Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'

The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware

5 reviews

crabcake28's review against another edition

emotional mysterious 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

While listening to this book I continuously thought I knew exactly what was going on. I thought I had predicted it all from the beginning. Even when I had thought I may be off a bit I still believed I knew where the book was going to be headed with the plot twist. It wasn’t until the last three minutes of the audiobook that I felt like I had been gutted by the realization of what was really going on. Sure I had guessed some of it but everything flipped on its head directly at the end and I felt myself fighting tears over how tragic it all was. Even now as I write this trying to think of my complaints over the book, I really don’t have any. Even though at times I felt it all seemed ridiculous and the main character was reacting too much over too little, I realize the entire book does an amazing job of showing hurt people and the way they’re trying to cope with what has happened to them. It’s been a long time since I’ve gotten so emotional over characters in a book and I wish I could keep reading and hear a happy ending for them. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment

Moderate: Child death, Cursing, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, and Sexual harassment

indigof0x's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Infidelity, Grief, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

morganperks's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Incest, Sexual assault, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Infidelity, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Stalking

lydiavsbooks's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

This was overall a very enjoyable, fast and intriguing read. Very fun and I'm glad I read it but I do have a few criticisms.

Firstly, I personally wanted more spookyness. There were some scenes that seemed like they were trying to be scary, but just weren't doing it for me. I wanted the creepy elements to just be a little more. The threatening messages written out in alphabetti spaghetti, as an example.

Secondly, the main character did get on my nerves at times. I found myself getting very frustrated with how clueless she was with the kids, especially for someone with nannying experience. The frequent switch between hmmm Jack seems dodgy and but he do be cute tho also got a little old a little fast.

The end explanation felt a little rushed, but still enjoyed it. I feel like I've been overly harsh here, it's just always easier to pick out criticisms for some reason.

That said, I really did enjoy it. I loved Ellie as a character in particular, the idea of the poison garden and the history behind that (I'd happily read a whole seperate book about that). I enjoyed and appreciated the themes touched upon, such as misogyny, complex family dynamics, potentially grooming etc. I'm kind of torn between wishing these were explored more, and appreciating that maybe this just wasn't the place for these discussions. Either way I appreciate that they were included. 

And most important of all, we needed more of the dogs please 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Misogyny and Sexual harassment

mallory10100's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

wow this was a great read. bought it because i love the haunting of bly manor and knew that it’s based on a book called the turn of the screw, and there were so many similarities with the show it was fun. so many great twists at the end that i definitely didn’t see coming!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Incest, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Stalking, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Gore, Infidelity, Excrement, Dementia, Stalking, and Injury/Injury detail

i loved this book homophobia TW is there bc the author uses the F slur for cigarettes because she’s british