Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Wonderland - Země divů by Jennifer Hillier

15 reviews

meeklovestoread's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Not gonna lie, I read this book four days ago and it's still living rent-free in my head. I've been a Jennifer Hillier fan ever since I read "Jar of Hearts" two years ago. I've been in a thriller mood lately but had no idea what to choose so I went through an old reliable and went to one of Jennifer's books. Just like with most books I went into this blind and my goodness was it a ride. Now, I'm not gonna knock this book down, it was good, however, for about the first 70%, I was entertained don't get me wrong, but I wasn't too connected to the story, and then I'd say the last 20%-25% I was soooo HOOKED. Lots were happening. Lots were going on. It was crazy. This book is pretty dark (which is how I like my thrillers; although some things that happen in here did make me grimace😖). After I finished, I was just left speechless. I wanted to talk about it with someone, cuz my goodness! I'm so glad Ms. Jennifer didn't disappoint. It scratched that thriller itch I've been having. I was so floored after I finished that it went from a potential 3.75 to a 4.5. I've never made that big of a leap for a book before. However, after reading some of the comments, it's really made me see that although I still enjoyed this book, I can admit that it's not very pragmatic. You really have to suspend your disbelief for the things that go on in this book. And even though I enjoyed it, I can only give so much leeway, you know. So, four stars overall.

was not a fan of the deadnaming in this book by Oscar; don't see how that was necessary of him to do😒

Spice Rating: 🌶️.5/5 (always gotta enjoy the subplots of romance in JH's books; although this one wasn't my favorite I still enjoy it for what it was; oh and yes, there is spice in this book if you were wondering)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship and Death

Moderate: Cursing and Murder

Minor: Body horror, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Vomit, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury

zarakoconnor's review against another edition

4.0

Would have been 5 stars with a content warning for the amount of heavy stuff in here.

Attempted necrophilia inspired sexual assault was not necessary to the plot

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Kidnapping, Stalking, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Homophobia, Transphobia, and Fire/Fire injury

alexjarvis's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

0.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, and Transphobia

foxmulders's review against another edition

fast-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? Yes

2.0

hillier can keep me reading bc she's talented but....this one was kind of a mess. the twist at the end feels lazy and there are some Questionable character choices throughout that are gross.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Torture, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Rape, Suicide, Transphobia, and Violence

rachel2887's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.5

SO MANY characters and maybe murderers! It wasn't bad, just busy with a lot of trauma thrown in there.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Sexual content, Blood, and Grief

reaganfink104's review against another edition

dark 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? No

4.25

a random but insane KU find. definitely not where i thought the book was going but what a great end. lots of good twists to keep you guessing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse

traa's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Stalking, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Deadnaming, Gore, Homophobia, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicide, Transphobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Abortion, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Slavery, Mass/school shootings, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Outing

bluenikol82's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Violence

Minor: Deadnaming, Transphobia, and Death of parent

bee87's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense slow-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

3.0

This book is one of the most disturbing I’ve ever read. I just can’t describe it. If you’re into horror it’s for you! 

I received a free copy from netgalley and the publisher in exchange for honest review.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Gun violence, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting

onemorepagecrew's review against another edition

challenging dark tense

4.0

Wonderland by Jennifer Hillier is gritty and truly horrific.  I’m an avid reader of disturbing thrillers and this one is packed full of unredeemable characters.  I’m saying this upfront because I know some people are already thinking “interesting, go on” and others are more “hard pass.”  

 

For the “go on” crew, you probably already know that Hillier pushes it with her characters and her crimes.  I used to think Jar of Hearts was the most graphic and disturbing, so this one being worse kinda snuck up on me.  The story takes place at Wonderland theme park when an unidentifiable unalive body is found, sparking a chain of events and a detective investigation that reveals increasingly horrific things.  There is one scene in particular where I just couldn’t… **shudder** 

 

This was a tough read that I couldn’t put down.  She’s an auto-read author for a reason, her stories pull me in and don’t let me go.  Be prepared for an unapologetic and twisted read. 

 

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for sharing an advanced listening copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.  I appreciate you!  The print edition of this book was originally published in 2015 and the audio edition will be available in April 2023 – I highly recommend audio, the narration from Eunice Wong was on point.  I had to check to see if there were multiple narrators because she differentiated the characters so well. 

 

Content warnings: Death, adult/Minor relationship, Pedophilia, Kidnapping, Confinement, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Self-harm 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Confinement, Self harm, and Kidnapping