Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

Daisy Darker: A Novel by Alice Feeney

36 reviews

ejoymiller11's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Rounded up from 3.5 stars

I really enjoyed this book and found it entertaining, but I do think it could’ve been better. The flashbacks to Daisy’s childhood, while providing some nice context, dragged on a little too much compared to the rushed ending. I understand the author was trying to help us understand the characters and their flaws, but it was so slow and dragged the pace down from the present-day murder mystery chapters. I definitely think we could’ve had quicker summaries of character flaws and used those extra pages at the end of the book. 
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The last 40 or so pages felt forced to me, like it was wrapped up a little too perfectly. While I love the twist of Daisy being dead the entire time (I totally had to go back and read some paragraphs!), I didn’t find Trixie’s motive realistic. I’m not sure I find murdering her entire family and turning herself into an underage orphan over a child aunt that died 15 years earlier believable. It just wasn’t compelling enough for me. I wish we had a longer ending and better explanation for Trixie’s motivations and justification. Nana’s made a little more sense to me, but it was still hard to find believable in my opinion.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, Medical content, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Blood, and Car accident

Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Confinement, Gun violence, Infidelity, Sexual content, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

zalouis's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abandonment, and Alcohol

sarahmae531's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense 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? Yes

4.25

This book was a rollercoaster ride. There were times I couldn’t put it down and other times I couldn’t get myself to pick it up. 
The last maybe third of the book flew by for me. I had a few predictions on what the twist would be and I didn’t fully figure it out, which is always nice. 
It loses a few points for me just because I’m not a big fan of what the final twist was in books

(i.e. a character being a ghost but somehow one special person can see them)

but I thought that for the “trope” (if you can really call it that), it was well executed, well explained, and kept me on the edge of my seat towards the end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Infidelity, Sexual assault, and Medical trauma

marik0n's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

I just finished reading Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney and I had the urge to immediately start re reading it!

Alice Feeney is surely the queen of dualpovs and plottwists.

Even though I was really invested in this story, I didn't like it as much as her other books.

Don't get me wrong, it was still a masterpiece, but something spoiled it for me (the ending). 

All in all it was a great read, by a great writer and I look forward to reading more of her stories.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Sexual content

toomanytbr's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Car accident, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Medical content, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

sunsetcity's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol

emmehooks's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad fast-paced

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

4.0

Gooped, gagged, shocked (I’ve never read any Agatha Christie so I didn’t know the trope coming in). Every time I thought I had something figured out, I was wrong. Going back after I finished reading, there were so many clever hints, semantics, and clues spread in the book. 

I enjoyed the blending of flashbacks and present, good pacing, and a plot I am very excited to talk about at book club!!! 

The ending was quite full circle but I wish there was a little more to answer a few lingering questions. A huge build-up to such a short conclusion despite leaving so much room for more.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Terminal illness, Violence, Car accident, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Suicide, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Blood

alexisgarcia's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

i absolutely loved this book. it was like a less racist and homophobic version of And Then We Were None by Agatha Christie. if someone would’ve proposed this book to me i would’ve never read it because the tropes seem cliché and underwhelming. however, the execution was flawless. she delivered these tropes i normally find stupid in such an impressive and compelling way imo. also the end interaction between two of the main characters genuinely brought me to tears. i would ABSOLUTELY recommend this to almost anyone. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

_savannahreads_'s review against another edition

adventurous 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Gun violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail

mysterymom40's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Gore, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Infidelity