Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Lakewood by Megan Giddings

15 reviews

spineofthesaurus's review

tense

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Dysphoria, Medical content, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Violence, Dementia, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Racism, Self harm, Physical abuse, Torture, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Ableism, Blood, Body horror, Gaslighting, Stalking, Abandonment, Murder, Classism, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Cancer, Drug abuse, Grief, Terminal illness, Mental illness, Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Slavery, Vomit, Addiction, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, and Trafficking

Minor: Car accident, Police brutality, and Pregnancy

rewildling's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Chronic illness, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Cancer, Racism, Blood, and Torture

Minor: Slavery

helhas3letters's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Very readable. The plot hooked me completely and despite a few awkward turns of phrase, I raced through this one.
My main gripe, however, is that I felt the ending was rushed and left too open-ended. I wanted more concrete answers and explanations as to why half the events in the book occurred. I understand that a lot of modern fiction leaves things up to interpretation for the reader, but in this case it felt less 'up to interpretation' and more 'couldn't be bothered thinking of specific reasons why specific things happened'.
The ending was also unfortunately semi-spoiled for me by a way too on-the-nose and frankly reductive pull quote on the cover of the book. It was from Essence and read:

Spoiler

"Reminiscent of Jordan Peele's terrifying film Get Out."

Spoiler

If you've read the book, you'll know what I mean when I say that reading that quote essentially told me the entire ending.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Blood, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Death of parent, Medical content, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Terminal illness, Violence, Grief, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Cancer, Gore, Death, Colonisation, Torture, Racism, and Murder

Minor: Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Panic attacks/disorders, Forced institutionalization, Ableism, Stalking, Slavery, and Suicidal thoughts

mraddd's review

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Torture, Racism, Physical abuse, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Mental illness, Chronic illness, and Murder

Minor: Grief

srhi96's review

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Racism, and Torture

Moderate: Grief, Violence, Cancer, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Gun violence, and Blood

Minor: Addiction, Vomit, and Excrement

lamorna's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Moderate: Cancer, Drug use, Dementia, Confinement, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Grief

emmareadseverything's review

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

This was one of the most terrifying books I’ve read in a while due to its believability. The plot was engaging and horrifying, and I did not have an issue with the ending like some readers did. 

I don’t have much to say other than that I am glad I read this book; I feel like it will stick with me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Racism, and Torture

Moderate: Body horror and Emotional abuse

liormaleficent's review against another edition

dark emotional tense 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Torture, Body horror, Chronic illness, Gaslighting, Medical content, Vomit, Classism, Confinement, Drug abuse, Mental illness, and Racism

bouebooks's review

dark reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Murder, Physical abuse, and Violence

bookreviewsgr's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-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? Yes

4.5

Ένα από τα πιο απολαυστικά ψυχολογικά θρίλερ! Λατρεύω τα θρίλερ που είναι ρεαλιστικά γιατί είναι τα μόνα που μου προκαλούν ανατριχίλες. Κι αν έχεις μια έστω κι επιφανειακή γνώση του τι έχουν περάσει οι Μαύρες γυναίκες στα χέρια λευκών γιατρών "στο όνομα της επιστήμης", τότε θα σου σηκωθεί η τρίχα με αυτό το βιβλίο πριν καλά - καλά ξεκινήσει η υπόθεση. 

Σε αυτό οφείλεται και ένα κομμάτι την επιτυχίας του βιβλίου. Ότι τόσο οι αναγνώστες όσο και η πρωταγωνίστρια γνωρίζουν όσα έχουν συμβεί στο παρελθόν. Οι αναγνώστες παρακολουθούν την Lena να μπαίνει στο φρικτό κόσμο του Lakewood χωρίς να μπορούν να κάνουν κάτι για να την αποτρέψουν. 

Από ένα σημείο και μετά, η Lena είναι αναξιόπιστη αφηγήτρια λόγω των όσων της συμβαίνουν. Δε μπορεί να εμπιστευτεί τη μνήμη της κι έτσι βρίσκεται να προσπαθεί να κατανοήσει τι συμβαίνει μέσω τρίτων. Αυτό το αφηγηματικό τρικ είναι από τα πιο αγαπημένα μου όταν γίνεται σωστά και εδώ η Giddings το έχει χειριστεί πολύ ωραία. Κάποιες φορές ένιωθα πιο χαμένη και από την πρωταγωνίστρια, κάτι το οποίο με ικανοποίησε, αφού αργότερα μου δόθηκαν κάποιες απαντήσεις. 

Κι ερχόμαστε στο τέλος. Αν δε σας αρέσουν τα βιβλία με ανοιχτό τέλος που δεν παίρνετε όλες τις απαντήσεις δοσμένες στο πιάτο, αυτό το βιβλίο δεν είναι για εσάς. Εμένα προσωπικά δε μου άφησε και πολλές αμφιβολίες για το τι συνέβη, αλλά ο τρόπος που το κλείνει η συγγραφέας αφήνει περιθώρια και για άλλες ερμηνείες. Εμένα, η μόνη μου απορία είναι ποτέ θα βγάλει η Giddings το επόμενο θρίλερ.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Medical trauma, and Body horror

Moderate: Racism, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Chronic illness, and Cancer