Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Sign Here by Claudia Lux

9 reviews

esme_may's review

dark funny mysterious medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Gun violence, Murder, Blood, Infidelity, Child death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Pregnancy, Sexism, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Drug abuse, Body shaming, Body horror, Torture, Suicide, Bullying, Cursing, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Abortion, War, Car accident, Cancer, Terminal illness, and Medical content

crweber25's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective 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? Yes

3.5

I loved the concept of hell, and peyote, and the systems in place. I didn't care for the Harrison's story, except in the way that it tied into peyotes plot line. I also think I misunderstood the summary and thought this would be funnier in overall tone. There were a lot of witty jokes that I enjoyed, but I didn't realize that this wasnt a comedy overall. 
Overall this was written well, and it kept me reading even when I discovered it wasn't quite what I had anticipated.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Infidelity, Murder, Violence, Death, Alcohol, Fatphobia, Alcoholism, and Torture

Moderate: Suicide, Child death, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, and Body shaming

thatswhatshanread's review

challenging mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

It took me SEVEN MONTHS to finish this novel. There are many reasons why:

1. From BOTM’s description and the book’s general marketing, I fully expected this to be a horror/thriller. It was not. It was more just a family drama with a supernatural sort-of twist with half of the book’s POV set in literal Hell.
2. Every time I picked this book up to read it over the last several months, I was bored. The first half of the book seems like it’s going NOWHERE and nothing stuck. The storyline that follows Peyote in Hell seems completely irrelevant to the storyline in present day that follows The Harrison family.
3. But then, it finally picks up. Once I finally pushed myself to get more into it (after almost DNFing many times), something shifted. The stakes changed. Suddenly the Harrison family story is dysfunctional and mysterious and gripping. The Peyote storyline shows potential of intersecting with the other, some interesting twists come about.
4. Still, it’s confusing. I still have no idea how they will connect, just that now Peyote is actually referencing the Harrison family members and their dilemmas. 
5. Peyote and Cal’s plot becomes even more confusing and drawn out. But I’m very intrigued with the POVs from the Harrisons’ side. 
6. I finish the last 250 pages within a couple days. The pacing finally hit a sweet spot for me. The imminent ending seemed promising; everything would finally make sense.
7. Except… it wasn’t? And it didn’t? 

This really felt like two different books in one. In the end, I was still confused, and disappointed in all of that buildup to… what, exactly? I would have rather read about only The Harrisons. But I guess it was entertaining, nonetheless. Something different. Just maybe not the different I wanted it to be. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Blood, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Pregnancy, Torture, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Violence, Cursing, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, Suicide, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Confinement, Body shaming, Genocide, Adult/minor relationship, Abortion, Cancer, Child death, Pedophilia, Sexism, and Stalking

ggreen1379's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Sexual content, Pregnancy, Suicide, Self harm, Infidelity, Cancer, Blood, Abandonment, Gun violence, Grief, and Child death

Minor: Terminal illness and Pedophilia

maggieparedesauthor's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Alcoholism, Blood, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Murder, Pregnancy, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Addiction, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, and Drug use

loy127's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Infidelity, Bullying, Suicide, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Child death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Murder, Sexual violence, Blood, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Violence

abookandaspotoftea's review

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Toxic friendship, Suicide, Murder, Death, Toxic relationship, Grief, Body shaming, Infidelity, Alcohol, and Bullying

Moderate: Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Physical abuse, Murder, and Gun violence

amplawrence's review

dark emotional funny sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Sexism, Violence, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Child death, Eating disorder, and Gore

Moderate: Sexual harassment

Minor: Sexual content

wai's review

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious 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

I figured I would like this book, but it still really surprised me. A lot of twists and turns that I thought I had figured out but turned out to be wrong about. It keeps you guessing until the end. With very intriguing world building around Hell and selling your soul, and dark humor, it's worth the read if this is your thing. Please mind the content warnings as it does contain many triggering concepts and descriptions.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Murder, Self harm, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Grief, Cursing, and Gun violence

Moderate: Drug use, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Blood, Suicide, Eating disorder, Bullying, Alcohol, and Sexual content

Minor: Pregnancy and Pedophilia