Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak

8 reviews

edilyaaang's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

Some decisions made my the FMC in this book frustrated me but other than that, this book was a great read. I love the twist near the end. The way it ended never crossed my mind. I love how despite it being a 300+ page book, it was a very quick read and it had me on the edge of my seat once the story gained momentum. It wasn't really scary so I guess I would categorize this as more of a thriller than horror

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Drug abuse, Addiction, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Blood, Death, Drug use, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Gore

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Grief, Kidnapping, Alcoholism, Car accident, Cursing, Dementia, Stalking, Transphobia, and Racism

ladypuercoloco's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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 got into this one way more than I expected to - not sure why I chose it/how I came by it until I realized it fulfilled a Kindle Challenge requirement for a Goodreads pick.  I read horror/mysteries/thrillers all the time and honestly the blurb sounded a bit familiar to me, but as I got into the book I realized this one really stands out from other nanny horror books I've read.  The supernatural aspects are really well done

"Anya" being the mother was mind-blowing!  I liked the red herring of the mid-century murder plot that wasn't a murder...So many twists and turns came as surprises but even though I marked this spoiler and I seriously doubt anyone cares to read my reviews just in case I won't give more away.

. Having known a few addicts in various stages of use/recovery I really liked the future that was laid out for Mallory and the amount of work she was willing to put in.  This one was a pleasant early January surprise that will be hopefully setting the pace for the year - I LOVE being surprised by plot twists I really don't see coming!

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Content Warnings

Minor: Car accident, Child death, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Dysphoria, Addiction, Child abuse, Infertility, Kidnapping, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Body horror, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, and Alcoholism

Overall I don't feel like any particular thing was too graphic but the contents/plot/subplot can be a lot to take in in retrospect. It honestly wasn't until I was looking through the trigger warning list that I realized just how many played a part in this book, but I listed all as mild as none were terribly drawn out. It's a horror book. There are bound to be some horrible things in, especially when it has been an award winner. I rated it just about as high as I ever rate anything - it is excellent at what it does and the elements it is able to work in

kwashington's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Child death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Murder, Alcoholism, Death, Gun violence, and Addiction

stonecoldfaux's review

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia

Moderate: Religious bigotry and Alcoholism

spooderman's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Violence, Physical abuse, Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Drug use, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Deadnaming, Death, Death of parent, Blood, and Transphobia

Moderate: Ableism, Confinement, Outing, and Stalking

Minor: Bullying, Dementia, Dysphoria, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Classism, Infidelity, Vomit, Chronic illness, Fire/Fire injury, Self harm, Animal cruelty, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual harassment, Xenophobia, Infertility, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Medical content, and Medical trauma

madanxiety's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.75

Wow. This was a thrill! Especially for keeping me awake on a long drive.

The twist was crazy! I had my suspicions that the ghost was really the previous nanny, but I never would've guessed it was Teddy's real mother, and that Teddy was a girl.

At first, I thought the pacing was quite slow, which I actually didn't mind. I described it to my roommate as a "slow burn supernatural mystery." However, by the end, it really ramped up, and it was interesting seeing all the pieces come together, like any mystery, I suppose. Definitely important to go into this book blind! 

But man, I wished the audiobook narrator had done her due diligence to pronounce some of the Spanish words. It was absolutely pitiful, especially given how easy/consistent Spanish pronunciation is. It didn't have to be perfect, but all she would've had to do is Google a pronunciation to get it halfway decent. It was such a minor detail but I cringed every time 😂. Adrian's family dialogue did kinda strike me as "Latinos / Spanglish written by a gringo" tho lol. Idek if that's true but it felt a little forced. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Violence, Death, Grief, Child abuse, Alcoholism, and Addiction

Moderate: Infertility

kshertz's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

It’s definitely an excellent thriller. I was really hoping for a different ending but at least it wasn’t completely predictable. I had some difficulty with their language around trans people and Progressive people. But I do think it was a really interesting story and I do think that the way it was told kept me on the edge of my seat. I think people who are Christian will enjoy this book a lot more than anyone else but it’s definitely a book I enjoyed reading.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug use, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Infertility, Murder, and Violence

deetabz's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Sexual harassment, Violence, Gun violence, Drug use, Drug abuse, Addiction, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Death, Gaslighting, and Murder

Moderate: Racism, Transphobia, Abandonment, Fatphobia, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Body shaming

Minor: Dementia and Infertility