Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'

The Overnight Guest [Large Print] by Heather Gudenkauf

22 reviews

ladyinverse's review against another edition

challenging dark fast-paced

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

4.5

wowee wow wow wow. I expected some of the twists in this but the biggest one of the book I did not expect at all. a very well done suspense thriller with believable characters.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, and Miscarriage

Moderate: Abortion, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Blood, Car accident, Gun violence, and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Child abuse

allison_elaine's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Kidnapping, Violence, and Gun violence

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent

opplecopter's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Rape, Vomit, Confinement, Pedophilia, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Murder, and Sexual assault

librasgroove's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, and Miscarriage

jkarki's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Sexual violence, Car accident, Blood, Sexual assault, Rape, Pedophilia, Murder, Miscarriage, Kidnapping, Death, Confinement, Child death, and Child abuse

Moderate: Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Gore, Pregnancy, Police brutality, Alcohol, Torture, Terminal illness, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Animal cruelty, Self harm, and Vomit

icieri's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Blood, Child abuse, Miscarriage, Rape, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, and Pregnancy

stephanieluxton's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? No

4.5

This story is split into three timelines: The summer of 2000 when a violent crime was committed at the farmhouse, an unknown time in which a mother and young girl are held captive, and present day in which our protagonist, Wylie, a true crime writer who is staying at the farmhouse to finish writing her book is being snowed in and finds a little boy freezing to death outside.

At times, this story feels like three books in one as each storyline slowly unfolds and we try to make predictions and decipher how they're connected. The characters are interesting and it's fun trying to predict their motivations.

The setting adds a lot of atmosphere to the story, especially in the present day/winter scenes. The cold, dark, white out conditions add so much claustrophobia. There were a few scenes in which I was genuinely terrified for our main characters.

My favorite thing about this book was seeing how the different characters reacted to the situations they found themselves in. It felt believable.
One of my least favourite things was the end reveal - the reveal itself was fine, but I think it would have been more impactful if the motivations of the antagonist were a little more defined.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys slow burn crime/thrillers and dark "whodunnits". 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Gun violence, Blood, Murder, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Alcoholism, Blood, Violence, Car accident, Sexism, Sexual assault, Confinement, Death, Pregnancy, Rape, Stalking, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, and Kidnapping

Minor: Abortion, Child abuse, Vomit, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, and Fire/Fire injury

chooper454's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Murder, Child abuse, Medical trauma, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Death of parent, Death, Confinement, Child death, and Car accident

Moderate: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Vomit, Terminal illness, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Cancer

readingwithjass's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Miscarriage, Death, Kidnapping, Blood, Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Murder, Sexual assault, Rape, and Domestic abuse

phantasmaboo's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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? Yes

3.5

The Overnight Guest follows the story Wylie Lark, who goes to a remote cabin to finish writing her book and escape some family troubles. When a snowstorm hits, she finds a small child and a woman outside. She takes them in, unaware of their dark past or that someone is hunting them. 

I have some mixed feelings about this book. The characters are well-developed and the plot maintains a good pace. I did think that a lot of the time jumping between chapters was unnecessary after a certain point, because it was fairly easy to see where the plot was going before it actually got there. After that point, it felt like the author was simply trying to elongate the plot and throw in some red herrings, and it got a bit tiresome. I would have preferred to have spent more time with the people in the present than in the past, building their characters through who they are now. 

I also think the plot lost a lot of steam toward the end. The final chapters reminded me of a college student who has to hit a word count and just keeps on writing. The inhuman strength of one character in particular is really hard to believe. I would have preferred tension be built through the addition of stronger and more profound plot lines than start and stop action sequences. 

Finally, this book relies highly on female/femme/uterus havers traumas to drive the plot forward. There is also implications of pedophilia.

Spoiler

The author provides details of rape, miscarriages, pedophilia, and abuse that may be shocking.

It was very difficult to read about such events, and the fact that they featured so prominently really set me back a bit.

That being said, this book was not “bad”. It definitely was thrilling, although somewhat predictable. I recommend it, but suggest checking the trigger warnings before you start. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Vomit, Violence, Miscarriage, and Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Sexual assault, Pedophilia, and Rape