Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Petals on the Wind by V.C. Andrews

3 reviews

madelinequinnee's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad 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

I am really enjoying this series, and cannot wait to read the next book

This was just as sad and heartbreaking as Flowers In The Attic, but perhaps even more so because it shows how difficult it is to let go of the past and trauma from childhood. 

I’m glad Cathy managed to eventually get revenge on her mother, even if it didn’t work out how she originally intended it to. 

Overall I think this was an excellent sequel to a brilliant first novel! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

violetturtledove's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-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

3.5

Ok, what to say about this one... The story is a good continuation of the first book, everything that happens makes sense and the writing is still engaging, but it's a completely different sort of story.
It focuses mostly on Cathy's relationship drama and there is a LOT of that, since apparently everyone finds her irresistible from the age of 15... I found the examples of 'romantic' relationships here way more troubling than any of the stuff in the first book! It's only really in the very end of the book that we get any of the darkness of the first book though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, and Fire/Fire injury

dontforgetthelights's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail