Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'

The Lying Game by Ruth Ware

8 reviews

eldritchreader's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Was this my favourite Ruth Ware book? No. I felt as though the tense wasn't as tense, the grisly nature wasn't as dark and the characters didn't hit quite as personal as other books by this author or in this genre.

However, I don't agree with a lot of the one or two star reviews I've read. If you didn't like it because you don't enjoy morally grey characters, fine. But unlikeable characters does not make this a bad book. If anything, I found that to be the best part of it. 

The back and forth tension of right and wrong, loyalty and the regression to the poor decisions made by traumatised teenagers was blended in an authentic way. The people were real and messy. 

Ware didn't write this to have characters have a morally-sound redemption arc. She wrote a messy story about a messy situation and the messy decisions and emotions of those involved. 

And that is (in my view) good writing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

erinnnn's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

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

3.5

A pulpy, seaside I Know What You Did Last Summer that may be a bit too long to be a satisfying beach read. While I would normally dislike spending so much time on details and relationships unrelated to the plot, I didn’t mind it much here because I thoroughly enjoyed Isa and colorful friend group. They are by far my favorite characters in any of Ware's books.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Suicide, Blood, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Incest, Infidelity, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, and Dysphoria

adelinebal4's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Suicide, Islamophobia, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Cancer, Child abuse, Incest, Self harm, and Alcohol

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

katipheria's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Incest, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Pregnancy

If you're squeamish about child rearing-related topics, there is very frequent, detailed mention of breastfeeding, as the main character is a new mother who has her infant daughter with her throughout the entirety of the book.

mlbreton's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.75

I really did like this book overall. It was a fun read and I kept trying to guess the outcome and kept getting it wrong! 

I did have some issues with the book, but mostly with the characters and what the author was trying to make us feel about them. For example,

I found Isa awful. I thought it was so cruel of her the way she treated her husband and being so offended that he thought he was cheating, but she was being so distant and not communicating with him AT ALL so I think it's natural his head went where it did! And we're we supposed to LIKE Ambrose, the father/artist that drew his daughter and teenage friends NAKED?! I don't care how much the main girls said it "wasn't like that", it's creepy as hell and SO inappropriate. Lastly, with Kate and Luc, we're we supposed to be rooting for them at the end? Or find it romantic that she wanted to sacrifice her life and freedom for her brother she was SEXUALLY INVOLVED WITH?!? I did not get that at all and couldn't get past that weird family dynamic to find any of them likeable.

Overall, the book kept me engaged but I did find it disappointing that it ended on

another lie

instead of having the characters grow from that

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Content Warnings

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Eating disorder, Incest, Infidelity, Self harm, Sexual assault, Grief, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

sylvestra's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Suicide, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Eating disorder, Infidelity, and Fire/Fire injury

nicoleharris's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Suicide, and Murder

Minor: Child abuse

vaguely_pink's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Moderate: Child abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual content, Medical content, Stalking, and Gaslighting

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Misogyny, and Islamophobia