Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Shadows by Alex North

17 reviews

blackcatkai's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-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

2.5

CW: casual ableism, blood, violence, murder, child death, suicide, infidelity, addiction mentioned, alcohol/drug use, violence, gaslighting, toxic friendships, gore, trauma, abuse/bullying

I started reading this one with such hope, and i was enjoying it initially, but as it continued i found myself bored and could not stay engaged. there was both too much going on and yet nowhere near enough. a big issue, for me, were too many characters that all felt flat and too similar, and too many time skips back and forth. i also feel the detective parts could have been completely cut out and the story would've been much better. her povs just felt like a way to make the book longer and i am not a fan.

a couple of the twists in the end were pretty decent overall, but we get fade to black in a big action end scene that felt so disappointing. i was overall underwhelmed and i wish i wasnt. still going to check out other books by North, but this one was an absolute miss for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Murder, Toxic friendship, and War

Moderate: Drug use, Infidelity, Grief, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Minor: Addiction

staceyisbooked's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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: Death, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Grief, and Murder

caseyemorgan's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Torture

kris386's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death

Minor: Infidelity and Alcohol

jessicas_bookshelf's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicide, and Murder

Moderate: Grief

Minor: Animal death

sunshinestark's review against another edition

5.0

The Shadows is delightfully creepy, with twists you won't see coming from a mile away, and a must read. 25 years ago Charlie Crabtree committed a gruesome murder before disappearing. Since he was never found, there's always been speculation he's still alive out there. Now, copycat killers have emerged, inspired by what Charlie did, thrusting the case back into the limelight. Then, strange things begin to happen to those who knew Charlie as a teenager. Has Charlie truly been in hiding all this time? If so, why choose now to make himself known again? 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Gore, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Murder

_autumn_'s review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? No

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Grief