Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson

35 reviews

jennifer_bush_73's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Alcoholism, Biphobia, Death, Emotional abuse, and Homophobia

Forced adoption

alpettit's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

2.75

This book was just okay, for a few reasons. First, the editing could have been better. There were some word choices that were inconsistent. The most jarring example is using the words “torch” and “flashlight” interchangeably. Second, I didn’t find Byron interesting or well developed. He was clearly an angry person and career driven, but his connection to the sea and his mother wasn’t entirely believable. Additionally I felt his story arc was haphazardly closed at the end when it wasn’t critical to the story. Same for Mathilda. No one needed to know what happened to her because the story was about Covey and her children, not Covey and her mom. I don’t under understand why the author chose to close Byron’s career loop and not Bennys (she’s still struggling). That brings me to my third point: the ending just fizzled. Unnecessary information/meetings (with Lin and his background on getting rich), no real emotion, and unpolished writing. Almost as if the author realized the book was about to border on long for this type of story and they wanted to wrap up. I might still watch the Hulu series. Maybe they’ll do a better job of showing the familial connections than the author did.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

saramoser's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I was fully engrossed in the characters lives and wanted more story. While heartbreaking at some points, and more than hopeful at others, this story was a rollercoaster of emotions. While fictional, it felt as if these characters were real, and I’m sure their experiences while fictional, were close to those of real people’, and the story felt so real.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and Alcohol

angievansprang's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.5

This is a fantastic historical fiction exploring the importance of heritage and our cultural roots, as well as celebrating our collective humanity. Black Cake details multiple generations of a family of individuals who have all face steep adversity and have had to develop strong senses of self. I felt as though the characters were well-developed, extremely vibrant, and most importantly, believable. I really enjoyed the expansive timelines and locations in this book, it takes you across time and across the Atlantic. I am very excited to watch the Hulu adaptation to see how it compares. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexual assault, Death of parent, and Classism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Hate crime, Pedophilia, Rape, Police brutality, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

jennabeck13's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4/5)

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

About 380 pages

Eleanor Bennett’s family has been in shambles for years. Eleanor and her son, Byron, haven’t seen her daughter, Benny, in years. Including at her husband’s funeral…. So when Eleanor is determining her final wishes and her will, her biggest priority is to get her children back together. But when Byron and Benny are called by Eleanor’s lawyer, they get the last two things they would have expected, their mother’s signature black cake and a recording detailing family secrets. These family secrets completely re-write the past and leave the family reeling. 

Contemporary fiction has become one of my favorite genres over the past year! I think whether I like them is heavily influenced by my ability to connect and empathize with the characters. Charmaine made that quite easy in this book. I loved all of the characters and the complexities of their stories. I think she did a terrific job of meshing the past and present timelines. And everything was beautifully woven together by the end. The pace was a little slow for me, but that is my only complaint! 

Favorite Quote: “The beauty of a thing justified its plunder. And nothing was more beautiful than a girl who was fearless.”

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Content Warnings

Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism

catarina187's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective 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

5.0

When I started reading this book, I didn't know what to expect, but it was a big surprise! The story tells us about two brothers who discover they have a sister, through a recording made by their mother before she passed. From then on, we began to meet new characters and their troubled lives, in a completely passionate way. We learn about Covey, whose life is fascinating, and we read about the way she dealt with an abusive father and she managed to turn her life around. Like Covey, we know other equally great characters, like Bunny, Gibbs, Pearl, among others, with whom it is impossible to remain indifferent.

The way Wilkerson writes about human rights, social inequalities, racism, parental abuse and such current climate problems is absolutely fascinating. I managed to get into the story from the first chapter, get involved with the characters, experience their lives with them and suffer with them. This is a moving, beautiful, surprising and real story. I absolutely loved it and I could not rate it any differently. 5/5⭐️

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Death of parent

ptoridactyl30's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring reflective medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, Lesbophobia, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Classism

emmiemerereads's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

I LOVED Black Cake. Like couldn't put it down, read it in two days loved. (And that wasn't easy at 385 pages!)
I'm not sure why I was so drawn to this book. I have nothing in common with any of the characters and couldn't relate to the majority of their struggles. Maybe that's the magic! Charmaine Wilkerson's writing was lovely and so easy to digest. The blend of fiction and historical fiction worked perfectly, and I learned a lot without intending to, or even realizing it. The plot was fairly predictable but I didn't mind that. Even with being able to guess what was coming, there still were enough surprises to keep me interested.
I'd highly recommend this book for anyone and hope the author is working on something new!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Grief, and Suicide attempt

haleysversion's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Police brutality, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Classism

jedore's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad 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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Pregnancy, and Lesbophobia