Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter

29 reviews

tanacef's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

Graphic story. There wasn’t a trigger warning at the start of the book, but it could have used one. I thought the mystery was intriguing, but it was long. I listened 100% on audio and tuned out/fell asleep at times. It was a 3.75 for me, but I was sobbing during Part VII imagining my son all grown up and not needing me anymore, so my heart gave this 4 stars for making me feel something.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Fatphobia

Minor: Dementia

ksuppes's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

emcheym's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad slow-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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Drug use, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, and Car accident

dmackreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

The writing style of this book threw me a little because third person is hard for me to follow or enjoy sometimes but I got so sucked into this I finished it in less than 24 hours. 

I was NOT expecting the way this unraveled or how the people connected. Please check the trigger warnings because it’s fucked up. 

If you’re looking for a thriller that you could read in one sitting if you had the time because you just need to know how it’s going to end, this is it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

devinjai6655's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense 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

4.25

This book surprised me. When I saw it was a 20 hour audio book (including the short story Blond Hair, Blue Eyes), I was a bit hesitant due to having other audio books on loan and told myself I'd give it till halfway, then see how I felt. It's slow in the beginning, but really ramps up and then punches you in the face at that halfway mark. Look for those trigger warnings because there was something I was still reeling about today after I got through listening to most of it last night.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Excrement

So there's a part towards the end where

one character is chained up with a bag over her head and she is being basically waterboarded with urine

. There's plenty of other stuff, but this caught me so off guard.

weatherd's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

ash_michelle's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Excrement, Vomit, and Fire/Fire injury

taige's review against another edition

challenging dark

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

jessmv87's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-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: Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

daydaybookbay's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.25

I rated this book a 6.5 out of 10. The descriptions of torture get to be a bit much at times. I guessed the big twists, but I enjoyed the storyline and the small reveals. The torture content makes me question if I would read it again.

I do not recommend this book if you are triggered at all by: abuse. child abduction, drug abuse, gore, gun violence, murder, parent death, pedophilia, rape, sexual assult, suicide, torture. 

Please be aware that all of these topics and more are focused on at one point or another in this novel.

The characters are well developed and rounded. As a reader, you become invested in both the main characters as well as other characters (the father Sam, and Julia). I felt the pacing was steady and gave the perfect amount of time for buildup and resolution. Slaughter's storytelling is amazing.

Back to this trigger warnings bit. At some point, is this graphic torture for shock value? Kidnapping, torture, rape, and murder of teenagers... I almost stopped reading it. I can see it happening as I'm reading, so to have someone described as being raped by a machete... or the urine waterboarding. nope. Not my thing. Just the ongoing shock-value events in the second half are what knocked the rating down a bit.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal death, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Trafficking, Stalking, Car accident, and Classism