Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Real Easy by Marie Rutkoski

12 reviews

sororsomni's review

challenging dark hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Misogyny, Gun violence, Murder, and Kidnapping

nrogers_1030's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

I found some of it to be long-winded. I didn’t feel it was necessary to have back stories on everyone — including the people that discovered the remains. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Child death, Abandonment, Car accident, Gore, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Sexism, Sexual content, Stalking, Murder, Grief, Torture, Violence, Body horror, Misogyny, Infertility, Death, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault

Minor: Pedophilia

whosfernn's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

It's been a while since I read a crime novel, and I'm a big fan of them so I thought I'd enjoy this. It was a good book, but for some reason I just wasn't feeling it. I couldn't get into it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Kidnapping, Sexual violence, Car accident, Death, Sexism, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Rape, Lesbophobia, Murder, Drug use, Death of parent, Violence, Sexual assault, and Torture

Minor: Transphobia

The d slur (used against lesbians) is used once in this book by a male character. If you're not comfortable with this, I recommend not reading this book.

jayessicaa's review

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Drug use, Death, Infertility, and Kidnapping

racheloddment's review

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Confinement, Torture, Sexism, Kidnapping, Murder, and Stalking

Moderate: Sexual content, Domestic abuse, and Drug use

Minor: Sexual assault, Rape, and Homophobia

grace_ocb's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Fast-paced and intriguing mystery. I don’t always like multiple POVs but I enjoyed how it gave many characters their own layers of complexity, especially for characters that normally would not be granted such compassion. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Sexual violence and Sexual assault

thereadingraccoon's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Sexism, Domestic abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual harassment and Sexual content

Minor: Sexual assault, Child death, Death of parent, and Abandonment

serendipitysbooks's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.25

 Real Easy is set in the Lovely Lady, a strip club near Chicago. One night one of the dancers is murdered and another disappears, presumably kidnapped.

I had reservations about this book, fearing the depiction of the dancers and the club was going to be salacious, stereotyped or both. I’m pleased to say that’s not the case at all. The fact that the author used to work in such a club helps explain why - she knows the reality rather than the myth or the image. Among the dancers are a solo mother trying to raise her daughter alone, an intersex woman who loves her partner’s daughter like her own, and a woman who has spent years caring for her disabled mother. Some use drugs; some don’t. Some are straight; some aren’t. Some are young, others older. In other words a variety of ordinary, relatable women. The goings on in the club were depicted in enough detail to feel realistic, but not so much that it felt voyeuristic.

The story is told from multiple point of view - chiefly the dancers and the police officers investigating the case. Some perspectives - Samantha, a dancer who is kidnapped, Holly, one of the detectives, and Georgia who becomes a confidential informant - recur; others we get only once. Despite this I thought the author did a great job of building up realistic, three dimensional characters. Many (police and dancers) were flawed - sexism is prevalent among the male cops - but few were truly unlikeable. While you expect mysteries to be plot driven this book had a good mix of plot and character development, at least for my taste.

There were no unexpected twists in this book which I found rather refreshing. By the last third of the book we knew who the identity of the offender land and who his next intended victim was. The tension, which I enjoyed, was all based on whether or not he would be able to strike again. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Sexual assault, Drug use, Death, and Murder

rory_oconnor's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

A solid mystery, a genre I don’t usually gravitate towards, with a lot of tension. You didn’t get to know any of the characters well enough to root for, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Sexual assault and Child abuse

niaviolet's review

challenging dark mysterious sad tense 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

4.5

Good mystery with interesting characters. Everyone in the book feels fully-formed, even if you only get their point of view for a couple pages. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping

Moderate: Alcohol, Car accident, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, and Murder

Minor: Transphobia, Stalking, and Sexual assault