Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Rock Paper Scissors, by Alice Feeney

19 reviews

amcghig's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Death of parent, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Murder, Gaslighting, Infertility, Abandonment, and Terminal illness

tristapruridge's review

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Infidelity, Infertility, Stalking, Car accident, Miscarriage, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Confinement, and Terminal illness

Minor: Violence, Pregnancy, Medical content, Alcohol, Murder, and Grief

growintogardens's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.25

I had most of it figured out quicker than expected, but it kept my attention throughout and surprised a couple times. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Stalking, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Confinement, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Murder, Car accident, Death, Infidelity, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Abandonment, Alcohol, Grief, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Violence, and Emotional abuse

cbbyles07's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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: Toxic friendship, Miscarriage, and Infertility

Moderate: Gaslighting, Infidelity, Death of parent, Abandonment, Bullying, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Suicide and Murder

alexisgarcia's review

dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.0

this was good but it felt like too much and not enough at the same time. some things were repetitive and some were underdeveloped. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Murder, Sexual content, Violence, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, and Alcohol

emmdashed's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

Bob is too good for all of these terrible people. Every other character was trash. 

The Twist was unexpected, and it certainly kept me reading. However, given how character driven this story was I needed to be able to connect and like at least one of them. Even just a little.

The writing was fine. Very readable, if needlessly and unrealistically cryptic. But that comes with the genre, so I can't fault it too much. 

I have some Thoughts on the ending so Spoilers ahead: 
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Spoiler

Two separate people being this obsessed with a man? Who by all accounts seems like a completely self interested ass? The fuck? Unbelievable. Could never be me. 

Especially when Adam and Robin get back together ???? Like ???? Girl psychologically tortured, then stabbed your wife? I know you didn't like your wife much but still. Can you ever trust that person again? Let alone think "everything inside her is beautiful"? What more can we expect from Adam I guess. 

Amelia wasn't a good person at all, but I don't think she deserved what happened to her. 

Also literally what was the point of the last chapter. It added nothing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Gaslighting, Infertility, Car accident, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent

Moderate: Child abuse and Emotional abuse

Minor: Sexual content, Suicide, and Body shaming

julienicole1106's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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

Moderate: Animal death, Car accident, Mental illness, Murder, Pregnancy, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infertility, Infidelity, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Violence, Abandonment, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic relationship

glens's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Car accident, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Miscarriage, Terminal illness, and Toxic friendship

nataliebootlah's review against another edition

dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

3.5

Amelia and Adam both know their marriage is on the rocks. In a last ditch effort to rekindle their love, Amelia drags them on a secluded weekend vacation. 

Soon enough, things start to go wrong—lost power, whispers in the dark, their usually quiet dog growling at shadows. Will they make it out of the weekend together again? What about alive? 

While this novel did indeed have twists, turns, and surprises, they felt a bit like overkill to me. Some were down right unbelievable. It was entertaining enough to discover Amelia and Adam’s fate, but I probably won’t remember much of it a few months from now. It just didn’t live up to the hype it got. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Infidelity

Moderate: Emotional abuse

yamreads'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

4.0

Amelia and Adam's marriage is falling apart. And to fix it? A weekend away that Amelia won at work, to be spent at Blackwater Chapel in Scotland. But while there, they discover strange (and frankly, freaky) happenings, and something is keeping them from returning back to civilization. Something truly sinister is at play... 

At the same time, the reader is introduced to these letters that Adam's wife writes to him each anniversary, without showing him. Here, readers can see how Adam is portrayed. The story ends in a tangle of cobwebs, with so many twists and turns that your head will be spinning! (Metaphorically, of course.) 

This is the first book I've read by Alice Feeney. There is quite a bit of exposition, but how do you not have "telling"? It is still a lovely book to read, and the way that Feeney adds that twist at the end will throw the reader off, but will then make sense. Her characters still have their flaws, and do not, exactly, evolve by the end, but it shows to the readers how nuanced and complex humans are. 

I loved the storytelling, and the "thriller" aspects were there; Feeney was a master manipulator at fear. It was a pleasure to read this book. Pick it up if you're looking for some dark stories, with a bit of jump-scaring. 

Favorite Quotes: 

• "But not everything that gets broken can be repaired." - Amelia
• "I do know that the lies we tell ourselves are always the most dangerous." - Robin
• "Changing love into hate is a much easier trick than turning water into wine." - Amelia 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence and Emotional abuse