Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

The Vanishing Stair by Maureen Johnson

5 reviews

thepaperbackqueen's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

My favorite parts of the book were the beginning and the end. The beginning was so interesting. It introduced us to the 2 students who play a role in the Ellingham case and I really enjoyed their pov.

 The past timeline still remains my favorite because it was more mysterious to me and watching snippets of the past play out left me with more questions than answers honestly but that's one of the things that made it a blast to read. 

The middle component of the book was nice but not as fascinating or as mysterious as the beginning and the ending. 

I also wish there was more detective work from Stevies side on trying to find out what happened to Hayes since I don't think it was an accident. And that's one of the reasons why the middle part of the book didn't really feel like a mystery to me. 

(Sexual content: No sex detailed or described but there are some heavy make out sessions that are steamy
Profanity: Increased a bit in this book but it's sparse and sporadic) 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: Blood and Cursing

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

rissaandherbooks's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

An incredible continuation of my favorite series!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Murder, Medical content, Violence, Gore, and Grief

Minor: Alcoholism, Blood, Alcohol, Cursing, Drug use, Sexual content, and Sexism

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

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