Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Shallow River by H.D. Carlton

45 reviews

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

raereadssmut's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative tense fast-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

5.0

“Was it deranged and out of pocket? Maybe…. But was it real as fuck? ABSOLUTELY” 

Literally HD Carlton has a way with writing about TOUGH TO STOMACH subjects. The things she writes about are so real and I think that’s why a lot of people can’t stomach it. This shit was absolutely hard to read but real as fuck nonetheless. 

At times I couldn’t get passed how submissive River was being with Ryan. You were dealt the shit stick since birth but are blind to your boyfriend doing the same thing to you??? But I had to remind myself….. if you put a frog in boiling water it’ll immediately jump out, if you put it in room temp water and slowly let the water boil it’ll end up dying in the boiling water. Same goes for DV. 

READ YOUR TRIGGER WARNINGS!!!! No one else is responsible for what YOU get triggered by! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Rape, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, and Toxic relationship

redallover's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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

4.0

It Ends With Us wishes it was this book. 
Genuinely this book portrayed domestic violence in such a real8stic way it made me want to chuck my kindle against a wall. Read this book with caution. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Violence, Toxic relationship, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Physical abuse, and Emotional abuse

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

aoros's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, and Sexual assault

Minor: Addiction

ashleynicole_'s review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad tense

• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Death, Domestic abuse, Murder, and Violence

Trigger warnings

melsbookspace's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.0

I went into this book blind, it was an incredibly dark and haunting tale surrounding one woman's lifelong battle with SA and DV. 

I enjoyed this book but I highly recommend looking up and checking out trigger warnings before diving in because there are a lot and only a vague mention of DV on the first page.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Domestic abuse, Torture, Child abuse, Drug use, Rape, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship

onthebooksel's review against another edition

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Pedophilia, Animal cruelty, Death, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Rape, Body shaming, Sexism, Sexual violence, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Incest, Infidelity, and Murder

lauren_readsbooks2302's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-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

4.0

Okay this definitely cemented Carlton as one of my favourite authors.

Don't get me wrong - this book is daaaaark. There's almost a new trigger warning on every single page, but the story was so compelling.

I thank my lucky stars often - especially when I read a book or watch a show like this - that I was surrounded by a loving family and found myself somebody amazing to share a happy, stable relationship with, so reading about domestic abuse, especially when it's in such vivid detail, is always heart breaking. Carlton really managed to capture the constant struggles domestic abuse victims face when subjected to years of belittling, gaslighting and manipulation at the hands of someone they love and someone who is meant to love them.

I did, however, feel that the Matt raping Ryan plotline was added without much substance to add some extra shock factor to the story, and considering the type of story this was and what the MC had gone through her entire life, additional shock factor wasn't needed. I understand that some people can act horrendously or treat people horrifically as a trauma response to something they endured, but people can also just be inherently bad. I don't know. It wasn't massively out of place but I sort of felt as though it was a last minute idea thrown in to try and garner some sympathy for the reader towards Ryan.

I adored Mako, but I'm starting to wonder what Carlton's obsession with sharks is. Is she a marine biologist, or just a shark lover in general? If you haven't read Does It Hurt? then you won't get this until you do. The name kind of made me snort a little when I first read it.

Oh, and the scene with River and Alison? Holy shit lmaooooo. I mean, it was kind of hot but again, came out of nowhere. 

One thing I do really like about Carlton's books is the happy endings. I feel like they're not always ensured when you're reading dark romance but I think I'm just a little sappy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Body horror, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Blood, Death, Gun violence, Domestic abuse, Gore, Sexual content, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Violence, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Torture

cwalker0905's review

challenging dark emotional fast-paced

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

5.0

This book had me in a choke hold from the moment I picked it up.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual harassment, Torture, Death, Gaslighting, Murder, and Sexual assault