Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

Shallow River by H.D. Carlton

30 reviews

mommomread's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Domestic abuse, Incest, Sexual violence, Torture, Murder, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Drug use, Gaslighting, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

beckyyreadss's review against another edition

challenging 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Before I start this review, please check trigger warnings and please note that I don’t condone the actions during this storyline, but this book was completely messed up. I wanted to read this book because I loved the Cat & Mouse duet and wanted to read her other work. This was the first book where I had to take a break from the book because I was feeling sick reading it.  

This book has two points of view. The first is River McAllister. She escaped from her hometown of Shallow Hill, she left her innocence behind and some of her sanity, too. Now she’s rebuilding her life with her dream man and life couldn’t be better. Ryan Fitzgerald is everything you’d want in a man. Attractive, rich, an aspiring lawyer and would do anything to keep River. But that’s not the only thing that attracts her. It's in attentiveness, his possessiveness, maybe not so much his temper. The second point of view is Mako Fitzgerald, he is Ryan’s estranged brother and a police officer on the hunt for a serial killer who killed his father. When River’s relationship takes a dark turn, Mako is the only one who sees it. He knows exactly what Ryan is capable of, and it’s not the first time he had to be a knight in shining armour. River came from Shallow Hill, though. She's never needed saving before. What Mako doesn’t see, is that River is perfectly capable of taking care of herself. The only one who should be scared is Ryan. 

I liked how strong River was and that she ended up getting the revenge and she didn't become a damsel in distress, even though Mako kept trying to make her a damsel she ended up saving them half of the time. I liked Amelia and that she was not taking half of the bullshit that River was saying and that she would have fought Ryan herself even whilst she was pregnant. I can’t say I liked it, but I appreciated the visual thing of domestic violence and how it was done very well.  

The domestic violence chapters and the other chapters were very hard-hitting and I kept having to take a break because it was very brutal. I was more interested in the serial killer aspect and could guess about a mile away that Billy was the ghost killer and that he was River’s dad, it makes me question on how Mako was a good detective because I knew it was going to happen. As much as I love Mako and that he treated River well, he was just a dumbass, I wanted to smack him. I would have liked River leave Ryan within the first 10 chapters and then the slow burn happens with Mako and the mystery was dragged out, but it was like Ryan’s dead, River has sex with Allison and then has sex with Mako then gets kidnapped like what?  

I was conflicted throughout this whole book, I wanted everyone to die or to be saved and it just made me have a headache and feeling a bit queasy. Also fuck Ryan for hurting the poor innocent cat. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Drug abuse, Addiction, and Child abuse

micah_jenae's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Addiction, Toxic relationship, Animal cruelty, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Torture

theartistreader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Bullying, Rape, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Murder, Animal cruelty, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Body horror, Medical trauma, Confinement, Gaslighting, Incest, Torture, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Misogyny, Mental illness, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Medical content, Fatphobia, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Sexual assault, and Physical abuse

tanacef's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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: Rape, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual violence, Violence, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, and Torture

Minor: Blood, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Abortion, Drug use, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, and Medical content

mikaylamills's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

5.0

This is probably darker and more brutal than any of HD Carlton's other books. I love her writing and she is the best at writing a morally grey character that you'll love.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Sexual assault, and Rape

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Child abuse

dscholl'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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Addiction, Sexual assault, Violence, Body shaming, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Physical abuse, and Rape

Moderate: Gun violence, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Pregnancy, and Suicidal thoughts

tarynsbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body shaming, Addiction, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Vomit, Classism, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Sexism, Stalking, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Violence, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Grief, Incest, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, and Torture

minimikk4's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Classism, Pregnancy, Medical content, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Death, Rape, Murder, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Vomit, Gore, Child abuse, Body shaming, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Blood, Addiction, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Fatphobia, Drug use, and Death of parent

Moderate: Addiction, Trafficking, Self harm, and Infidelity

annikenr's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-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: Blood, Gaslighting, Gore, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Death, Medical trauma, Emotional abuse, Incest, Rape, Sexual violence, Addiction, and Child abuse

Moderate: Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Animal cruelty, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Violence, Gun violence, Body shaming, Murder, and Pregnancy