Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Daisy Darker: A Novel by Alice Feeney

37 reviews

foldingthepage_kayleigh's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

The narration style of this book was quite unique. It felt more like sitting at a table with Daisy over tea and listening as she recollected memories, while everyone else bustles about. There are a few twists in here I was not expecting AT ALL. And while it took me a bit to warm up to this book, by the end I was invested

and devastated.

This is the second book I read and loved by Alice Feeney and I’ll definitely be reading more by this author in the future.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

thatswhatshanread's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

It was a dark and stormy night… okay, but really—it was a dark and stormy night on an isolated island off the coast of Cornwall, where an estranged family has gathered for Nana Darker’s 80th birthday. Albeit awkward considering their weird family dynamic, a tense celebration of sorts ensues until Nana turns up dead at the stroke of midnight. One by one, the family members disappear accompanied by cryptic, poetic messages, but whodunit?? 

I can’t say too much without giving the whole story away, but this was a fun murder mystery! For sure a more modern take on Agatha Christie mysteries with a little “Knives Out” action. It also reminded me, at times, of “The Prestige” and “Shutter Island”. 

I will say that I guessed the final twists fairly early on, but still felt the satisfying shock when they were unveiled, as some pieces I definitely had not put together. 

The writing style was great, though I did find the book a little too long, and some of the flashbacks stunted the flow of the story a tad. Also, don’t go into this one expecting to like any of the characters—some I rather loathed, which was part of the point of course. 

Overall, a very on-brand read for Halloween season!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Body shaming, Cursing, Drug use, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit

kris386's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Violence, Car accident, and Murder

Moderate: Body shaming, Infidelity, Suicide, Blood, Medical content, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

tspice24's review against another edition

dark 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Blood

Minor: Sexual content and Pregnancy

evieolive's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad 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

3.0

Wasn't a fan of the writing style, but a fun, easy to read book, and I liked the twist well enough.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Terminal illness, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Blood, Car accident, and Death of parent

Minor: Drug use, Fatphobia, Gore, Suicide, Violence, and Grief

addysongilmore's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective 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

4.25

When I first started reading this book I didn't love it because I didn't feel connected to the characters. When I got to about 100 pages left aka the plot twists I fell in love with this book. And because I don't want to give anything away I'll just let you know from the beginning of the book the writing was an A++ along with the details and overall plot.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gore, Torture, Car accident, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

mysterymom40's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? It's complicated

3.75

listened to ALC

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Murder

Minor: Addiction, Animal death, Blood, and Alcohol

uncomfortable situation with older teen and younger teen and consent to non-consent