Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka

33 reviews

bubblybelle's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad slow-paced

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

1.25

this was just so not what i wanted it to be. i am not in favor of the death penalty, especially given the state of our current justice system. however, i also simply am not going to pity a serial killer who feels absolutely NO remorse for the lives he’s taken. i feel bad for what Ansel endured as a child, but that does not excuse his behavior as an adult. 

there was way too much romanticizing and pitying for a violent criminal throughout this book despite the blurb implying that it would do the opposite. it was only in the last few chapters that it would try to switch that narrative, but by that point it was frankly too little too late for me. 

the fact that Ansel’s pov was in 2nd person was also just annoying. all of his narration made me feel icky and gross. also, the first half of the book had so much random, unnecessary smut. it didn’t really fit in with the story and again just felt icky. i almost dnf’d so many times and frankly i wish i had. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Death, and Murder

Minor: Drug abuse and Death of parent

mand_al_orian's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

izypup's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Grief, and Abandonment

Moderate: Child death, Emotional abuse, Murder, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexism, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Blood, Police brutality, Stalking, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

arayo's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Abandonment

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Pregnancy

imogenlj's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.5

When I finished this I felt like I'd been punched in my diaphragm- it's devastating, righteous and empathetic, yet hopeful. I felt tense the entire time I was reading. I want to push this into the hands of anyone fascinated with True Crime and say 'Look! It's not about the killers!' It doesn't dwell too much on anything but this is a dark book so check trigger warnings if you're keen to avoid something.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Abandonment

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Murder

Minor: Drug abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, Car accident, and Death of parent

maikepdf's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Violence, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Abandonment

daepyonimst's review against another edition

challenging mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, and Murder

Minor: Addiction

scifi_rat's review against another edition

dark reflective medium-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Alcohol

desiderium_incarnate's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective 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? Yes

4.75

There are millions of men out there who want to hurt women - people seem to think that Ansel Packer is extraordinary, because he actually did. 

This book was amazing! Yes it's incredibly dark and it hurts but it is so skillfully written and immersive and makes so much sense, I am pretty much in awe. The cover also makes so much sense when you read it and that's really cool. I didn't give it 5 stars because of a principle I have, if animals get unnecessarily hurt or die in a story, it isn't 5 stars,but yeah otherwise I fully recommend it. It really gives you a new perspective on the obsession people have with murderers or serial killers specifically - is the murderer really the most important thing about that? Is it most interesting, what made them like this? How their psyche works? What would be if they wouldn't have made those decisions? How they impacted the people around them and vice versa? 
The book is not pro death penalty or police it shows flaws in the system, it also isn't against reporting on serial killers, it is just in some ways a comfort, hope, warning and another perspective from death row as well as from impacted outsiders left behind and I think that is all it should be. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

toofondofbooks_'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

5.0

This book was an absolute stunner. The writing was beautiful and the structure of the storytelling was just *so* the right way to do it that I felt spoiled with every page. Every character felt extremely real to me both in good and bad ways. This book asked so many questions and challenged me with every new piece of information. I loved the focus on the women affected by the main character's actions in this story as opposed to just the pov of the perpetrator and the themes that surrounded them. This was the most solid read that I've read in a long time. Absolutely brilliant.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail