Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin

7 reviews

aingealwroth's review

dark emotional tense slow-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? No

1.75

1.75*
While this hasn't aged the best (the problematic aspects of misogyny and racism are so harsh) it still has a place as a "classic" and the horror aspects hold up well. Granted, most of the horror is in the ending because Rosemary's psychotic break results with her in giving into the gaslighting, but alas, it's still horrifying. Has a stronger level of "eerie" than most horror stories that this spawned in the subgenre of "demonic kids" and is one of the better examples.

TLDR: Original movie held very close to the original material, just presented things as more subjective.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Alcohol, and Classism

morenowagain's review against another edition

challenging dark sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Rape, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

automatic_rae's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-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? No

3.0

An interesting concept, but not my cup of tea.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Death, Mental illness, and Suicide

stephanieanneauthor's review

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Believe it or not, I haven't seen the movie yet (but it is on my list). But movie or no movie, I had to give the book a try as I'm a fan of Levin's writing style. I will note that the sound quality of the audiobook is less than stellar, but other than that this book is phenomenal. 

As someone who's lived through it, I love stories that involve gaslighting as it adds to the tension and discomfort. And I wanted to scream at some of the obstacles Rosemary encountered. In those early chapters, I wasn't too sure how I would feel about her, but I came to love her character arc. I've also noticed recently that I tend to be more drawn to domestic horror stories. There's something delightfully unsettling about home life gone wrong, and situations that should be safe and comforting, but are not. 

Can't wait to watch the movie now!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Blood

Minor: Addiction, Homophobia, Miscarriage, and Abortion

smolhandsdan's review

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Religious bigotry, and Sexual harassment

coco78337's review

dark mysterious sad 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Homophobia, Racism, Rape, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Minor: Cursing, Miscarriage, and Toxic friendship

scarlettreadsbooks's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Pregnancy

Moderate: Confinement, Death, Drug use, Gore, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child death, Blood, and Alcohol