Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

My Absolute Darling by Gabriel Tallent

57 reviews

amessina3399's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

3.75

Wow. What beautiful language, and what a masterfully told and utterly heart wrenching tale. While not told in the first person, this story paints  such a viscerally clear picture of what it’s like being in an abusive relationship, and why it can be so hard to leave. The only thing stopping me from giving a full 5 stars is the ending—it was a great ending, don’t get me wrong, but it left a lot of holes open that were set up earlier in the book to seemingly be revisited. So while I was disappointed with its conclusion, it was overall a fantastic read that I highly recommend. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Mass/school shootings, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

lidz_2tc's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, and Mass/school shootings

Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Death of parent, and Murder

emmasxph's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

This book should come with trigger warnings 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

brieflyblue's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

When I bought this book, I read the summary on the back and thought it would be a relatively lighthearted story. I could not have been more wrong. I can say, with the utmost confidence, that this was my toughest read since Lolita. Words cannot possibly do justice to my feelings in this moment. All I know is that it’s 2 A.M. and I need to vent a bit.

First, I will never understand why so many male authors write stories like this. What fascinates them so much about female suffering, and why do they seem to think they are the best people to tell these stories? It feels voyeuristic.

Martin is the worst, and I know that’s probably written intentionally, but dear god. The first 1/2 to 2/3 of this book feels slow. Call it “setting the tone” or whatever, but by the time the action started I was just so tired of Martin running his mouth and waxing poetic about how everyone and everything is terrible and how badly he wants to

kill his daughter.

Turtle is an interesting character, I’ll give you that. Her psychology and growth is the only saving grace of this novel. She is simultaneously self-aware and entirely deluded by her father’s influence. She loves and hates him. I like that she was not some perfect, meek victim, but instead someone who struggled with moral/ethical dilemmas regarding her father’s behavior and chose to act—if imperfectly.

In short, I would not recommend this book. It contains nothing that you couldn’t find elsewhere.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment

Moderate: War

mmwbrown114's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, and Mass/school shootings

alliereads_'s review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark

1.0

Meandering and gratuitous trauma. I don't know why a grown man possibly thinks he could have anything insightful to say from the point of view of a little girl suffering from incest and abuse, but reading this was a great reminder of why I typically only read books written by women.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Incest, Rape, and Sexual violence

mariana_ct08's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

kellyofcali's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-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

4.5

I rapidly consumed this book, which is heart-wrenchingly dark and awful, but very well written and you just keep reading hoping that it's going to get better (I won't say whether this want comes to be). It is really, really tough, so you have to be up for that kind of horrific material, but I found myself quickly entangled in the characters and story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Kidnapping, Abortion, and Alcohol

Minor: Pregnancy

booklvrkat's review against another edition

ABSOLUTELY will NOT read books that start with child exploitation and/or abuse. I was so disgusted only 45 pages in.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

hattieb2000's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective 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

Blew my mind in the worst and best possible ways. So much to unpick and absolutely gripping, especially towards the end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Kidnapping, and Pregnancy