Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Kill Switch by Penelope Douglas

10 reviews

fevalente's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Murder, Kidnapping, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Blood, Ableism, Child abuse, Mental illness, Violence, Gaslighting, Incest, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Alcoholism

theteamsreader's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

The best in the series.  A dark, sexy romance that actually IS dark and sexy.  Following the third horseman Damon Torrance as he begins to tear down Winter Ashby's life and family after the incident so many years ago, a surprising backstory and dive into these characters' minds reveals that what's on the surface is not as it seems.  Recommend to anyone with a dark and spicy read in mind with a surprisingly excellent plot, a larger found family than once realised before, and even further surprise in diversity, as to Winter's  character not being limited to her blind disability.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Grief, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexism, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Violence, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Rape, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Self harm

Minor: Car accident

feriel_b's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

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

Another 0 stars, another book of three spoiled brats terrorizing yet another innocent girl , at this point the plot is how dumb can these horseshits be 
I was told this book was supposed to redeem Damon and not gonna lie, his backstory was heartbreaking , but how is he better when he himself grew up to SA women ?? His own sister??? But it's okay his defense he didn't know she's his sister when he decided to grope and force kiss her 🙄 that's the stupid excuse the penelope douglas cult give him each time the SA topic is brought up in this series ( heavely ) and he books in general ,because god forbid we criticize an author

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Drug abuse, and Death of parent

jen1804's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

4.0

The character development of Damon in this book is mad. I’ve gone from despising the sick fuck that is Damon Torrance in book 1, still hating him through book 2 (albeit some crumbs are dropped in preparation for his book), and now after book 3 I see him as my baby who must be protected at all costs.
Damon has obviously committed a lot of really bad shit and we cannot excuse some of his behaviour, but this book does an excellent job of exploring his past trauma and layering the reasons behind his decisions. It is heartbreaking to read at times, nobody deserves the childhood that he had.
I absolutely adore his and Winter’s story, the secrecy of their earlier relationship when Winter didn’t know who he was, because he was scared she would hate him if he revealed his identity which is heartbreaking, but the scenes were so beautiful - the driving of the car, the motorcycle ride. I also love that they have this back story from when they were kids, with the fountain and the tree house and how it all comes full circle when they’re older.
I really loved the internal struggle between Winter and Damon, with the slow burn enemies to lovers and them finally giving into each other. I think it made it spicier at times too. I love that they are both each other’s downfalls and yet each other’s saviours. Damon’s confession of his feelings toward Winter  was so beautiful. And the fucking poem behind her name and then his tattoo of the decaying snowflake, omg send help I am dead. And the note he leaves her in fucking braille. Stop it!
The disability of Winter being blind is really beautifully explored in this book actually and I just loved it so freaking much. The descriptions of her listening to the rain, the snow, chef’s kiss, her feeling her sandpaper markers on the floor so that she can still dance and do what she loves. There’s kind of a story within this story of self acceptance and how Winter loves how her other senses are enhanced, she also doesn’t let it stop her from doing anything. There are definitely times when her blindness is taken advantage of don’t get me wrong, but I loved how Winter had people who were there for her and took care of her, being her eyes for her when she needed.
Add to the story how Damon finally gets his group of friends back and my heart is happy, thank god because by the end of book 2 I was feeling sad for him, he needs them! Though perhaps he defo needed to do more grovelling than he did…
I loved the further layers about Damon and Will’s friendship too. I think the scene of the car underwater and Will essentially having a panic attack as it brought back the trauma of drowning in the first book was really beautifully done too, with him being calmed by both Damon and Winter. And Damon’s inner turmoil about what his friend has been through knowing that he’s responsible.
Overall a really good book with some extremely complex themes. It’s not a 5/5 for me but it gets a well rounded 4.
Satisfactory ending? Yes.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Medical content, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Murder, Pedophilia, Self harm, and Sexism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Confinement, Ableism, Abandonment, Blood, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Rape, Toxic relationship, Addiction, and Panic attacks/disorders

coligmueller's review against another edition

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Sexism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Car accident, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Blood, Cursing, Gun violence, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Pedophilia, Rape, Toxic relationship, Violence, Child abuse, Confinement, Incest, Kidnapping, Misogyny, and Sexual harassment

queenie_ofthe_void's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

Easily my favorite of the series so far! My only big problem was I went straight into this after finishing Hideaway and I felt like I was missing something. I know the author likes non linear timelines, but this was even more than that. I felt like I had missed a book. 

But I pushed through and it was still amazing. I loved digging into Damon's history and his relationship with Winter [Corrupt spoilers: even if it was traumatic at times]. Honestly though my favorite plot line was Damon and Will's relationship.

Their initial conforntation by the pool shed was the best scene. It was packed full of every emotion these books bring to the table. Then ending it with a sword cross and finally Will's cutting word... just damn. So good. Chef's Kiss. And finally ending with Damon saving him from drowning, Winter calming his panic attack in the shower, and the amazing three-way. I felt it pack more of an emotional punch than Rika/Michael/Kai.

This book made me so excited to learn more about Will. He's been left on the sidelines for too long and I hope the gang finally steps up to help. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Death of parent, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Violence, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence

Minor: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Animal death, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Addiction, and Alcohol

noveltay's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

I’ll be honest… This series gets better with every book. I do think Damon has the best character development out of all of them, and it really is strange falling in love with him. I like the flashbacks, the “ghost”, and a lot of their relationship, but I will say- Winter is really annoying. I know her memory was vague about her past with Damon, but I don’t get why she was so adamant about hating him. I enjoyed this book the most out of the first 3 of the series, excited to read Will’s story, but I’m really unsure how it will get any better than Damon being sweet.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Cursing, Death of parent, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Minor: Bullying and Car accident

Rape was talked about heavily in this book. It was hard to read at times, if you are a victim I’d advise you to proceed with caution.

margaridapd's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Alcoholism and Drug use

thxrsdays's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Incest, Murder, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Sexism, and Violence

Minor: Alcoholism, Drug use, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, and Self harm

mc10's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Sometimes I never really know what to write after reading a book, even though I really liked it and can talk about it for a long time. I just don't feel like analyzing and structuring my thoughts about it just now, when I can only think about jumping into the next one. 

I loved Damon. I knew he was going to be redeem and I hope we would get reasons behind his actions. I liked that we saw that through his thoughts and some of is interactions but I also wanted him to open up a bit and explain himself to his chosen family. I loved him and Will and I loved him and Winter, and even Winter by herself. I don't know if the author did a good job of narrating her perspective but I just felt so much empowering from her. I know I don't like that word, and those type of characters that are really in your face about how badass they are. Maybe because I don't feel a lot like that. I still liked how there were no limits to her and how Damon helped her.

I can't believe we didn't get more scenes about what went down with Will and Damon, though. I was really hoping that would happen and when it did I just loved that they had each other even when they wanted someone else. At leas it wasn't all shallow. Loved them. 

And I can't believe Penelope went for the domesticity right away with Kai and Damon. I like the happy ever after but not right now. They're so young. Not that they can't want that, it just makes me think about what I would want if I were them and children just scare me. I hope we get their stories and I know thy will be kinky and a handful with the parents they have. They all deserve to have crazy children with all the stuff they do without thinking of the consequences. They're entitled and they know it and enjoy it. It's a good fantasy and makes good material for a story but, man, I would hate them in real life.

Ans this is the review I write when I know no one is going to read it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts