Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Nestala bez traga by Chevy Stevens

25 reviews

rchll's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.75

This read was absolutely incredible and I have such a book hangover now. I loved that it was written in the form of Annie's sessions with her therapist - but trust me, your knowing that she eventually gets home does NOT make this any less tense or 'twisty-turny'. This read is dark and unabashedly shows you the abuse Annie undergoes while being held captive, but also the way trauma affects us and stays with us long after 'rescue'.

I thought each character was so incredibly complex - I really never knew what to expect from anyone and often found myself questioning initial assumptions I had made, and  at other times, feeling like 'Oh I should have gone with my gut here and NOT questioned things'! Nobody - not even side characters - are 2D or simple.

I absolutely TORE through the last half or so of the book - while there is not a ton of action (in the classic sense), this is where I felt I had no choice but to keep going just to see how it all played out...

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, and Torture

Minor: Child abuse

xtritagonist's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Ableism

ldjenkins's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense 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? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Kidnapping, Grief, and Murder

smixter88's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I can't use my normal rating scale for this book. It's extremely heavy and chock full of trigger warnings. It tosses them right in from the word go. I gave this book four stars because this author kept me until the very end. I was disgusted, sad, hopeful, and just sympathetic the entire time. It was a brutal read. I had a love/hate relationship with the ending, which is why I took one star away. I wanted Annie to have more closure. I thought she deserved more. I can't say I'd recommend this book to many people. Read at your own risk. If you have any trigger warnings, check them out, and don't take them lightly.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy

cateyeschloe's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.0

I really enjoyed this book, despite it being a thematically difficult read.

The story opens on a normal day with our main character, and she honestly wasn’t super likeable to me at the start (my opinion of which did improve as much as it could as the book progressed). However, the story pretty much immediately jumps into her kidnapping, and it gets very intense very fast. 

I cannot stress enough how pervasive and horrifying the misogyny is in this book! It is integral to the plot, but parts are really difficult to stomach. 

Overall, this was a really interesting story, and I enjoyed the perspective the author used to present it. The twists were engaging and interesting with an ending that satisfied me nicely! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Kidnapping, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Fatphobia, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Gun violence

Rape is very pervasive in this book, as well as the after effects of it.

The abuse is very intense and focuses heavily on psychological manipulation, along with physical abuse.

Child abuse and child death is a big, extremely tragic and upsetting part of this book, involving a weeks old infant.

Forced pregnancy happens due to kidnapping, confinement, and continuous rape.

A lot of examples of PTSD, panic attacks, anxiety, paranoia, etc. are present throughout.

Someone shoots a duck in the head. A deer is killed off scene and then on page is gutted. A scene is described of someone hitting a cat with a car.

torischmidt35's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.25

a very dark book, author did a good job with keeping you hooked but honestly

annie having sex with gary and then having it allude to them maybe dating at the end

really took me out of it. i literally skipped those pages i was so annoyed. definitely pay attention to trigger warnings if you want to read this ! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Rape, Violence, Kidnapping, and Murder

Moderate: Torture

klcrichton's review against another edition

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? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This book is one of my favorite books of all time. It was gut wrenching, sad, visceral and heartbreaking. It will stick with me for a long time. It’s not often a book will make me openly cry. I felt the main character and her emotions as the story unfolded through her lens. The writing is phenomenal. Chevy Stevens has now become one of my favorite authors 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Grief, Acephobia/Arophobia, Murder, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

carleereads__'s review against another edition

dark

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Eating disorder, Rape, Self harm, Torture, Kidnapping, Stalking, and Murder

hapikohw's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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

 Gave it a 4 star review with a 5 star audio performance by the narrator. Was fast-paced, emotional and reminded me of a good version of a Lifetime movie. At the beginning, I was concerned with how I was going to take the protagonist, but by the end all I wanted to do was be there for her and never leave the story and her side. It also had a bittersweet ending, one of hurt, but also new beginnings and a journey for healing. The only thing is I don't think the retelling through therapy sessions did anything for this story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

emsprobablyreading's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, and Pregnancy