Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson

349 reviews

myloneo's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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

4.5


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singalana's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Jos tykkäsit sarjan ensimmäisestä osasta, tykkäät todennäköisesti tästäkin. Mutta jos et tykännyt, kirjassa on samoja ongelmia kuin edellisessäkin. 

Kirjassa seurataan taas Pipiä, joka ensimmäisen tapauksen ratkaistaan on tehnyt siitä podcastin. Podcastissa seurataan myös edellisen kirjan tapahtumien seurauksena käynnistynyttä oikeudenkäyntiä. Eräs Pipin ystävä Connor pyytää häntä auttamaan kadonneen veljensä löytämiseksi. Tästä käynnistyy uusi tutkimusretki pikkukaupungin salattuun elämään. 

Kirjassa on pitkälti sama hahmokaarti kuin edellisessä osassa, ja sen tapahtumiin viitataan usein. Hahmot jäävät hieman pintapuoliseksi, koska tutkimuksiin sukelletaan niin innolla. 

Edellisen osan arvosteluissa nostettiin esille se, miten Pip ei joutunut koskaan hankaluuksiin virkavallan kanssa toteuttaessaan yksityisiä tutkimuksiaan. Samaa on havaittavissa myös tässä osassa, mutta koska tapahtumat etenevät sujuvasti ja kirja etenee hyvin, ei se suoraan sanottuna haittaa. 

Jos kirjan tapahtumia ei lue turhan ryppyotsaisesti, ovat Holly Jacksonin kirjat hyvää viihdettä. 

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sheebsbooks's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

4.0


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doti123's review

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adventurous emotional funny inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5


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emariesi's review

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • 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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ljeffbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

I flew through this in 2 days! Unlike the first book in the series, which I read due to watching the recent TV series, I had 0 idea what would happen in this one. It did not disappoint! I loved the podcast format of it, as I listen to quite a few true crime podcasts. The only negative I have about it, and why it's getting 4 and not 5 is that the side characters aren't particularly well developed. This was an issue in the first book too, but since this focuses on the disappearance of a side character's brother, I was a little disappointed that we didn't really know much about Jamie from the first book. However, other than that, it was really good!

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hazychapters's review

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

✩ 3,5 stars
✩ young-adult, murder mystery, thriller
✩ 417 pages

Sequel to AGGGTM, "Good Girl, Bad Blood" follows Pip in a new investigation after the disappearance of her friend’s brother, Jamie; while learning how to manage the growing hype around her true-crime podcast. 

I found the pace of this second book a bit unbalanced. It started really well, but the investigation slowed down, hence the end feeling rushed. The mystery in itself felt a bit far-fetched sometimes. I had my own theories as I was approaching the last chapters (I was wrong, of course), but I felt a bit underwhelmed. 

The first book was so busy I could feel the suffocation of crippling anxiety as I was diving into the pages. I didn’t feel the same with this sequel, at least for the first half. But I have to admit, I was taken by surprise by the "Child Brunswick" subplot, even though I’d have appreciated to hear about it earlier in the book so it didn’t appear out of the blue. The same goes for some characters. 

The characters and their writing is the strongest aspect of this book. You can really feel connected to them as they are all going through difficulties in their lives: Pip, Ravi, Cara and Connor. They are a very interesting quartet. I’d have liked to see a bit more of Cara and Ravi and how they coped with the events of AGGGTM, so I can’t wait to read more about them in the next book. 

However, I have mixed opinions about Pip in this book and honestly, I’m quite scared of what she’s going to do/become in the third book. I was here for her character’s development after the events of AGGGTM, and if I understood her at the very beginning regarding conducting a new investigation or not, I didn’t really feel connected to her by the end. Yes, she’s traumatised by past events and battles her insecurities, but she also has this flaw to never ask for help. I think this is an interesting situation to discuss, but at some point your character should evolve out their flaws. And I don’t know why, I’m pretty sure it won’t be the case in the last book. 

In conclusion, mixed feelings for this sequel. It was good, but didn’t meet the expectations I had after the end of the first book. It felt to me like a filler sequel, while waiting for the third and last book of the trilogy (as it is for a lot of second books). I’ll take care to lower my expectations for the finale, even if I heard it was the best of the trilogy. 


📌 Content/Trigger warnings:
arson, blood, catfishing, child abuse, death of a child, death of a sibling (past, recounted), drug dealing, drugging (non-consensual), grief, gun violence, kidnapping, murder, rape (past, recounted), violence. 

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spazzcats's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-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

4.5


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kimberlynpeterson50's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-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

3.5

Book two had a slower start, though the action at the end made up for the rest! Holly Jackson knows how to draw in the reader, slowly building tension, peppering in just enough false leads and regular life to keep you off balance, then slamming in front of you a twist that no one could see coming. 3.5 stars, but enough to make me anxiously seek out the next book in the series.

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foldingthepage_kayleigh's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious 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

3.75

Didn’t love this one as much as the first. The podcast element didn’t take up as much space in this book, which was what really drew me to the first one.

This one is we even more heartbreaking and at some times a hard read. Also, the characterization of Pip seemed to me to diverge from the first, which I didn’t love too much. But I appreciate how the trauma of the previous case makes you feel like a live wire and how your reactions are just that much more intense than your normal.

I think the missing person element wasn’t as fast-paced as the first and I just didn’t feel as invested in comparison, but the last quarter of the book really unfurled at a breakneck speed that I just couldn’t put down.

Generally though, I do think this book benefits from having read A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder right before this one because there are many references to the characters in the first book, which is helpful to have fresh in your mind.

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