Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka

42 reviews

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

lau_leo's review against another edition

challenging reflective sad 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Animal death, Abandonment, Death, and Mental illness

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Stalking, Suicide, and Toxic relationship

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

kananineko's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

4.0

I think this book was very well written and very well done. Every perspective felt necessary and added to the story. Crime/thriller isn’t my usual genre which is why I’m not rating it 5 stars (I just don’t enjoy these types of books as much as other people do) but it was still an incredibly good and important book. I did shed a tear in the last chapter, which is rare. I also wish Lavendar had more chapters, but overall great book. The writing was phenomenal.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Grief, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Sexual content, Murder, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Child death

Moderate: Sexism, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Rape, Blood, Child abuse, and Confinement

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Drug use, Pedophilia, Racism, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Incest, Police brutality, Xenophobia, Suicidal thoughts, and Addiction

mementowori's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Child abuse, and Misogyny

Moderate: Animal death, Murder, and Animal cruelty

mariecaat02's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Animal death, Murder, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Sexual content, Mental illness, Death, and Abandonment

Moderate: Violence, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Murder, Drug abuse, Addiction, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

ktdakotareads's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Animal death, Grief, Murder, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Blood and Stalking

literaryroro's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Animal cruelty, Police brutality, and Child abuse

might_be_may's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad 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

4.75

take the content warnings seriously

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Confinement

Moderate: Violence, Grief, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Sexual violence, Death, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Murder, Domestic abuse, and Rape

Minor: Stalking

danalynn's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Dark and unique, haven’t really read anything like it. Med./fast paced. Sad and reflective. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Abandonment, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Murder, Toxic relationship, and Violence