Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Things We Do in the Dark by Jennifer Hillier

35 reviews

hellokatya's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

4.75

i absolutely loved this book and was completely engrossed. it was so difficult to put down and gave me a few day’s worth of lost sleep. i highly Highly recommend this book. i definitely saw (one of the bigger) plot twists a while before, but that is no where near a complaint; the author was so fantastic at leaving breadcrumbs so that it was extremely satisfying to find out you were right. 
my only gripes are:
1. 

I wish the elsie reveal had happened earlier or been longer. especially the aftermath, very much told rather than shown; but i was very glad to have had closure on that and it made complete sense.

2.

the confrontation with ruby shouldve also been longer. it had been 25 years and she had so much pent up rage, how did it go so quickly? i guess to an extent she wanted it to be over with and didn’t want to stoop to her mother’s level, but it would’ve made for a better send off.

overall, had it not been for those two preferences, this book is a 5/5. absolutely enthralling.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Rape, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Child abuse

Moderate: Gaslighting, Grief, Infidelity, Trafficking, and Fire/Fire injury

britt_thebookworm's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Sexual assault

Moderate: Mental illness, Abandonment, Grief, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Rape, and Pedophilia

ambersbakesandbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Murder

Moderate: Grief, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Pedophilia, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Racism, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Rape, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, and Sexual assault

mkzach's review against another edition

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Physical abuse, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Suicide, Sexual assault, Self harm, Rape, Pedophilia, Grief, Incest, and Dementia

mzcaty's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Murder, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault

edgaranjapoe's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Murder, Sexual assault, Addiction, Drug use, Blood, Mental illness, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Domestic abuse, Cancer, Cursing, Violence, Suicide, Infidelity, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Gun violence

nrogers_1030's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Really well written.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Infidelity, Violence, Child abuse, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug use, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, and Rape

Minor: Body horror, Body shaming, Self harm, and Suicide attempt

I’m not sure if I would’ve picked it up if I had known about the pedophilia beforehand, but I really liked this book. While it is mentioned, the details weren’t explicit so I was able to get through those scenes.

blouviere4's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Child abuse, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Pedophilia, Rape, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Cursing, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Suicide attempt, and Drug use

julienicole1106's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Pedophilia, Rape, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Self harm, Suicide, Addiction, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Alcohol, Child abuse, Cursing, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, and Suicide attempt

jesscoast's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

4.75

I can’t believe I just discovered Hillier for the first time! Things We Do In The Dark was everything that I look for in a book - nuanced, complex, female led mystery. The story was clever, and painted in a compelling, vivid arc. I only wish there was more of Drew’s podcast because I love novels that use the podcast format for storytelling, but I get that every aspect was woman centred, the men were a diverse cast of supporting characters. The layered, multifaceted relationship between Ruby and Joey was a hot and cold rollercoaster, but worth the emotional investment. 

I had a few guesses at the twists, but the plot tied together in an expertly planned puzzle. The reveals were paced well, keeping this a solid page turner all the way through. The relationships felt incredibly real, and I typically don’t read books for the interpersonal dynamics, but they added so much so much and worked really well to unfold the story.

The food focus did make me hungry, I’ll have to go for some adobo soon!

Can’t wait to read more Jennifer Hillier, she’s at the top of my list now for authors to read more of!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Child abuse, Grief, Racial slurs, Murder, Pedophilia, and Suicide