Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney

29 reviews

bechlette47's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship

Moderate: Body shaming, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Child death, Cursing, Rape, Bullying, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

lexithelion's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

This book is such an enjoyable read! There are so many twists and turns throughout the book that constantly left me guessing, and I was never bored. I'm not giving it the full 5 stars because it does become a little confusing towards the end and opens the possibility for plot holes, and there are still a lot of questions I didn't feel were answered and should have been. Regardless, I would recommend this book to any mystery lover who enjoys a bit of thrill and isn't afraid of dark topics. This is my kind of book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Medical content, Alcohol, Car accident, Death of parent, Grief, Infertility, Miscarriage, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Abandonment, Pregnancy, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, Gore, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Cursing, Bullying, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Vomit, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Abortion, and Suicidal thoughts

OCD

nessreadsalot's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

A dark and truly twisted thriller that is unputdownable. This book tells the story of a woman in a coma in hospital who is semi conscious of what's going on around her. We also see flashbacks of the events leading up to her being in hospital and some childhood diary entries.
This story is full of suspicious characters and will keep you guessing who is telling the truth right to the end. It brings us through the complexities of family relationships and the lasting effects of childhood traumas.
A true page turner. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Car accident, Alcohol, Rape, Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, Vomit, Murder, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Excrement, Stalking, Miscarriage, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Death of parent, Blood, and Terminal illness

bigmacspookdadd's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

I am so confused after reading this book 😅

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

Moderate: Car accident, Murder, Miscarriage, Death of parent, Mental illness, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Murder, Bullying, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Infertility, Blood, and Infidelity

wannabe_lee's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Abandonment, Sexual assault, Death of parent, and Rape

Moderate: Car accident, Grief, Mental illness, Bullying, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Fire/Fire injury, Adult/minor relationship, Infertility, Miscarriage, and Stalking

Minor: Pregnancy and Vomit

zennyreads's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? Yes

2.5

Sometimes I Lie started off rather slow for me as I was expecting a fast-paced thriller that kept me glued. The writing style wasn't my favourite either but the pace started to ramp up after almost reaching 50-60% of the novel.

Though, the unexpected twists caught me off guard which I was surprised about. I have a mixed feeling about the change of timelines within the book, it helps me dive into greater detail about our main character's childhood and the events leading to her being in a coma, which continued to pique my interest. At the same time, it can be rather confusing to jump into different timelines so quickly.

However, I really enjoyed the audiobook version and it made the reading experience immersive and tensed. The inital plot had a lot of potential but it kinda fell flat for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Alcoholism and Murder

Minor: Bullying and Car accident

frootjoos's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

5.0

This was stressful as hell (tw: infertility and miscarriage, sexual assault) but I enjoyed it too. Told from the POV of a woman in a coma, it flips back and forth in time to the days leading up to a car accident and a traumatic event (think SWF) when she and her best friend were young. 

I can't wait for the next one. I think it especially helps that Stephanie Racine reads her audiobooks.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Bullying, Miscarriage, Stalking, and Infertility

Minor: Toxic friendship and Car accident

sadiedavisn's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Car accident, Death of parent, Medical content, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Death, Mental illness, Murder, Sexual assault, and Stalking

Moderate: Mental illness, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Stalking

pinktink415's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Death of parent, Rape, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Murder, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Miscarriage, Bullying, Sexual harassment, and Domestic abuse

cc_shelflove's review against another edition

mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Wow. I’ll be honest; I definitely thought I had this one all figured out. This doesn’t happen often, but I didn’t see most of this book coming. Told in three separate timelines, Feeney gives us a look at Amber’s mind while she is in a coma, the events leading up to her accident, and her childhood. I went back and forth with my rating because there was a lot of ambiguity in the ending, but the more I thought about it, the more I recognized that that’s what made this book so clever. The reader is given the freedom to form his or her own hypothesis as to what is “real.” After all, Feeney gives you a warning with the title, Sometimes I Lie… I would recommend this to the sophisticated thriller reader who loves to wear a Sherlock cap. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Rape, Car accident, Death of parent, Violence, Alcoholism, Death, Blood, Pregnancy, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Bullying

Minor: Infertility and Infidelity