Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

We Were Never Here by Andrea Bartz

81 reviews

becca_cheyanne's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-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? Yes

3.0

This book... It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great. I was starting to think maybe it was an unreliable narrator. I also was starting to just get uninterested 3/4 through. The ending just left me feeling unsatisfied.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Sexual assault, Car accident, and Murder

Minor: Suicide, Vomit, and Death of parent

apeck's review against another edition

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual assault, and Toxic friendship

corriejn's review against another edition

3.5

Ended up finding it a bit better than I'd thought early into it-- some aspects felt a bit overly predictable/heavily foreshadowed, but there ended up being a couple of unanticipated twists here and there.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, Murder, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Mental illness, Suicide, and Fire/Fire injury

shams96's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-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

4.0

That ending confused me a little bit? Unless it was just that she was continuing old traditions? Before that though, there was almost a nice little bow. But there are several plot points that were never addressed 

therapist’s diary, did childhood friend Jamie actually kill the parents? Bc that sounded exactly like what Kristen would say imo, Cambodia????, nana???,

.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, and Gaslighting

Minor: Suicide and Car accident

heresyourletter's review against another edition

challenging dark sad 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

3.25

Fast-paced, compelling and hard to put down.

I wasn’t a fan of the ending though — it felt forced and rushed into a “happily ever after” that wasn’t quite believable.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

Minor: Cancer, Drug use, and Incest

Main character is traumatized throughout the book, after surviving a violent sexual assault

, helping her friend (who murdered the assaulter) dispose of his body, then repeating the action on a trip where her friend claims to have been assaulted and subsequently kills the man. There are detailed descriptions of blood and gore.

She also has severe asthma and occasional panic attacks. Gaslighting and blackmailing are major themes

as the main character’s friend tries to manipulate her sense of reality

One character mentions several times during childhood when she was unfairly spanked for regular childhood behaviour. One character was orphaned at a young age after her parents died in a house fire. Several mentions of religious beliefs that Christians automatically go to heaven once they die, and non-Christians do not. One character is said to have died by suicide many years before the book begins. The main character throws up several times (the descriptions aren’t graphic). Brief mention of a character surviving thyroid cancer. A rabbit is found dead. It is implied that the rabbit was killed by a human. Several scenes at bars, drinking alcohol. Two characters take THC gummies. Brief mention of a character smoking pot in college.

One character was sent to a correctional institution as a child for “severe behavioural and/or mental health issues”. It is revealed that when the antagonist was 12, one of her friends deliberately set her house on fire in an attempt to kill the antagonist’s father, who was sexually abusing the friend. When she learns this, the main character wonders if the father was also abusing his own daughter. One character is pushed off a cliff (but is later recused). One character is pushed in front of a moving car. In an effort to avoid hitting her, the car swerves, knocking the attacker off the cliff (who later dies of her injuries). The car driver also goes off the cliff and is severely injured, but survives.

ariajb's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Child death, Panic attacks/disorders, Car accident, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Animal death, Pedophilia, and Suicide

lindsaybethlyons's review against another edition

adventurous tense medium-paced

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

3.25

The first part was slow for me. I struggle to read about persistent anxiety or depression. The second half was faster, and I enjoyed it.

I wished the plot didn’t including lying about sexual assault. With people already doubting women’s reporting of sexual assault, I’d prefer a different plot point there.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship

Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Pedophilia, Suicide, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

lilawsahar's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.5

The beginning was really slow.

You could really tell that the character was traumatized by the way she kept bringing up the murder victims: Sebastian and Paolo. It got a little repetitive after a while. I knew right away that Kirsten was sketchy; it didn’t cross my mind that she murdered her parents until Jamie was brought up. Bone chilling. We never really got our answers if Kirsten was involved or not. I feel like she was. It seems like Kirsten convinced Jamie to set the fire. Idk.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Animal death, Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, and Death of parent

gabbyreadstoomuch's review against another edition

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Suicide

lzjolo's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Sexual assault, Suicide, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Toxic friendship