Reviews tagging 'Grief'

What Lies Between Us by John Marrs

40 reviews

doodlebeanz's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

2.5

Honestly... this book FUCKED ME UP. It was such a wild ride and the more I read, the more chaotic and fucked up the story became. This book should've come with a list of trigger warnings like some dark romance novels do. This book touches on some very sensitive and dark things and the way it's written, it seems so casual and normal which was obviously the point. I also was having my own health anxieties while reading this book and the topics just exacerbated my own mental health/stress and I should've DNF'd it but I pushed through. That definitely clouds my judgment when it comes to this book. It was not a happy story, not a happy ending... no happiness found anywhere. I wish that I did put it down and come back when I was in a better headspace, I think I would've enjoyed it a lot more, but since I didn't do that I have to be honest with my review/star rating and that's a solid 2.5 for me. The story was interesting and INTENSE and WILD, it definitely kept my attention but there weren't many twists/turns like I want out of a psychological thriller. It was less thriller and more just a work of fiction, in my opinion. For a thriller to be good (4 star and up) in my opinion, it needs to creep me out and leave me feeling off balance and nervous (weird, i know!) and this book didn't do any of that for me. John Marrs is a phenomenal writer and I will definitely be reading more of his work, but I will definitely be checking trigger warnings before opening another!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Bullying, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Adult/minor relationship, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Child abuse, Violence, Murder, Medical content, Cancer, Terminal illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, and Confinement

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Medical trauma, Stalking, Drug use, Gore, Grief, Infertility, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

erenskima's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.25

I couldn’t get over the internal battle of my emotions feeling bad for Nina but also hating her. Then slowly learning the life Maggie has lead was all for Nina made me love her and feel so sorry for her. I enjoyed this book but it did take a while for me to read and felt rushed toward the end.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Murder, Miscarriage, Emotional abuse, Dementia, Abortion, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Incest, Violence, Cancer, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Death, Terminal illness, Grief, Stalking, and Infertility

Heavy on the trauma and red flags. Definitely look in to content warnings before reading

jayishino's review against another edition

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

2.0

If you’re looking for a domestic thriller with an unsettling amount of triggers (with no trigger warnings) and the most unlikeable characters you’ll ever meet, then this is the book for you. This was not the book for me.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Infertility, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Violence, Confinement, Drug use, Murder, Mental illness, Cancer, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Death of parent, and Child abuse

brisha's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

3.75

i really liked this book. definitely left me feeling very unsettled. i really enjoyed the pace of this book and how twisted everything got. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Child death, Infertility, Drug use, Grief, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Violence, Miscarriage, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Stalking, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, and Pedophilia

hinkleh2021's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Pregnancy, Suicide, Terminal illness, Miscarriage, Abandonment, Child abuse, Death of parent, Grief, Vomit, Cancer, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Abortion, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Infertility, and Slavery

karenkagamine's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense 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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Grief, and Toxic relationship

killmoore_'s review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-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

4.0

I loved this, and definitely recommend the audiobook version. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Body horror, Cancer, Death, Grief, Infertility, Gaslighting, Gore, Child abuse, Child death, Miscarriage, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Pregnancy, Torture, Abandonment, Confinement, Cursing, Sexual assault, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Blood, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Murder, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Violence

maryellen93's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Kidnapping, Confinement, Abandonment, Child death, Drug abuse, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Torture, Suicide, Pregnancy, Drug use, Dementia, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Murder, Mental illness, Incest, Infertility, Abortion, and Adult/minor relationship

moonylovesstars's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Medical content, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Violence, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Drug use, Drug abuse, Gore, Incest, Infertility, Alcohol, Blood, Toxic relationship, Child death, Cursing, Medical trauma, and Murder

megan_wy's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Oh my gosh. Where do I even begin with this book? So many plot twists that I truly NEVER knew what was coming next. Usually I think some twists are predictable and cliché, but this was nothing of the sort. A complex and deceitful story about an extremely toxic relationship between a mother and daughter. There’s so much I could say, but I think you should just read this book for yourself. If you love thrillers, suspense, twists, and vengeance - then you’ll love this book. It’s easy to follow, short chapters (my personal fav!), and just enough characters to keep the book complex and interesting. It will hold your attention and keep you fully engaged. It also challenges your own introspective thoughts. You really reason with the characters, Maggie in particular, and why people make the choices they do. I would love to have learned a little more about what happened after the ending of the story, but I think it was a full circle moment. I can see why the author chose to end it right there and leave you like 🤯🤯🤯. Also, this story shows how sometimes a mother’s love can be too much of a good thing. GREAT ploy and I’m so glad I read this book. It was a new style of thriller that has me wanting to read more John Marrs books!! 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Cancer, Confinement, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Murder, Bullying, Death, Mental illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Terminal illness, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Self harm, Torture, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Pedophilia