Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Midnight Is the Darkest Hour by Ashley Winstead

77 reviews

rawan03's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I feel like the first 2/3 of this book were just dragging on. I didn't really feel that excited to pick up the book, I just wanted to finish it. The mystery was good but for a while, I was just kind of like "okay, and ??". It definitely picked up in pace and intensity in the last ~50 pages which I liked.

That last scene in the church had me dropping my jaw, I did not expect her dad to die like that tf. As he deserved though, men are so trash.

. There were some scenes where I was scared this was turning into a horror but I was glad that it didn't get too dark or graphic so very slay. Would I ever read this again? Probably not, but the only reason, I didn't rate this any lower than a 3.5 stars was the last few chapters. There were also some quotes in here that I thought ate up, so I marked those. Maybe my religious trauma affected my enjoyment because the monologues had me wanting to die but we got thought it. Also, my daddy issues were active and thriving while reading this because wow 😀.  It was good, just did not blow me away, which is alright! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse and Religious bigotry

Minor: Sexual assault

kaylinvm94's review against another edition

dark tense

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry

Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Pedophilia, Rape, and Abortion

jpullin1415's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Physical abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Violence

Minor: Alcoholism and Drug use

jmkendall0218's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Murder

quicksilver's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting

Minor: Sexual content

scovey24's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious slow-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

I have a lot of mixed emotions about this book. I enjoyed the writing style and having grown up in a small religious town myself, I can say that the world building felt incredibly authentic. Early on, I enjoyed both Ruth and Everett as characters, relating to and supporting them. As I read, I couldn’t help but compare them to Pip and Ravi in “A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder,” which is perhaps why I am so disappointed in the way this book ended. I felt that it did not do the characters or their motivations justice, making them feel naive and unreasonable. I understand that that might have been the author’s intention, but I did not enjoy it. Overall, this book was a compelling read, I just wish it had a different ending.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, and Xenophobia

gwenswoons's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

I’m an Ashley Winstead superfan (ever since reading The Last Housewife! Maybe my favorite thriller ever?) so it pains me that I really didn’t love this one. I found the pacing and narrative too slow and too local — the main character seems almost willfully naïve, both in the flashbacks (which, fine, teenage kid raised in a bigoted evangelical church, I get it) and, more irritatingly, in the present. The setting is vivid and the characters are interesting! But I felt over and over like this could have been considerably shorter — edited for less repetition, for hemming and hawing that, even if it perhaps felt necessary to Winstead for character building(??), wasnt always the same. I think this book somehow gets a little stuck between trying to be beautiful in the language and world-building and leaning into Winstead’s huge skill as a craftsperson of plot, tension, and thrill. There was a really exciting crescendo for a bit toward the end (though the end itself…..huh?), so I bumped it up to 3 stars — but the majority of the book felt like a 2ish-star slog to me. I thought Sarah Welborn’s southern-accented audio narration was really well done, even if it somehow also underlined the things about this book that didn’t really work for me (repetition, fluffy/insubstantial inner dialogue, etc.). I will still pre-order and read Ashley Winstead’s other books (I’ve read all but one romance from her backlist — her romance writing is really good!)! But this one was not a fave for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

aggbutterfly's review against another edition

dark hopeful mysterious 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? No

5.0

Wow 🤩 I loved seeing Ruth and Everett’s interactions, I also fell in love with him. How could I not love Ruth, a girl addicted to reading and Twilight (also love that she’s a Percy Jackson fan). I really felt for her and loved seeing her grow as a character. 
“That had to be the worst kind of prison - the one who’s bars were buried under your skin, invisible cages around your heart and mind”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Child abuse and Sexual violence

auri_underthing's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

4.5

Well. That was quite something. I can’t tell if I liked the ending or hated it. I feel like the author tried to make the book very descriptive and atmospheric but for some reason it didn’t work for me. I think that’s just me though. 
An incredible story. I loved how morally grey it all was.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Sexual content

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Murder

rachelofweber's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? No

4.0

The best novel about a Twilight obsessed preacher’s daughter investigating a town mystery that you’ll read all year. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse