Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Looking Glass Sound by Catriona Ward

5 reviews

lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This was a book my husband bought me when he went out of town. 

"Looking Glass Sound" follows a young man by the name of Wilder Harlow. Wilder is determined to write a novel that chronicles his time spent in a small  coastal town in Maine. One fateful summer, he met two people that forever changed his life, but while the trio was trying to navigate who they want to become, the town is haunted by a serial killer. 

This novel was so engaging and kept me guessing from the first page. 

Wilder was a complex character, and I loved reading from his point of view. He really struggles to fit in and make friends, even into adulthood. The novel ends up covering a large time frame because the first chapter is when Wilder is 17, and then the end of the book is when he is well into adulthood. I really enjoyed this because we got to experience more of Wilder and see him try to grow through these challenging experiences. It was so easy to empathize with Wilder because at every turn he seemed to find himself being taken advantage of or tricked by some character. 

This novel has a lot of twists and turns all throughout and most of them I could not anticipate. This author is very skilled at crafting a misleading novel. There were one or two things I knew the general direction they were going to head in, but I could not have guessed what transpired in actuality. The ending of this novel was such a trip, and I really enjoyed the journey of ending up there. There was one aspect of the ending that I did not love, but I think it was poetic in its own way. 

I really enjoyed this novel and I cannot wait to pick up more from this author in the future! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse and Sexual content

purstiltski's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Minor: Abortion

hannaheinhorn's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

2.5

I listened to this on Audible and really disliked the male narrator’s speaking style. This book reads a bit YA. I had seen this book talked about as “literary horror” and truthfully, I wouldn’t consider it “literary” in the sense that it wasn’t very sophisticated, which in this case, was something I was hoping for. I didn’t hate it, but the ending did cheapen it for me. I wanted much more story on the dagger man and cared so much less about the kids who were investigating the story.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Vomit, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Toxic friendship

perkyanda's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad 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

3.75

Really interesting way of playing with format and structure, interesting characters and take on writing and authors. At times the

repetition/recursion

gets tedious and teasing out

the actual narrative gets meh

but overall it’s an enjoyable read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

savvylit's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.0

Catriona Ward is an expert at intricate and difficult-to-guess plots. Looking Glass Sound is no exception. In fact, this may be Ward's most layered and mysterious novel yet. Looking Glass Sound features several distinct and immersive perspectives. Ultimately, though, Wilder's youthful point of view is the one that readers spend the most time with. And his characterization is unparalleled. Wilder's outsider status is painfully palpable; I often felt as though I could have been reading one of my own teenage diaries.

For a significant portion of Looking Glass Sound, I was wary about the length (352 pages). I found myself getting so invested in one narrative that I couldn't imagine what Ward would do next. Luckily, I decided to trust the process and eventually, it was all tied together in a surprising way - just like I'd hoped. This is the fourth book of Ward's that I have read and I have come to expect character-driven unsettling tales that burn slowly and conclude in an explosive way. Looking Glass Sound definitely met those expectations! I can't wait to see what Ward publishes next.

Thank you @netgalley @tornightfire and @catward66 for the advanced copy of Looking Glass Sound in exchange for my honest review! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Bullying