Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

When No One Is Watching, by Alyssa Cole

37 reviews

pj_steph's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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? No

3.5

I overall enjoyed this book. I enjoyed the writing of this book. My favorite parts of the story were discussing the history of gentrification and going in depth on the horrors of the people who live in the neighborhoods. I will say the pacing was a little off. The beginning was a bit slow, but the ending felt REALLY rushed. I thought the middle had the best pacing. The mystery started to pick up and pieces were starting to come together, but then it kind of snowballed at the end. I'm definitely adding more Alyssa Cole to my TBR!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Stalking, Medical content, Injury/injury detail, Infidelity, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Racism, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Alcohol and Police brutality

rorikae'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? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

'When No One Is Watching' by Alyssa Cole is a frightening thriller about gentrification where the dread and fear creep slowly through the book. Cole does an excellent job of replicating the way that gentrification moves slowly and then all at once in the plot of this novel. Sydney notices that things are wrong but the full extent of what is happening isn't apparent until the latter half of the story. Truly terrifying, this book has so many scenes and situations that are a mix of horrifying and frustrating but in a truly effective way. I hope that Cole will write more thrillers in the future because she has a real talent for creating a sense of creeping dread. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Classism, Gaslighting, Grief, Hate crime, Racism, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Police brutality and Suicide

jojo_'s review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Violence, Classism, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Racism, and Sexual content

Moderate: Blood, Grief, Toxic relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Kidnapping, and Medical content

Minor: Genocide, Suicide, Alcohol, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Infidelity, and Slavery

chichio's review

mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Loved this book. Loved the (kinda expected) romance subplot because—to me—you can never go wrong with a little love. My only real issue is that the antagonists in the book were really exaggerated, and despite the fact that the issue tackled in this book is very real, the perpetrators came across kinda cartoonish in my opinion. 

Still, an interesting book! I learnt a lot about Brooklyn and the issue of gentrification. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, Racism, Toxic relationship, and Violence

kaylaannsreads's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective tense slow-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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Racism

Moderate: Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Forced institutionalization, and Death

madmantha's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative mysterious reflective 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

4.75

One of the best books I’ve ever read, if not THE best. 
Thrilling, anxiety-inducing, emotional and yet hilarious at the same time. 

Can’t wait to suggest this read to others, I loaned it from the library but will definitely be purchasing my own copy. This is something that deserves to be remembered and celebrated for years to come. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Police brutality, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Genocide, Grief, Hate crime, Injury/injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, and Torture

Moderate: Abandonment, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Ableism, Blood, Body horror, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Injury/injury detail, Kidnapping, and Medical trauma

Minor: Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Cultural appropriation, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Homophobia, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Toxic friendship, Trafficking, Vomit, Alcohol, Addiction, Hate crime, Outing, Racial slurs, and Slavery

dcm7918's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Drug use, Medical trauma, Addiction, Death of parent, Medical content, Gun violence, Infidelity, and Racism

Moderate: Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Classism, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Torture, and Sexual content

criticalbooks's review

dark emotional informative reflective tense slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Injury/injury detail, Murder, Racism, Toxic relationship, Cultural appropriation, Death of parent, Grief, Blood, Classism, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Police brutality, and Violence

azariamckay's review

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.25

I found When No One is Watching to be a very interesting read but not for many good reasons. It took half the book to gain relevant action. I wasn’t much of a fan of the main characters and topics of race and gentrification felt like they were being told to me rather than shown in the book. I wasn’t that much of a fan but when things started to pick up around the 2nd half I found myself glued to the pages. The ending felt extremely rushed, and I wasn’t a fan of it. All and all, I’d say there were enough aspects of the book that made me interested and kept me going but I still felt it was a bit lack luster and infuriating at points. I will say there were a few twists I definitely didn’t see coming but the main twist was pretty obvious to me from the start.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Gun violence, Racism, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Colonisation, Animal cruelty, Police brutality, Death of parent, and Classism

anima_vestaa's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Fantastic. It starts sarcastic and lighthearted but then pulls you into a huge conspiracy analysing the very depths of racial discrimination through thriller fiction. The characters, the expression through form, the slangish writing, it’s all chaotic but deeply thought through and brilliant. Lots of gore tho, you’ll have to have a strong stomach.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Xenophobia, Violence, Toxic relationship, Slavery, Racism, Police brutality, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Gun violence, Hate crime, Gaslighting, and Death of parent