Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

The Familiar Dark by Amy Engel

4 reviews

sarahweyand's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

2.25

I am blessed in that I don't remember a lot about this book anymore so I'll certainly be less vitriolic than I was right after I read it. I thought the premise was interesting, obviously, and the pace was fast so nothing ever dragged, but I could not care less about anything that happened in this book.  The characters were flat and their relationships were superficial, I didn't feel the our protagonist cared at all about the death of her daughter, and the ending was absurd.

There was one twist early on in the book that I thought was compelling, so I'll give it that much, but even then it didn't seem to have much consequence for the rest of the plot.

Don't waste your time here; at least the book was short so I didn't spend too long on it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Sexual assault, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction and Drug abuse

madeleinebay's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, and Alcohol

Moderate: Addiction

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

escapinginpaper's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

3.0

This one started out really strong for me – in fact I don't remember the last time several passages in a book made me sob, but here we are. Unfortunately the way the story panned out fell flat.

This is set in Missouri – main character Eve is a waitress in the poor Ozark town she grew up in. Eve's saving grace was her daughter, who basically "saved" her from otherwise living a dark, drug-riddled life like her mother. Unfortunately, the book begins with Eve's daughter being murdered, and the rest is her contending with her new life alone, the lacking police-work, and wanting to get justice for her daughter's death.

There were some really poignant moments in the first half with Eve dealing with her grief, and learning to lean on the people around her. However, while I really would have liked to see Eve grow beyond her circumstances, the book takes a turn at the end that was kind of disappointing for me. Ultimately, I think besides some passages about grief, most of this plot will end up not being much of a standout. I think Engel's The Roanoke Girls was a much stronger work, and I would recommend it highly over this one. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, and Pedophilia

Minor: Cursing, Incest, and Pregnancy

andij's review

dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Domestic abuse, and Violence