Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill

31 reviews

ladylothlorien's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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

4.75

So good! I was intrigued to see where the epistolary element would really come into play. At first I was super into the “story within the story” plot line and then I absolutely had to know where the epistolary plot line was going! I had kind of guessed the end of both plot lines ahead of time but it didn’t dampen my enjoyment. I’m so happy to find this author has written a bunch of other books because now I am absolutely going to read her back catalog!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder

Minor: Racism and Sexual violence

The racism and sexual violence are brief mentions and are not very detailed. The murder descriptions are mainly what you would expect from a murder mystery but on a few occasions there are brief somewhat graphic descriptions.

sammykay25's review against another edition

dark mysterious

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

3.5

I feel pretty neutral towards this book. I liked the writing a lot and the way there were dueling plots. But some things irked me like Marigold and Whit. They were both obnoxious, a little ridiculous, and Marigold was downright creepy. I could tell I was supposed to like them and I simply couldn't stand either of them. I also was able to predict the ending pretty easily so it kinda fell flat for me. But I didn't quite understand the last sentence which was intriguing. Overall, mostly fun with some annoyances.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Rape and Sexual violence

amberinpieces's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Medical content, Stalking, and Murder

Minor: Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Alcohol, and Classism

rmgiannino's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Rape, Sexual violence, Medical content, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

bumblero's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

I thought the meta-narrative was intriguing. It helped me appreciate some of the subtleties that I missed but also made me question the three layers of story going on at once. Definitely kept me on my toes!

Would recommend! Likeable cast of characters, a decent sense of place, and I enjoyed how self-aware the book was. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gun violence, Rape, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, and Gaslighting

acosyreader's review against another edition

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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Murder

Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual violence

Minor: Stalking

schausjk's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

This took me a little while to get into, mostly because I find books about authors/writing irritating. However, as the story went on and the purpose of the little editorial bits became apparent I enjoyed it a lot more.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Violence, Medical content, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Stalking and Death of parent

j_emerson18's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

What a great book to start the year. It was inspirational and well written.  I love the plot twists near the end. The writing style was super intriguing. I loved the story with the four unlikely friends in the midst of a murder. **spoiler warning**
I am honestly a little upset by the lack of depth or detail about the secondary story between two writers in which one is a serial killer. I would have loved more information about the two of them. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Torture, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Stalking, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Sexual content and Grief

trippyotter's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

5.0

I absolutely love all the layers to this story! Once you have an idea of what's happening, a new detail is added, and you're left wondering what will happen next. This was my first book written by Sulari Gentill, and I can't wait to read her other books.

The story begins in the reading room of the Boston Public Library, where our strangers hear a scream, a scream that will terrify and unite them in their curiosity to unravel the mystery. A mystery that has no simple answer and will test their newly developed friendship. 

As the secrets unravel and their bonds are tested, ties will strengthen between the couples that will begin to divide their loyalties to each other. 

Over the course of several weeks, as details are discovered, you'll begin to question the agenda of several of the strangers. Was the chance encounter between them, on that fateful day, just happenstance or was it orchestrated? 

As the mystery starts to unravel, will their friendship survive the truth of what happened? 

Will they survive the truth?

I'd also like to mention that besides loving the story, the foodie in me couldn't get enough of the food tour of Boston, real or fake!

But, I think my only complaint, if any, would be how little time is actually spent in the library. After the murder, there's very little time spent in the library, majority of the time will be spent in Freddy's apartment, local eateries, or walking about the city. It all meshes wonderfully with the story, but I do wish more time was spent in the library.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

migalu23's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

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

5.0

This was such a gripping read! I needed something fast-paced and mysterious, and stumbled across this and thought the premise could fit the bill. But it surpassed my expectations - I was totally blown away by how quickly I was hooked on the unfolding drama.  Gentill left me with plenty of juicy prompts to think on too. Loved it!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, and Murder