Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

If We Were Villains. Wenn aus Freunden Feinde werden by M.L. Rio

175 reviews

skillyillian's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

this isn't my usual bag but i really enjoyed it. perfect dark academia, rainy autumn, murder at a fancy, secluded college book. i think i would have enjoyed it more if i knew literally anything beyond the very very basics of shakespeare, as the characters spend probably a quarter of their dialogue speaking exclusively in shakespeare quotes or references i didn't understand. that being said, it doesn't ruin the book by any means if you don't fully get every easter egg. the author had some kind of degree involving shakespeare iirc? and you can tell she is extremely knowledgeable about all of his works, it's incredibly well done.

the plot felt a little predictable at times? but i was reading for the spooky dark academia vibes and not the most complicated murder mystery plot in the whole world. i've heard people say they didn't really love the ending or how open it was, but i liked it and thought it was pretty clear what happened. 

Spoiler

i wish they had just admitted to being in love sooner. i hate that it took until richard said his garbage homophobic shit for oliver to be like "ah, yes, well. maybe we are in love" like please, be so fuckin for real right now. the lack of communication right there would have saved so much trouble.

anyway what a good spooky read. the vibes were immaculate, the mystery was fun, the characters felt like they had their own personalities and goals. the writing style was really unique, especially in that the dialogue between characters speaking back and forth didn't use dialogue tags but sometimes was just written like a script would be. my favorite line was probably "Me: [sneezes]" lmfao. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Addiction, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, Sexual content, Blood, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Physical abuse, Suicide, Cursing, Violence, Drug use, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship

skelleybean's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Drug use, Mental illness, Death, Murder, Alcohol, Cursing, Grief, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Gaslighting, Body horror, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, and Violence

mdwsn27's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Violence

Moderate: Grief, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Gaslighting, Death, Blood, Body horror, Alcohol, and Addiction

Minor: Blood

lexnicole's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Body horror, Blood, Physical abuse, Violence, Body shaming, Addiction, Death, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Drug abuse, Grief, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual content

ancymon's review against another edition

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

4.75

pomijając ze postacie miały jedną cechę osobowości a zwłaszcza na początku to cała reszta super. przez większość książki byłam zirytowana ze nie wiem o co chodzi, ale myśle że to było założenie tej książki i bardzo mi sie podoba ze zakończenie jest otwarte i mogę żyć w delulu ze wszystko się im tam potem jakoś ułożyło 🤠

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, Blood, Emotional abuse, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Physical abuse

Minor: Suicide, Vomit, Drug use, Eating disorder, and Addiction

kirstenpod_'s review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Drug use, Grief, Toxic friendship, Death, Murder, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Blood, Alcohol, Physical abuse, Addiction, Bullying, Emotional abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Suicide, Homophobia, and Cursing

Minor: Eating disorder, Sexual content, and Vomit

epohlig's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-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

5.0

I loved this book so much! I loved the mysterious aspect and especially how, in each scene, I always had enough information to know what was going on, but I was always fully aware that I didn’t have all the puzzle pieces, so even when it t seemed to make sense, there were always questions lurking in my head. 
Additionally, the writing style is beautiful, just with the words and phrasings. And I know it’s a bit of a controversial point to non-theatre people, but I personally loved all the Shakespeare references and quotes, especially the parallels between the characters and their roles (which accentuates a point Oliver makes that it can be hard for them to distinguish themselves after a time). To be honest,  I didn’t get some of the Shakespeare quotes (especially the last one which was definitely important, but maybe I was just too tired to work it out), but I loved the book regardless. :)

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Blood, and Violence

Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, and Suicide

tallhousecookies's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Homophobia, Emotional abuse, Violence, Physical abuse, Murder, Biphobia, and Blood

Moderate: Drug use, Drug abuse, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

aquariusvintage's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Rape, Gaslighting, Biphobia, Bullying, Drug use, Toxic friendship, Eating disorder, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Death, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, and Suicide

chiar_'s review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Alcohol, Death, Addiction, Blood, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Violence, Vomit, and Emotional abuse