Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

That Weekend by Kara Thomas

32 reviews

percyvale's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Incest, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

taliatalksbooks's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

That Weekend by Kara Thomas was an enjoyable and fast paced thriller. I really loved the way the story developed, even though there was a good amount of fluff. I think there was a good amount of angst that lead to the progress of the story, and I felt like these characters could have been more mature. There were some actions that didn’t have many consequences, and I think some of the plot points were a BIT questionable. Though a little bit of this story was uncomfy, I did enjoy it overall. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, and Violence

Minor: Incest

booksanddachshunds's review against another edition

3.0

As the story progress and the clues are revealed, the more does it set doubts on what informations Jesse & Kat might’ve had hidden from their friend; something that is actually one of my bigger fear. Despite knowing people for years, we might not actually *know* them.. they might’ve hidden big part of themselves, or even just played a role all along. 

 

The part called “The other side” being from Kat POV and knowing the behind the scenes, what really happened on that mountain and what informations was withheld from Claire.. I was surprised. Absolutely did not saw that coming; shows how the outside look of a situation is SO different from the reality. 

The last chapters though, binging again from Kat to Claire? It was hard for me to keep reading, though I wanted to finish the book anyway at that point, and we did found out another MAJOR shocker.. but of no real interrest for me, I gotta say. I think I would’ve rather had a different ending, or for it to end sooner without having the resolve to all the questions.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

jaclynk's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Domestic abuse

beckyremillard's review against another edition

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Kidnapping, Car accident, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

themoodreader's review against another edition

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? It's complicated

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Blood, and Alcohol

Minor: Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

_chelseachelsea's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

Something I really like about Kara Thomas is her skill for pacing. Many thrillers unfold too slowly - dragging out the mystery until the last possible second, then rushing through the explanation like a Bond villain - or too quickly, in a way that feels unrealistic and overly convenient. This was my second Thomas novel (the first being The Cheerleaders) and I continue to be impressed by the way she manages to balance tension with realism. That Weekend feels like a play, with a first act that lays out just enough information to draw you in, a second act that unravels with impeccable timing, and a finale that delivers satisfying answers. While the mystery isn’t necessarily jaw-droppingly clever or unique, I don’t think that’s a weakness. In fact, I‘m finding more and more as I read thriller after thriller that a believable story is infinitely harder to pull off than a ridiculous one.

For most of the book, I had a 4.25-4.5 star rating in mind. I loved the narrator, Claire, who we follow as she struggles to recall the events that led her to be found bloody and concussed on a mountain she doesn’t remember stepping foot on. Claire is smart, but stubborn. She is petty, but she cares. She feels like a real teenager, on the cusp of adulthood and unsure of who she wants to be. When her life is toppled by trauma her response to it feels true, not contrived, and when she starts digging for answers it’s not because she’s a scrappy hometown hero with a sudden burst of detective skills - it’s because she cannot move forward from her own grief without the answers she thinks will resolve it. Again, Thomas demonstrates a real understanding of loss.

The one complaint I have, which ultimately caused me to drop my rating to a 4.0, is that while the finale does give a satisfying resolution to the story - without tying it up too neatly in a way that feels cheap - there are a few “bonus” twists that I felt warranted more attention. One of my biggest pet peeves in a thriller or mystery is when a plot point feels rushed or thrown in at the last minute. By the time these shockers are dropped on us, the pages are drawing to a close. There’s no time to explore the meaning or impact of them. I found it frustrating that by the time we were really getting to learn more about these other characters, our time with them was over.

Outside of that peeve, That Weekend is an excellent novel about guilt, grief, and the burden of secrets - even the ones we must keep to protect ourselves.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Classism

igre's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Domestic abuse

Minor: Drug use, Gun violence, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, and Toxic friendship

bibliorama's review

emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Enjoyment - 4.5
The audiobook narrator was quite good and brought a lot of emotion to the performance. I also liked the look at grief this book brings. Some of the tropes this book covers is memory loss, friends go missing in the woods during a camping trip, complicated friend dynamics.

Start - 5
We start out with our mc not remembering anything, and where she is initially found adds a lot of tension to the plot. There is a sense of threat to her, but based on her not being able to remember anything the feeling lingers.

Characters - 4
These were pretty rounded characters for ya mystery -- and I only say that not to rag on ya, but because right after this I read 5 Total Strangers. Now that was the opposite of well-rounded. Without giving away spoilers, I felt for the main character and by the end was like girl it's time for you to move on and find some new friends.

Atmosphere - 2.75
This was the lowest score simply because it felt like this plot could have happened anywhere, and there isn't anything super specific about the location or vibe that makes it stand out. Which is fine. The story was still enjoyable without that.

Plot - 4
There were some twists that I could see coming, but they were still executed well. And, there were some twists that I didn't guess entirely. How the main character found clues also felt natural and not out of thin air.

Ending - 3.75
I liked the final conflict between the mc and a few other characters. It didn't go down how I was expecting and yet it felt real to who the characters are. I think there was room for this story to push the thriller parts even further to make the stakes rise higher.

Style - 4
Easy and digestible without being too simple.

Overall - a solid 4
 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Car accident, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Bullying, Incest, and Blood

Nothing really explicit or sensationally described. A teen reader most likely wouldn't have any issues.

pollyhall's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad 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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism