Reviews tagging 'Death'

Credence by Penelope Douglas

80 reviews

christinaj1021's review against another edition

dark slow-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

1.75

Credence seems thrilling enough in it's premise: a young woman (18) loses her parents that never really showed her love, and is forced to move in with her (not blood related) uncle and 2 male cousins in a rugged, isolated cabin in the mountains. And it's very clear from the TW and reviews that this book is not for the faint of heart and deals with taboo topics, so you know what's coming for you.

HOWEVER, I just could not get into how those topics were handled. They were simultaneously always brought up or thought about by the MC, and they WERE things that gave her pause and made her question herself... but it truly felt as though Tiernan just dealt with it by going "Oh well!" and just like... let stuff happen even though she clearly expressed her discomfort or literal physical/emotional pain. And not always in a "that's hot to me though" way.

I just think this book was made for people who REALLY actively search for age-gap/psuedo-incest/abuse. Because it is written in a way that never let's you forget that it's happening. Just constantly, those topics are on every character's mind so that you cannot forget.

I also agree that, for the final love interest,

Kaleb just ain't it. Noah had way more chemistry written in, treated her better, dropped the L word, and even had more physical chemistry than the other two LIs.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Death, Incest, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

uwuval's review against another edition

emotional hopeful lighthearted slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death, Suicide, and Death of parent

maeflowerreads's review against another edition

dark 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? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest

Moderate: Death, Suicide, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Drug abuse and Drug use

mariamlyxoxo's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

min1234's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense 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? Yes

1.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Suicide

amulyaii's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? Yes

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Death of parent

escapism_at_its_finest's review against another edition

reflective fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Medical content, Stalking, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Rape, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury

whrohala's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

2.0

To be honest, I was disappointed by this book. It was really hyped up by booktok, but then didn't deliver on its promise. #1 offense: not actually reverse harem in my opinion. Just a FMC with multiple partners, who is brutally shamed for that fact by 2 out of 3 of them. There were some moments where the shaming was so over the top, and the FMC just accepted it, that I felt like this book was more of a way for the author to express their internalized slut-shaming more than anything else. 

The female MC ends up with the man who nearly rapes her TWICE, hits her across the face for being "hysterical" while getting stitches in a kitchen with no pain meds or anesthetic, and attacts and spits in her face when she sleeps with someone other than him, in addition to many other things. In my opinion, that speaks volumes to how this author views her female characters.

Only reason it isn't getting a 1 is because the quality of writing was good overall, despite what the plot lacked. And it delivered on the spice, though more of a slow burn than advertised. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Moderate: Drug use, Incest, Infidelity, and Sexual assault

aphroditespoet's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest and Sexual content

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Blood and Injury/Injury detail

monica_r_a_'s review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest

Minor: Animal death, Death, Blood, and Death of parent