Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher

12 reviews

keiraonyxraven's review

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

When Mouse’s grandmother passes away, her father asks her to clean up the inherited house ready for resale, but this spiteful old woman held secrets and so did her long past husband. As Mouse begins to find clues and evidence of unusual events and strange phenomena, she begins to question if she and her beloved dog, bongo, are really safe in this old house and the land surrounding the property. 

This was a more slow-paced novel, but with copious amounts of suspense and mystery. I adored the build up of this story, it was creepy and unsettling and the use of repetitive language added another layer of eeriness. As with all their books, Kingfisher’s descriptions and settings really transported me within the story, and I cannot fault their ability to create an immersive and engaging reading experience. 

My only criticism of this novel was the ending. Unfortunately I felt that a lot of the threat was taken away at the 70% mark and it lost the unsettling factor from the build up that I really enjoyed. The threat was re-established in the last 5% and I enjoyed the very end, but I did feel that between 70% and 95% my interest dwindled at little. 

That being said, I still highly enjoyed this novel, the first 70% was almost flawless in terms of suspense and build-up, and the last 5% was adrenaline-filled and had a great twist. Overall, I would recommend this novel and would encourage any horror fans to give Kingfisher’s books a try.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Sexual violence

Minor: Animal cruelty

aparker89's review

adventurous emotional 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? No

3.75

Everyone knows that a hoarder's home is a nightmare in and of itself, but what if that hoard was hiding something even more devilish. When Mouse's grandmother finally passes away and her house needs to be dealt with, she doesn't know what to expect. She also doesn't know that there might just be monsters awaiting her arrival. Between reading her dementia addled grandfather's journal and dealing with a mountainous mess- what could possibly be worse. Well Mouse finds out... but thank goodness for hwr coonhound to keep her grounded through an adventure that can't quite be understood but definitely is a doozy! 

I still can't get over the fairy monsters in pure hillbilly fashion... they will be haunting my dreams for years to come!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Animal cruelty, Chronic illness, Death, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, and Stalking

Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Racism, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Abandonment, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Murder, Slavery, and Violence

traa's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Blood, Death, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Slavery, and Violence

Minor: Car accident

jkpiowa's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

Graphic: Dementia, Body horror, Death, and Emotional abuse

shadowspinner's review

dark mysterious tense 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Animal death, and Death

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Gun violence

Minor: Death of parent, Racism, and Emotional abuse

bruisedtigers's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This made me squirm at so many moments. One part of the climax made me lower the book in heeby-jeebied defeat before summoning the will to proceed. I couldn't predict where this was going -- in a good way! I did want a little less of the characters having funny commentary in the middle of tense moments, but it wasn't a deal-breaker. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Body horror, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Sexual violence and Miscarriage

zachisreading's review

dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

The Twisted Ones is a book that does a lot of things right. You'll find yourself propelled forward by the main character's wit into a curious mystery that becomes more and more strange the further in you go. The haunting refrain of her step grandfather's journal, from which the book takes it's name, will stick with you between readings. It is a hard book to put down, and even harder to stay away from.

Then, in the last handful of chapters, I felt the book fumbled the dismount. Too much was revealed too fast and too completely. Significant parts of the mystery wind up tossed to the curb in the fantastical reveals. The monsters wind up being too human, largely discarding the eldritch horror that fueled the book up to this point. The unknowable becomes known, at least in part, and that removes some of the terror. 

Still, it's not a book to be left unread. It's creeping horror is a lovely, well-crafted thing that could easily have felt dated if not for the protagonist's thoroughly modern voice. Plus, there's a dog. And everyone needs more dogs in their lives. Even fictional ones. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, and Infertility

Minor: Body horror, Car accident, Child abuse, Violence, Blood, Stalking, and Racism

thekeytotheend's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Body horror, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Blood, Alcohol, Dementia, Emotional abuse, and Pregnancy

Minor: Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Death of parent, Gun violence, Racism, and Torture

parkerluck's review

adventurous dark lighthearted mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

Almost a 4 star because the horror aspect is 😵‍💫, really really worked for me. I loved the buildup, particularly with the journal/manuscript, and all the description was very scary. I was worried the outcome would fall flat once the mystery was revealed but instead I found it very gross (affectionate) and intriguing!

Mainly I wanted just a little more from the characters and maybe like... 10% less quip during the tense scenes. The humor waned after a bit and I felt myself getting tired after reading "Hon" for the 4th time on a page. Overall it definitely wasn't a dealbreaker by any means and I found the MC very likeable!! Just wish she had a bit more going on. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse

Moderate: Body horror

Minor: Animal death, Slavery, and Miscarriage

ghostams's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

 Absolutely loved this book! It was an insanely amazing mix of folklore, family history, isolating energy, small town vibes, and childhood-level fear. Definitely a book I wish I could forget, just to read again, even though it was terrifying in the best way. Plus, the characters are so unique while being regular folk. Also, the dog doesn't die and is arguably the hero! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore

Moderate: Mental illness and Grief

Minor: Racism, Emotional abuse, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Infertility, Confinement, Child death, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Domestic abuse, and Death