Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Retreat: A Novel by Sarah Pearse

11 reviews

sophieamreacher's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

Good atmosphere, didn’t guess the twist, rooted for main character. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gun violence, Drug use, Drug abuse, Confinement, Toxic relationship, Classism, Child death, Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Blood, Physical abuse, Murder, Stalking, Mental illness, Medical content, Gore, Vomit, Violence, Grief, Gaslighting, Death, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Body horror, Death of parent, and Cursing

sprout_monster's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

Solid read, but probably not anyone's 5 star. It's pretty fast paced and I liked the main characters and the island was very interesting.
The faults I had with it are minor. The conflict between Elin and Will didn't seem logical, seemed more like a worried brother, but it's played off like it was logical.

It makes sense to put off something that doesn't seem urgent for like literally 5 minutes. Elin was not just ignoring it, she was prioritizing a quick crucial phone call and then was gonna talk to Farrah! That's totally reasonable! Also this conflict was cliche.

I don't get why Hana doesn't disown Jo, like after everything, why would she still consider Jo her sister? I just can't relate. And the end character realizes something about herself and grows was meh, it kind of worked but kind of didn't. I do think that there were randomly too many people at the initial crime scene investigation and that was confusing, like it probably would've been better to use people's job titles rather than their names for the characters that popped up for only 5 seconds, and I couldn't quite remember the bf gf pairs, and there could've been a bit more character development, but I got the jist.

Anyway, I'd say it's worth a read if you're looking for an action-y, mystery book.

The very last ending was pretty satisfying, and wrapped up everything previously hinted at. 
The book had a lot of little hints that I think are too minor to be super predictable but enough for the ohh at the end.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Child abuse and Infidelity

shybearfog's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence and Violence

j_squaredd's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.25

I hate every character she writes, but her plots are enough for me to keep going. The ending was still not the strongest but much better than The Sanitorium

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Stalking, Gun violence, and Blood

Minor: Mental illness

alisonannk's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Infidelity, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Moderate: Gun violence, Mental illness, and Confinement

bekah1210's review against another edition

mysterious tense 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 and Murder

Moderate: Death of parent, Child abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Violence, Gun violence, and Confinement

Minor: Kidnapping, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Suicide, Toxic friendship, and Stalking

ashleyvharris's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? Yes

1.5

Not super compelling. Didn’t hold my interest. Forgettable characters. Literally cannot remember their names as I write this. Connection between the guests and the island’s past seemed flimsy at best. Setting felt a bit out of place. Felt a bit like The Chestnut Man but not as suspenseful.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Murder, Toxic relationship, Violence, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, and Toxic friendship

kirstym25's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, and Violence

caikey11's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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? Yes

3.5

Well, here I am, let down by another Sarah Pearse book. As in the Sanatorium, the atmospheric nature of this book was on point. It was fast paced, and short chapters helped drive the story forward while making it seem cohesive. Where it fell flat was the multiple POV’s, designed to be red herrings that keep you distracted. While I figured it out before the end, it wasn’t too close to the end to annoy me. However, the multiple POVs were poorly executed and distracted from the tone of the overall book. I would have preferred everything to be from Elin Warners POV and drop the drama with the other narrative. It wasn’t fleshed out properly and detracts from the story overall. 

Spoilery info I guess?

Elin Warner sure knows how to pick an isolated spot in the middle of a massive weather event, eh? Please don’t let this be a trope in the third book. And yes, I’ll read the third book, because now we have Steed who is very likable and clearly a better fit for her than Will. But also, no affairs, please? That’s also a tired trope, especially with LEOs

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Violence

Minor: Child abuse

korpney's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, and Blood

Moderate: Child abuse