Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

The Lying Game by Ruth Ware

21 reviews

cpratreads's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.25

I really liked this one! Another classic Ware story, but I felt this one was unique from the others I've read, as the main characters are in different circumstances. I did guess the ending pretty early on, but was still surprised by the twists and turns. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicide, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse and Sexual assault

kelley_beth's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

This was your standard B-grade psychological thriller. The pages moved well enough, but some real cleverness was totally lacking. The characters were even less than 2/dimensional and I never really felt like any of the relationships between characters had real genuineness to them. The final climax of the book also went in a far too dramatic turn when compared with the middle 40-60% of the book. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Incest, Self harm, Suicide, and Murder

nicoleharris's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Suicide, and Murder

Minor: Child abuse

vaguely_pink's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Moderate: Child abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual content, Medical content, Stalking, and Gaslighting

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Misogyny, and Islamophobia

ellynicholem's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

2.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse and Alcohol

Minor: Addiction, Animal death, Cursing, Drug use, Eating disorder, and Fire/Fire injury

arachnophobia's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

This book was stressful! At the same time it felt very drawn out (I had to read ahead because it was taking so long to get to the point). There was also a lot of unnecessary/repetitive on the main character picturing herself at fifteen last time she visited the book's setting. I liked the diversity of the four main character besties, their friendship was the backbone of the novel. The character Mary Wren was just evil though which was quite unrealistic. I also wish there had been more pagetime for Luc. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Suicide, and Murder

merebear87's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

lottevanderpaelt's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Child abuse, Self harm, and Sexual assault

waytoomanybooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

4.0

I rarely read mysteries, but I am so glad I picked up this one! The emotions Isa and her three friends go through are palpable. And I greatly appreciate the fact that the women had goals, ambitions, fears, hopes, etc. that went beyond being wives and mothers, even though most of them are wives and mothers. They felt fully fleshed out, complex, and interesting. It's a great boarding school, dark academia story told from the perspective of an adult looking back on her harrowing teenage years. 

I took off one star because the ending is a bit confusing and a little ambiguous considering the amount of detail that went in the rest of the novel.

Be mindful of the trigger warnings!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Incest, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Moderate: Animal death, Cancer, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault

kaylasoos's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Alcohol

Moderate: Eating disorder, Incest, Self harm, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, Drug abuse, and Death of parent