Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Not a Happy Family by Shari Lapena

12 reviews

letsy's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Stalking, Murder, and Classism

avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense 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? Yes

2.25

Book Rating: 2.25 stars

   I found this book hard to enjoy because I hated almost every character! They were all just dripping in privilege and entitlement. It made me honestly just scream at them and burn down our current inheritance policies. 

   Catherine was particularly unlikeable, as she didn't seem to have any redeeming qualities, she and Dan were the worst of the bunch. Dan was simply creepy AF. 

   The main mystery of the story wasn't too hard to solve by about halfway through the book. It was pretty obvious it was one of the kids. I honestly wish the author had gone another route as to who was the killer. I think Jenna's boyfriend would have been a good one to go with. But that's just me! 

   It wasn't terrible, but not nearly as good as I'd hoped with the hype. 

Narrator Rating: 2.0 stars

  This book just begged for a full cast audio, but instead, they just had one narrator which made it confusing, even in a 3rd person narration. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Stalking, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Cancer, Drug use, Gore, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Vomit, Medical content, and Abandonment

coco_loco33's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Murder

Minor: Bullying, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Medical content, and War

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

dark 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

4.0

I liked this one, even though I had a suspicion about the ending

because there just wasn't enough info about the character who ended up being the perpetrator. They just seemed too absent from the narrative.

But this was very intense, and I really like Ms. Lapena.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Cancer, Chronic illness, Infertility, Grief, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

danajoy's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense

• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Bullying, Death, and Death of parent

Minor: Infidelity

axkerti's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• 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: Bullying, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Emotional abuse and Infertility

colettesjourney's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

Minor: Infertility

romam93's review

dark mysterious 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

2.5

This was...ok?

I think my main problems with this book were caused by my expectation that this was a thriller, and in my opinion, it is not. To me this book is more of a mystery/whodunit, and I think if I had gone into it expecting that, rather than a fast paced exciting thriller, I probably would have enjoyed it a lot more. 

The book was well written and I liked the family drama aspect, I was just expecting more excitement. Some of the reveals caught me by surprise but I ended up not really caring about who committed the crime as the parents were so unlikeable. I would definitely try another book by this author to see if I got on better with her other work. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Murder

Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Blood, and Stalking

rachelwierick's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, and Terminal illness

hermithebs's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Death of parent

Moderate: Bullying and Emotional abuse

Minor: Cancer