Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

When No One Is Watching by Alyssa Cole

56 reviews

livlamentloathe's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

3.0

I loved the build-up. I loved the intricate webbing of the neighborhood and white supremacy and patterns in history. I couldn’t stop reading! I sped through the book cause I was so curious about how it pieced together and what would bring it to a climax. But the ending did not pay off.

It fell a bit flat for me. And didn’t solve a lot of the intricate side plots. This book fell into its own trap. I think the plot got too big for itself so when the ending came, it could never have properly wrapped up all the loose threads. The main problem is a pitfall I’ve seen a lot of books struggle with: the villain became too omniscient.

Spoiler

There were ring cameras everywhere. The cops were in on it. Politicians both local and brand name, lawyers, nonprofits and nonethical companies alike. The white folk too indomitable by the end. And the ending does nothing to combat this. What is there to imply it won’t start back up immediately? If the gang of golden-oldies were in on it, why couldn’t they do more?? All they did was charge in to finish Sydney and Theo’s work?? They should’ve pulled Sydney into the work! They should’ve done more to stop local kids and families getting mixed into it! I can’t just believe everything is all right now. What about Drea and the man dead in Sydney’s house? What about the strange bedbugs?

I have more questions than answers after all that. And while I’m glad Theo helped Sydney through it all, I never trusted him. I was waiting for him to pull an Allison Williams the whole dang time. The ending felt like the end of a battle, not a war. And it’s hard to believe this one neighborhood can fight that big of a fight. Although I did appreciate the friendly neighbor motif and how togetherness is the way to win. I wish there’d been more closure.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking, Racism, Colonisation, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Hate crime, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Gun violence, Murder, Police brutality, Death, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Torture, Slavery, Death of parent, Mass/school shootings, Racial slurs, Addiction, and Medical content

maggiejean's review

dark emotional funny mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Panic attacks/disorders, and Mental illness

Moderate: Addiction, Kidnapping, Violence, and Murder

laneyliz's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Classism, Death, Forced institutionalization, Addiction, Hate crime, Gaslighting, Gun violence, and Racism

auntiesoshul's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Grief, Gun violence, Death, Mental illness, Violence, Murder, Police brutality, Sexual content, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, and Racism

helloiloveyellow's review

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

engrossing thriller rooted in history, Get Out meets gentrification 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Racism

Moderate: Classism, Gaslighting, Grief, Addiction, Alcohol, Kidnapping, Blood, Gore, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Confinement, Police brutality, Death of parent, Death, and Domestic abuse

cnricochet's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Racism, Gaslighting, Stalking, and Death of parent

Moderate: Medical trauma, Kidnapping, Terminal illness, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Police brutality

Minor: Gun violence, Sexual harassment, Violence, Slavery, Lesbophobia, Addiction, Abandonment, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, and Murder

tillysg1's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.25

I feel that one character had a fair amount of growth and development while another didn't.  Overall, the story was good, the twists were interesting.  The character of the neighborhood and the personal look at race issues is what really caught me here.  Great look at neighborhood culture and what that loss can look/feel like.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Sexual content, Police brutality, Racism, and Cursing

Moderate: Grief, Death of parent, Terminal illness, Addiction, and Xenophobia

Minor: Deportation, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Bullying, Death, and Slavery

One short, but quite graphic sex scene (would be easy to skip if you prefer)

bookdragon16's review

dark informative mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Alcohol, and Addiction

Minor: Forced institutionalization and Gun violence

vaguely_pink's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, Racism, Police brutality, Violence, Blood, Gaslighting, Classism, and Death

Moderate: Addiction, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Death of parent, Grief, Kidnapping, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Infidelity, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Drug use, and Hate crime

Minor: Cancer, Forced institutionalization, Stalking, Suicide, Vomit, Confinement, Dementia, Deportation, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Torture, Chronic illness, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Medical content, Racial slurs, and Sexual content

shaqydoo's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Classism, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Colonisation, Cursing, Grief, Gun violence, Police brutality, Addiction, Death, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Racism, Violence, Toxic relationship, Genocide, Medical trauma, and Murder