Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell

147 reviews

frankensteinscreature's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-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? It's complicated

1.5

I have rather conflicting feelings about this book, I picked it up as a blind date with a book and it’s not something I would usually gravitate towards. I think the writing style was objectively bad but it did draw me in (I suppose that is what thrillers are supposed to do). It could have been good if not for the horrendously stereotypical and frankly homophobic depictions of the one queer character clearly written by a straight woman that does not like gay men. The sort of predatory relationship that she wanted for the story did not need to manifest itself in such a homophobic way. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

loonysaurus's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Torture, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Minor: Gore, Homophobia, Infertility, Abortion, and Deportation

minnie_bee_holmes's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Check trigger warnings before reading. This made me feel kinda dark after I finished it- it was such a wild ride. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Murder

h_elene's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, and Abandonment

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Eating disorder, Sexual assault, and Religious bigotry

lydia_reads's review against another edition

dark 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Violence, and Grief

stellahadz's review against another edition

dark 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? It's complicated

3.75

This book definitely had a cool premise, but some parts of the execution fell a bit flat. The "cult" aspect of the story could have been way more interesting if there were more of an explanation as to why

Henry and Lucy's parents fell prey to David's manipulation

. I also didn't find the big reveal especially surprising. It seemed like a lot of the plot relied on the idea that evil people are just evil for no reason, which is rarely true. The plot was just creepy enough to keep me reading the book, and the unreliable-narrator aspect was also compelling, I just would have loved for the characters to be a bit more fleshed-out. I'm not totally sold on reading the sequel; I might go back to it later. I think this book is good as a beach read or something quick and digestible, but it's not one of the better thrillers I've read. 

(Also, this is a minor complaint, but the descriptions of Lucy's dog's bowel movements were *entirely* too detailed.) 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, and Pregnancy

Minor: Blood and Excrement

ashwatever98's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Confinement

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Toxic relationship, and Abandonment

Minor: Incest, Physical abuse, and Rape

This book was a fantastic read. The flow between chapters was flawless and was very well thought out. This is probably one of my new favorite reads!

nat00_'s review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

kimveach's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Dark and disturbing but a good thriller.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

emilycheslock'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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Miscarriage, and Death of parent