Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Phantom Limb by Lucinda Berry

22 reviews

natanialipp's review against another edition

dark informative sad 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

2.5

This book was trauma/mental illness porn and while it included some somewhat accurate portrayals of psychological problems, they were glorified and graphic in a way that felt completely unnecessary. I didn’t feel like I got much out of this read, it was completely fueled by the mystery and terror of characters’ with wildly traumatic childhoods. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Eating disorder, Rape, Self harm, and Suicide

Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment

saintsnacky's review against another edition

dark sad medium-paced

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

3.0

This was a quick read, so it was okay. But it’s super super predictable. Within the first 25 pages I knew what the mental health issue was going to be, and by the time she was hospitalized I knew what the twist would be. I find this book to me more of a sad glimpse into loss and mental health issues than a thriller. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment

randeerebecca'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? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Trafficking, Grief, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

caitgiam's review against another edition

dark sad medium-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Self harm, Blood, and Abandonment

Moderate: Vomit, Grief, and Car accident

mrsshoemaker's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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

3.75

This book is for you if you love a huge twist at the end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment

megmccreery's review against another edition

mysterious fast-paced

2.0

Well this was traumatizing, and the writing was boring. Very clinical and not suspenseful for a thriller. The twist was meh, and the ending was… something! If anyone reads this, you MUST check TWs. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Vomit

Minor: Excrement and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

likeagilmoregirl's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury

astoriareader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

SYNOPSIS

• Elizabeth and Emily are identical twins. Their childhood is horrific. Eventually, they were finally adopted by a good family, but not before suffering imaginable things.
• Eventually, one of the twins finds herself in an inpatient psych unit at a hospital. She is very confused by what people are telling her, and it’s not in line with her memories of the last few years. 

MY THOUGHTS

• Very dark! Be sure to check out trigger warnings because there’s a lot of potentially triggering topics.
• I love Lucinda Berry, and I think she’s a phenomenal writer.
• This is her 4th book that I’ve read. I gave 4 stars to “The Best of Friends”, 5 stars to “When She Returned”, and 3 stars to “If You Tell A Lie.”
• Complex characters with excellent character development. I enjoyed the side characters, like Rose & Lisa, too.
• Berry writes a lot about mental health and trauma in this one, and I enjoyed how she presented the DSM and the look into the diagnoses. 
• The whole story is told from the perspective of the twin, who is hospitalized. I loved learning from her eyes. Through conversations with others, she gains a lot of insight. There are flashbacks and memories as well. And, there’s a small portion of the book at the beginning that is prior to the hospitalization.
• I felt really connected to the main character, and I felt like I was right there with her trying to understand what exactly happened to her. The pacing was great. I was satisfied with the ending.

TL;DR: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Lucinda, girrrrrl, you’ve done it again! I would definitely recommend this one, but I highly suggest checking out trigger warnings. Some heavy topics in this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Car accident, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment

Minor: Bullying and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

mik_kass's review against another edition

dark emotional slow-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

2.5

Honestly this book fell very flat for me. Was set up for such a homerun success, and was so let down.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Eating disorder, and Abandonment

paigeemma's review against another edition

dark 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail