Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

The Vanishing Stair by Maureen Johnson

11 reviews

headinthepages's review against another edition

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Murder, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Abandonment, Death, Gore, Body horror, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Alcohol, Confinement, Violence, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, and Physical abuse

itsheyfay's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, and Child death

Moderate: Gaslighting, Suicide attempt, Murder, Infidelity, and Violence

Minor: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Ableism, and Drug use

themoodreader's review against another edition

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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Blood, Alcohol, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Chronic illness, Death, Kidnapping, Alcoholism, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Confinement, and Murder

amaya_jam's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

I'm not a big audiobook person but for some reason, this series just works in this format 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Grief, and Death

Moderate: Vomit and Alcoholism

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, and Confinement

readingwithmeredith's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Infidelity, Cursing, Suicide attempt, Death, and Blood

readerette's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-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

4.0

I still find myself conflicted about David. He does not bring out good things in Stevie, and he does not make many good choices, even considering he's a teenager. 

I'm having trouble following what's actually remaining to solve the case now, with the flashbacks and Stevie's doubts and the drama with some of the people she knows. I'll read the third book, but this whole story probably should have been a duology if not a standalone novel. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Blood, and Cursing

emily_mh'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? No

4.25

This instalment was just as spooky and atmospheric as the first book; I was completely hooked and read it in a day. Also, I liked that Stevie was actually investigating this time around. However, this series didn’t need to be three books. The plot and mystery are spread pretty thin, especially the romance with David, where the conflict just feels contrived. I also predicted who Truly Devious was early on in the first book. A predictable solution to a mystery doesn’t necessarily mean docked stars, but it does if the solution feels meh or unsatisfying, which is sort of the case here. I really hope things pick up in the third book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Child death, and Confinement

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Gore, Kidnapping, Addiction, Fire/Fire injury, and Mental illness

Minor: Drug abuse, Excrement, Infidelity, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Xenophobia, Ableism, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Vomit, Gun violence, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Alcohol, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, and Racism

Illness, bombs, discussion of global warming, HP reference, divorce

bookishgoob's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

this second book was so much better than the first i’m so glad i continued with it. and the ending!!!! the twists!!!! highly recommend. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Child death, Classism, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence

grimviolins's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Murder, Death, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Police brutality, Grief, and Infidelity

Minor: Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, and Suicide

mayas's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

3.75 stars

Book CWs: murder, kidnapping, blood, animal dissection, anxiety disorder, alcoholism.

This was difficult for me to rate because the first half was slow-paced and I was bored but the second half was so good. I was a bit disappointed by some of the reveals (and also the last page) but I enjoyed the suspense and mystery.

This instalment introduced a few more characters, who were all (to my understanding) white, and the poc were barely relevant to this book. I hope the non-white characters are more present and relevant in the third novel!

I liked how Janelle's skills were used toward the end, though!

Overall, I really enjoyed this (the second half) and I like how Johnson writes her characters; there's a lot of compassion. The friendships are also really lovely.

:)

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Mental illness, and Medical trauma

Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, and Cursing

(Further) Content Warnings: murder; animal dissection; alcoholism