconnected from the setup. I ended it feeling very unresolved and frustrated.

Also I can appreciate an unreliable narrator, but to have so much of the plot in a plot-heavy book rely so heavily on one makes it very hard to connect.

(On the plus side, outstanding production value for the audiobook.)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Violence, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, and Murder