Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

When No One Is Watching by Alyssa Cole

9 reviews

lampbee's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.25

Really well done thriller, no overly unreal aspects so it’s really easy to stay hooked. The twists are semi predictable but that doesn’t cheapen the read , it’s still very entertaining. Reading it as a white person might make you question just how realistic some of the depictions are but just lean into it, she’s right. The two leads Sydney and Theo are a good pair but for a lot of the book I found Theo very unlikeable , though as it continued I feel that that was intentional. A lot of the situations of conflict within the book make your stomach turn with frustration and helplessness which is the whole point but get ready to be very angry at a plot point  with absolutely no recourse. The build up is fantastic, the final reveal is fantastic, the way that that is dealt with is sort of lack luster bit it’s still worth it.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Hate crime, Racism, Sexual content, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Slavery, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Although it’s meant to be a huge if not the biggest twist in the book

Sydneys mom being dead the whole time

is fairly obvious from the first we hear of the situation. The reveal about 75% of the way through feels a little silly because of it, like, duh… Also I felt a little annoyed at how

blatant Kim’s racism and generally evil personality was

, it felt so intense that it was no longer believable. Also the

sex scene between theo and sydney

was pretty unnecessary, is that just me ? Is anyone else getting tired of every book having a weirdly graphic scene for no real reason?

maladaptivebookdreaming's review against another edition

dark hopeful informative mysterious sad tense slow-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? Yes

3.75

When No One is Watching is a psychological thriller that tackles the reality of gentrification in a historical black neighborhood in Brooklyn, with the protagonist Sydney fighting to save her neighborhood. Although I found the pacing slow, it is undeniable the talent Alyssa Cole possesses with her writing. The story doesn’t pick up until the end, but the beginning and middle were not written in vain. The amount of information Cole sets up about the historical racism that is affecting Gifford Place residents and surrounding black communities is imperative. Especially for anyone NOT aware that these events are everyday life for many Black and other marginalized communities. 

I was a little thrown off by her love interest being white, but after reading I realize that in the context of this novel it makes sense. This story although with its horrible twists and turns serves an important purpose: breaking the pattern set up but colonization and historical racism. What starts as a melancholy narration of Sydney’s neighborhood ends with a message of hope and poetic justice. Would definitely recommend to anyone interested! 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Racism, Kidnapping, Alcohol, and Colonisation

Moderate: Chronic illness, Racial slurs, Violence, and Death of parent

vaguely_pink's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Racism, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Murder, Gaslighting, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal cruelty, Cancer, Chronic illness, Confinement, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Medical content, Dementia, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Deportation

kumquats87's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Gun violence, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexual content, Slavery, Terminal illness, Medical content, Kidnapping, Stalking, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Homophobia, Infidelity, Vomit, and Police brutality

kayesomething's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective 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? Yes

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Racism, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Gun violence, Police brutality, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Chronic illness and Grief

katiemack's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

I've read several reviews that take issue with Cole's heavy-handedness regarding the effects of gentrification and the behavior of the white folks in the neighborhood. Honestly, though, that's the part that felt the strongest in the book--I appreciate the amount of research Cole did into the history of redlining, particularly in Brooklyn, and that she doesn't shy away from its destructive effects. It's also a great reminder that America was colonized and that it was not "uninhabited" at its founding; rather, the land was stolen from the Native Americans who already lived there.

While the background and theory behind the book are both strong, the pacing was uneven; the execution didn't work as well for me as I thought it would--it starts off slow and then goes off the rails the last 25% or so. The romance between Sydney and Theo is fine but, like many works of romantic suspense, it didn't feel essential. This was exacerbated by the fact that the reader doesn't get much insight into their lives; instead, Cole will drop bombshells about their past without clarifying them.

It's a quick read and, again, I learned a lot. If you've enjoyed Alyssa Cole's work in the past, this one is worth picking up. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Racism, and Violence

Moderate: Chronic illness, Racial slurs, and Death of parent

danajoy's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Medical content

Moderate: Addiction, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Excrement

whatcassiedid's review against another edition

challenging dark 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? Yes

5.0

A spooky horror take on gentrification

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Racism, Violence, Medical content, and Death of parent

Moderate: Emotional abuse and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Forced institutionalization

zombiezami's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense slow-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Alyssa Cole, who simply cannot pick a slay, has come for my edges yet again. I was so haunted and enthralled by this book the whole way through. As with her other books, this was very well researched. I also genuinely didn't know what was going to happen throughout. I do hope that this gets turned into a movie or TV show. I just loved this so much. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Infidelity, Racism, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Xenophobia

Minor: Excrement and Vomit

Gentrification,

Suicide

,

Mass shooting

,

Financial abuse

,

Medical racism

,

Gaslighting

,

Emotional abuse