Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Lying Game by Ruth Ware

11 reviews

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,

Spoiler

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

Spoiler

another lie

instead of having the characters grow from that

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Content Warnings

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

bella_donna's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Death

Moderate: Grief, Suicide, Abandonment, Addiction, Bullying, Drug use, and Murder

Minor: Self harm, Eating disorder, and Sexual content

cassiereadsbooks_'s review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Eating disorder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Eating disorder, and Grief

vaguely_pink's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Death of parent, Infidelity, Drug abuse, Grief, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Medical content, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Self harm, and Stalking

Minor: Cancer, Islamophobia, Animal death, Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, and Bullying

waytoomanybooks's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

4.0

I rarely read mysteries, but I am so glad I picked up this one! The emotions Isa and her three friends go through are palpable. And I greatly appreciate the fact that the women had goals, ambitions, fears, hopes, etc. that went beyond being wives and mothers, even though most of them are wives and mothers. They felt fully fleshed out, complex, and interesting. It's a great boarding school, dark academia story told from the perspective of an adult looking back on her harrowing teenage years. 

I took off one star because the ending is a bit confusing and a little ambiguous considering the amount of detail that went in the rest of the novel.

Be mindful of the trigger warnings!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Incest, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Cancer, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault

hannahet's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Death of parent, Drug use, and Suicide

Moderate: Animal death, Grief, Murder, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Body shaming, Chronic illness, Eating disorder, and Infidelity

mk_murr's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

The story wasn’t amazing, and the twist at the end felt forced. I also had a hard time believing that the main narrator, Isa, and the other character were only in their late twenties. For some reason, they seemed older; though, maybe they were aged by the trauma they went through. The main characters were unlikeable for the most part, apart from Fatima, but the setting was mysterious and beautifully written. I’d recommend it for an adult looking for a quick mystery. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Grief, Murder, and Suicide

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Incest, Islamophobia, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Bullying, Eating disorder, Pedophilia, Self harm, and Sexual violence

The pedophilia and child abuse is speculated upon throughout the book, so there is an underlying tension surrounding that until the end. As for incest:

Spoiler

Kate, from a young age, is in love with/in a consensual sexual relationship with her half-brother, who is her age.

gingerkathrynreads's review

dark mysterious slow-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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death and Death of parent

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gore, Grief, Murder, and Suicide

Minor: Child abuse, Incest, Islamophobia, Pedophilia, Sexism, and Self harm

daralexandria's review

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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death

Moderate: Alcoholism, Addiction, Suicide, Grief, Eating disorder, Death of parent, Death, and Self harm

Minor: Terminal illness and Cancer

tinylibrarianreading's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Addiction, Alcoholism, Grief, Drug use, and Death of parent

Minor: Animal death, Murder, and Toxic relationship