Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'

Penpal by Dathan Auerbach

17 reviews

laneychaney's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

So disappointing. Some parts were creepy but nothing scary. The writing was simple and easy to get through. I liked the idea of different memories/stories that tie together…but the end was so bad and rushed and made no sense. It was almost silly. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, and Stalking

Minor: Animal death and Animal cruelty

b0gd0g's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, Death, Car accident, and Child death

Moderate: Kidnapping, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, and Pedophilia

smileysam's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I really enjoyed this book and tore through it in one sitting. I find it rare that I read something that makes me feel genuinely uneasy and this book conveyed that very well. The first chapter felt like a nightmare that the reader alongside the narrator couldn’t wake up from. There were many instances that gave me that stomach-dropping feeling (the Boxes chapter especially). I know some people complain that not every question is answered, but to me, that almost adds to the narrative and way the story is told throughout the book. I found that the themes of this book felt, unfortunately, very grounded in reality. This felt like a story that could happen, which made it all the more terrifying. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Kidnapping, Car accident, Adult/minor relationship, and Stalking

Moderate: Animal death and Pedophilia

Minor: Animal cruelty

jully_bean's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

One of my all-time favorite books. It’s a masterpiece. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Animal death, Adult/minor relationship, and Stalking

thatsmolelf's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.75

Wow. 
It’s all I can say. This book, I couldn’t put it down. This gave me the creeps. How the author was able to write this book was super impressive. To time jump with no effort to truly bring in the suspense and make this huge jaw dropping ending is truly impressive. 
*Spoilers

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To hear your cats cries over a walkie talkie that you had to leave behind at your old house is terrifying. 
To see your love interest all contorted after being hit by a car, disturbing, BUT to get a text saying “I love You” after she died?!? 🤮🤮 ewwww. Ewwwwwwwww. 

Truly thought we were going into spooky paranormal things at the beginning. To be fair, I’ve been watching waaaay too many ghost hunting things so when I see “how the fuck did I end up here” I’m like yOuVe bEeN pOsEsSeD. 
When the teacher brought up the penpal thing, I was like “oh god no” We all know that the pedophile thing is getting worse by the day and nothing is more icky than a grown adult romantically loving a CHILD. 

Anywho, I loved this. It truly gave you the ick, the chills, the “on the edge of your seat” feeling. I’m definitely rating this a good 4.8.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship and Stalking

hailey_horror's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• 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: Adult/minor relationship, Kidnapping, Animal death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Murder, Bullying, Death, and Stalking

bumblebre's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Stalking

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Child death

nagisasigh's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

this book broke my heart, but it was also gripping and well written.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Death, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Child death, Stalking, Car accident, Gore, and Body horror

Moderate: Kidnapping, Dementia, Grief, Medical content, and Pedophilia

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

jackierobinson'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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking and Blood

Moderate: Child death, Death, and Murder

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Pedophilia, and Adult/minor relationship

killmoore_'s review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.5

1000Vultures (Dathan Auerbach) has been one of my favorite nosleep authors for years, so going in to Penpal I was very familiar with the stories within, and I was thrilled to not only be able to support a wonderful author, but to have one of my favorite collections of nosleep stories on my shelf.

Penpal is a story that takes us on a journey into the past as a man works to unravel the mystery of his lost friend and the unsettling experiences of his childhood. It is dripping with dread, and each story leaves you feeling like maaaybe you should check to make sure the doors are locked one more time before heading to bed.

What makes Penpal successful for me is what we are left without. We never see the monster. In fact, there is a significant section of this book that works to shut down the idea of our villain as the Boogeyman - he's just a man. 

On its own, Penpal is horrific, but as a parent myself with 2 boys in the age range of our MC, it is absolutely gut wrenching. 

I'm not giving this 5 stars simply because of the format - it reads very much like a nosleep post (which it is) and tends to be a bit wordy and disconnected at points. However, if nosleep is your jam, or maybe you just want to read something that will leave you sick to your stomach, Penpal is the perfect novel for you.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Child death, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Stalking, Bullying, Grief, and Pedophilia