Reviews tagging 'Incest'

The Lying Game by Ruth Ware

23 reviews

erinnnn's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

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

3.5

A pulpy, seaside I Know What You Did Last Summer that may be a bit too long to be a satisfying beach read. While I would normally dislike spending so much time on details and relationships unrelated to the plot, I didn’t mind it much here because I thoroughly enjoyed Isa and colorful friend group. They are by far my favorite characters in any of Ware's books.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Suicide, Blood, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Incest, Infidelity, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, and Dysphoria

bessadams's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Bullying, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Self harm, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Incest, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

talii's review against another edition

emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Suicide, Blood, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Moderate: Child abuse and Drug use

Minor: Incest and Self harm

adelinebal4's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Suicide, Islamophobia, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Cancer, Child abuse, Incest, Self harm, and Alcohol

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

This was an interesting story, but I felt like the ending was a little unsatisfying. The very, very ending I appreciated, but it's just a bummer to get sucked into a story expecting a good payoff, and then not getting it. Also! I am really wondering if there was a Muslim sensitivity reader for the part of Fatima. Parts just didn't seem nuanced. Also, Fatima and her family were named the first names that come up when you search "common Muslim names" on Google, which I did to verify. There may be a reading of this that says that since Kate is the main POV that we're getting, the book is written as a white person's view of Islamic practices, since it's Kate's view. But that also feels like a blah reason. Like this whole "you cover your hair now and that makes you a whole different person" thing is like... but what if we didn't?

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Suicide, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Medical content

The MC talks quite a lot about her young baby, and that might be not excellent for anyone going through a time where they don't want to read lots of worshipful language about babies.

katipheria's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Incest, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Pregnancy

If you're squeamish about child rearing-related topics, there is very frequent, detailed mention of breastfeeding, as the main character is a new mother who has her infant daughter with her throughout the entirety of the book.

viperemu'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? Yes

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Incest, Suicide, and Murder

mlbreton's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.75

I really did like this book overall. It was a fun read and I kept trying to guess the outcome and kept getting it wrong! 

I did have some issues with the book, but mostly with the characters and what the author was trying to make us feel about them. For example,

I found Isa awful. I thought it was so cruel of her the way she treated her husband and being so offended that he thought he was cheating, but she was being so distant and not communicating with him AT ALL so I think it's natural his head went where it did! And we're we supposed to LIKE Ambrose, the father/artist that drew his daughter and teenage friends NAKED?! I don't care how much the main girls said it "wasn't like that", it's creepy as hell and SO inappropriate. Lastly, with Kate and Luc, we're we supposed to be rooting for them at the end? Or find it romantic that she wanted to sacrifice her life and freedom for her brother she was SEXUALLY INVOLVED WITH?!? I did not get that at all and couldn't get past that weird family dynamic to find any of them likeable.

Overall, the book kept me engaged but I did find it disappointing that it ended on

another lie

instead of having the characters grow from that

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Eating disorder, Incest, Infidelity, Self harm, Sexual assault, Grief, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

sylvestra's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Suicide, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Eating disorder, Infidelity, and Fire/Fire injury

singalana's review against another edition

mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

2.75

Tässä kirjassa on paljon hyviä aineksia: sisäoppilaitos ja meren rannalla sijaitseva vanha talo, joka on hiljalleen uppoamassa mereen. Tarina kertoo neljästä naisesta, joilla on yhteinen salaisuus. 

Päähenkilö Isa on tuore äiti, joka saa tekstiviestin ystävältään Katelta, ja pian neljä ystävystä ovat jälleen koossa, koska heidän salaisuutensa on tulossa päivänvaloon. Valitettavasti Isan persoonallisuus pyörii täysin äitiyden ympärillä, eikä hahmossa ole tarttumapintaa. Isan hössötys vauvan ympärillä vie huomiota pois muulta tarinalta, eikä vauvan mukanaolo tuo tarinalle mitään lisäarvoa. Jos imettämisestä lukeminen ei kiinnosta, päähenkilön seuraaminen voi olla hieman raskasta. Lisäksi Isan ja hänen miehensä välillä on turhaa jännitettä, koska pariskunta ei kommunikoi keskenään. 

Tarinassa on kaksi aikajanaa, ja pikkuhiljaa alkaa paljastua mitä tapahtui tyttöjen ollessa sisäoppilaitoksessa. Kirjan ensimmäiset 300 sivua ovat hieman tylsät, ja viimeiset 20 sivua on tungettu täyteen toimintaa. Lisäksi kun mysteeri paljastuu, naisten reaktiot sen paljastumiseen tuntuu ylimitoitetulta. Valitettavasti juonessa käytetään paljon väärinkäsityksiä, ja lopussa on vielä dramaattinen "tuplatwisti", jotka tämän kirjan kohdalla tuntuvat vähän laiskoilta ratkaisuilta. Lisäksi kirjan nimikin viittaa valhepeliin, mutta pelillä ei loppujen lopuksi ole mitään merkitystä juonen kannalta.

Tämä ei ole huonoin Ruth Waren kirja jonka olen lukenut, mutta ei kyllä paraskaan. 

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Incest, Infidelity, Sexual content, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol