Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

Small Game by Blair Braverman

11 reviews

mairead_parade's review

challenging dark 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

4.5

Totally gripping but not overly plotty, and didn’t feel like anything else I’ve read recently. Braverman makes the reader sit with some dark stuff and grapple with the choices you might make in similar circumstances. I thought Mara was a fascinating character to have as POV - at times she seemed to verge on sociopathic with the way she managed her behavior and emotions in response to others, but later I came to see it as just another survival tactic. I see some other complaints about the ending but I found it fitting for the style of story and would just warn against approaching Small Game like a mystery to be solved. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death

Moderate: Abandonment and Panic attacks/disorders

oatmilkdyke's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

3.0

Hmm I read this book really fast and the plot kept me very engaged. The end of chapter felt very much like I needed to see what was coming next. HOWEVER, it ended quickly and left me with a bunch of questions.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, and Animal death

Minor: Vomit and Gore

knenigans's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

4.0

I really like the way this was obviously written by an author who knows her subject well but I personally struggled to connect with the characters. The sense of foreboding was extremely good and all the situations were realistically terrifying which earned the 4 stars.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Animal death, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Vomit, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic relationship

zombiezami's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Abandonment, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Gaslighting, Blood, and Violence

Moderate: Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, and Cursing

Minor: Infidelity, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Excrement

junefish's review against another edition

adventurous reflective tense fast-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and Animal death

Moderate: Death

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Gun violence

sophiareads_'s review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.0

Content Warnings: gore, animal death, starvation, death, depression, panic attacks 

 

Mara joins the small cast of a new reality TV show where she and four strangers must survive for 6 weeks out in nature. Though her skill set as a trainer in a survival school should give her the edge, she gets more than she bargained for. 

 

Unfortunately, this fell a bit flat for me. It's such a slow paced book with little in the way of plot, which I can definitely appreciate sometimes, but in this instance it just didn't work for me. If you had an interest in survival, I could totally see this being a fascinating read, but I found myself a bit bored. The ending in particular really wasn't satisfying for me, and I was left feeling like this book was a lot of build up for little pay off. 

 

That being said, I think this is more of a personal preference thing. Braverman's writing style is nice (though I noticed a tiny bit of head hopping). While I never felt quite as connected to the characters as I wish I did, I liked them all. They were complex in a way that felt relatable, and I particularly liked the relationships between our four main characters. 

 

Overall, this wasn't my cup of tea, but if the premise grabs your attention, I would give it a go! 

 

Thanks to Blair Braverman for sending me a gifted copy of Small Game in exchange for an honest review. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, and Gore

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders

silodear's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.75

I devoured this book in three sittings. Would have stayed up all night to read it all at once if I could have! I hope Braverman has other stories to tell. I want more from her!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Animal death, Suicide, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death

Moderate: Gore, Sexual content, and Gun violence

katiecentabar's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

3.75

I wish there had been consequences for the producer. It was a little unsatisfying that it never happened.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Body horror, Murder, and Animal death

caroreads22's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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: Injury/Injury detail and Grief

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Blood

Minor: Animal death

kassy182's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

4.5

I think that a lot of people that found fault in this book found it in the ending. It feels rushed and almost like the story of the survivors isn’t wrapped up, it’s just barely grazed over in a final paragraph. 

Almost— but honestly, I think it was a perfect ending. Reading about survival is hard and tense and there’s a lot of introspection as you could expect. And ultimately, when the main characters find the strength, physical and mental, to move forward— that’s when the story ends because you know that their survival is the meaning of this book and that we aren’t supposed to see too much of the closure or the future because that’s not a part of their journey— that’s a separate space and world for the characters. We got to accompany them and know that, they do have an ending and the ending is just enough without overshadowing the intensity of their time in the woods.

I will say, this is a tense read. It’s hard to swallow and sticks with you but it also shows a side of humanity communing with and battling nature in a way that feels entirely separate from our world, or at least my world. Also— never realized how much an entry about eating a worm would traumatize me and that’s not even the biggest trigger. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Vomit