Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey

32 reviews

jhbandcats's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

I know this was a labor of love by Sarah Gailey so I *really* wanted to like it. I did not like it at all. 

I see that a lot of people have said the book was character-driven. I felt Vera was such an unreliable narrator that I couldn’t trust any personality or character she presented. I therefore felt the plot was more important. 

I was so-so on the book till that wild ending. It was so over the top that it ruined what had come before. I felt the strongest parts were about the peephole, Vera’s relationship with her father, and the mystery of how much her father knew / approved of her using the peephole. I felt the supernatural parts were the weakest and I found James the artist to be more of an annoying diversion than anything really integral to the story. 

Minor quibbles re editing: there is a lot of emphasis on there being no locks on the bedroom and bathroom doors but there’s a comment, “The door was locked.” It’s also clear that it’s the middle of a hot and humid summer, but the A/C is on high making it cold inside. Vera says, “I would have turned the heat up….” The artist lives in the shed some distance from the house yet he tells Vera, “I hear you in the night sometimes.” Finally, I got really tired of the phrase, ”the house her father had built.”

I am really sorry I didn’t like this because I’ve read almost all Gailey’s books and have enjoyed them all. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Mental illness, Abandonment, Gore, Violence, Blood, Murder, Torture, Gaslighting, Vomit, Chronic illness, Confinement, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

dreaminthepast's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Gore, Murder, Violence, Blood, Body horror, and Confinement

bella613's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense slow-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Confinement, Murder, Body horror, Child abuse, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Grief, Blood, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Violence, Death of parent, Gore, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship

sakeriver's review

dark 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? It's complicated

5.0

So, this book was creepy and disturbing as all get-out, which I mean as a compliment. In the dedication, Gailey says that the book is for "everyone who has ever loved a monster." And what I think they do so well—indeed, what they have done well in so many of their books—is to trouble what it means to be monstrous. Who is the real monster of this book? Is there just one? What does it mean to love a monster, or to be loved by one? Can one escape the monstrosity placed into one's life? Gailey never gives us easy answers to those questions, not in this book and not elsewhere. But, man, they always give us a compelling read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Emotional abuse, Vomit, Gore, and Body horror

Moderate: Kidnapping and Torture

acorn192k's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror

Moderate: Blood, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Torture, and Gore

roach_okay's review

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Kidnapping, Murder, and Torture

izzyproudfoot's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

2.0

I personally did not like this book which is what my 2 stars represent. 

This book definitely went for the creepy vibes. You learn a lot through flashbacks. The book gave me "ew vibes" and I didn't like any of the characters. There were a few ways she could have done this book, there's a few twists and turns. It wasn't for me though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Gore, Kidnapping, Body horror, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder

brindolyn's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Cancer, Confinement, Death, Violence, Terminal illness, Body horror, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Toxic friendship

stephanieluxton's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-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

The pace of this story is a bit slow but I enjoyed how things played out. It didn't go exactly how I expected it to, which is good. I have some mixed feelings about the end. I don't feel like all my questions were answered fully, but I did enjoy the journey.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Torture, Confinement, Murder, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Blood, and Gore

Minor: Child abuse and Vomit

arantzazureads's review

dark mysterious tense medium-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

3.75

Great atmospheric piece and I did not ever quite guess the twists. Slow and tense, but still somehow a quick, compelling audiobook experience. Not my usual jam, but if this is your genre, definitely give it a go. Well-executed contemporary haunted house story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping and Violence

Moderate: Emotional abuse and Murder