ecravens's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide, Abandonment, Addiction, Gun violence, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Gaslighting, Medical trauma, Murder, Physical abuse, Violence, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Abortion, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Car accident, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Torture, and Vomit
gwennnnn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Rape, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Drug use, and Torture
Moderate: Grief, Murder, Car accident, Chronic illness, and Medical trauma
Minor: Abortion, Cancer, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Death of parent, Police brutality, and Sexism
ivanaacosta's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Stalking, Panic attacks/disorders, Gore, Violence, Torture, Sexual harassment, Self harm, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Infidelity, Grief, Death, Abandonment, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Murder, Mental illness, Drug use, Cursing, Car accident, Alcohol, Addiction, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, and Kidnapping
jen1804's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I understand why it was written the way it was through use of Hoover’s explanation at the beginning. But just because I understand why it was written that way doesn’t mean I enjoyed it being written that way. It all became really weirdly disjointed when we edged into the latter half of the book.
For me personally I didn’t really enjoy the ‘prologue’ and I could have done without it entirely. I understand that to some it may serve a purpose, describing Asa’s and Sloan’s relationship from his psychotic POV, and seeing how different scenes can be through his eyes compared to hers. But personally I feel as though Hoover achieved the display of Asa’s insane thought processes enough throughout the rest of the book, making the prologue a bit redundant and in fact just really grim to read. Like why did the sexual assault scenes need to go into such detail, as though we were reading a smut book. Like no, I don’t wanna read a smut scene about this guy.
I enjoyed the premise of the book, the plot was something new from Hoover, and it was really interesting to be inside the mind of someone continuously experiencing emotional, domestic, physical and sexual abuse, how trapped they feel due to their circumstances and how frightened they are. Though I have definitely read other books in the past which describe this state of being in a much more harrowing way, getting across the mindset of the victim in a much more heart hitting way.
I quite liked the romance between Luke/Carter and Sloan and they had a lot of really cute moments together. It was great to read a romance story with this obstacle of another person being in play - that being Asa. Although at times I felt that perhaps the ‘love’ between them was a bit too one dimensional if that makes sense? Perhaps I believe that the love was formed too fast and I needed it to be built on more.
That being said this book felt longer than necessary (?make it make sense?) and after chapter 45 and the epilogue I kind of lost interest. I think it could have been wrapped up/edited down better, but again I understand why it wasn’t.
Satisfactory ending? Eventually, yes, but why was the kid named Dalton and not Carter?!
Graphic: Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Murder, Cursing, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gun violence, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Sexual assault, Death, Stalking, Addiction, Child death, Sexual harassment, Blood, Car accident, and Grief
Minor: Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Vomit, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Police brutality, Rape, and Suicidal thoughts
aledslvr's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Drug use, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Car accident, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Medical content, Murder, Rape, Blood, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Medical trauma, and Mental illness