Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Come closer by Sara Gran

45 reviews

knitwitalex's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, Stalking, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Child abuse, Infidelity, Torture, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol

clarke's review against another edition

4.0

This was good, and I really enjoyed the descent into madness/possession. The book on demon possession was interesting, if a little repetitive, but helped demonstrate the progression. I enjoyed hearing her thoughts, and the audiobook narrator did a good job at distinguishing between Amanda and Naamah. The religious backstory was a fun addition, and I was interested to read after finishing that this was not created just for the book. I still have questions, and the book was nowhere near 'terrifying' as it's heralded elsewhere, but I enjoyed the journey: the questioning of what's real, what happened, and what is going on with Amanda was done particularly well. I did find the book repetitive at times, and some sections were just silly (eg a instance of psychometry where Amanda sees two men fighting from behind, and as their backs looked similar, deduced they were brothers???), but overall I enjoyed it. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Homophobia, Mental illness, Blood, Murder, and Alcohol

Minor: Abandonment

itsjustgrumpy's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

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

4.0

Dark, sick and heart breaking.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Vomit

Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Homophobia, and Murder

Minor: Addiction and Excrement

hauntedantiqueshop's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad fast-paced

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

2.5

I started reading this, paused for whatever reason, and accidentally forgot about it. Oops 😬

The choices… incomprehensible.

Amanda easily accepts that she’s being possessed and doesn’t really try to get rid of Naamah until it’s beyond too late. She didn’t think any of the warning signs (that she was VERY aware of) were weird and is  just passively aware that her body is now being used for theft, adulterous sex, murder. Just shrugs that shit off. The scariest aspect of this is slowly losing yourself and all control of your life. Which is terrifying!!! But for a demonic possession story, you just expect more. That being said, her last thoughts before unknowingly killing Ed— so sad.

There really was no other way this little book could have ended though. But Amanda’s reason thrown in on the very last page felt so last minute, it didn’t match the entirety of the story for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Homophobia

Minor: Child abuse, Hate crime, Racism, Outing, and Classism

it literally opens with a slur

tkwituik1999's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Violence, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Body horror and Emotional abuse

jully_bean's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

ilaxaria's review against another edition

dark 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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Infidelity, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Forced institutionalization and Vomit

Minor: Sexual assault and Alcohol

danimacuk's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Alcohol

Moderate: Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Misogyny, Sexual content, Vomit, and Abandonment

akapaldo's review against another edition

dark tense fast-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse

takecoverbooks's review against another edition

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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Come Closer is a deeply unsettling book that not only convincingly captures the horror of demonic possession but also provides an alarming analysis of how quickly intimate relationships can fall apart as we become more alienated and more fragmented in our thought processes. Despite the potent metaphor at the core of the book, it’s also a damn good horror story that will leave you unsettled and more than a little unsure of your own sanity.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Blood, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Homophobia, Misogyny, and Rape