Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

The Good Samaritan by John Marrs

9 reviews

megan_wy's review

dark 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

2.5

This was my second John Marrs novel, and I loved the first one I read by him! However, this one was a little more of a let down for me. The dark concept was really intriguing to me and started out super strong. I was fully invested in the story in the beginning, but as the novel went on, I began to lose interest. There were so many characters to keep track of that I began to confuse some of the side plots and people. I also feel parts became unrealistic when Laurel began actually killing people in real life. Her whole MO was that she encouraged people to kill themselves, not actually murder people. Also, when Tony killed Johnny at the end, it really made me annoyed. It felt out of character for both of them, like the author was reaching. I did like how Effie got revenge at the end. I really felt for Ryan and wish he got a better ending than that. I know Marrs likes an unhappy ending though after reading two of his books, so I guess this was suspected. I liked the concept for sure and parts were very interesting and kept me invested. Overall, I’d give this about 2.5 stars. I would love to read another Marrs book still and see if I feel the same way.

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, and Pregnancy

cierajb97's review against another edition

dark 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction

Minor: Sexual content

lucykae's review

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

killmoore_'s review

dark tense fast-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

5.0

This may be my favorite book by John Marrs, holy cow. I have never been so ANGRY at a character in my life. My heart broke for Ryan, despite his atrocities, and I nearly cheered during the epilogue - our MC deserves every bit of undoing that is coming for her.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

eveling_99's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Emotional abuse, and Grief

Minor: Bullying, Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Grief, and Gaslighting

jlcannon's review

dark mysterious sad 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

3.5

This book is depressing… there is absolutely no brevity in it and it feels very one note. That being said, after about 150 pages of thorough reading I switched to skimming and actually enjoyed the rest of the book. If you can get over the soul-crushing subject matter and events, there’s some fun twists and turns in it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Drug abuse, and Rape

skissih's review

dark tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Addiction, Animal cruelty, and Alcohol

peachani's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Blood, Stalking, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Cursing, Drug abuse, Pedophilia, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Alcohol, and Dysphoria

amjones's review against another edition

4.0

Whew, this book was intense, dark, and fucked up. Tons of trigger warnings. Couldn't put it down.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty

Minor: Animal death