Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth

19 reviews

sparetimebibliophile's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense medium-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

3.0

I don’t know how to feel about this one. I was enjoying it up until the last 20%, but then it started going down hill for me once the mystery started unraveling. The “shock factor” didn’t really land well with me and some of the interactions in the back part of the book made me uncomfortable in the wrong way. Overall a decent read, but I really got thrown out of it towards the end.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual content, and Violence

anniup's review

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Mental illness, Sexual content, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

literary_laur's review

mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and Pregnancy

sare1125's review

emotional hopeful mysterious sad 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

Minor: Vomit

0ldoini's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Classism

Moderate: Pedophilia, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

blueeyedshook's review

dark

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Cursing, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

Minor: Sexual content

LGBTQ character/romance

mandareads222's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Religious bigotry, and Abandonment

Minor: Sexual content

laheath's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

5.0

This was my first novel by this author, and I don't often read this genre, but I'll definitely be reading more of her books! I felt invested in the individual stories of each well-developed character. Three grown women struggle to build productive lives years after surviving their time with an abusive foster mother. When a murder investigation takes them back to her home, their reflections on the past serve to explain how they became the women they are today. There are plenty of twists that keep the reader guessing (and one of mine was right!), but the story of foster care gone wrong will linger.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse

Moderate: Child death, Mental illness, Rape, and Murder

Minor: Sexual content, Vomit, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy

sarah_reading_party's review against another edition

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

4.25

I enjoyed listening to the audiobook of Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth! The story was a wild ride from beginning to end. The chapters alternate between past and present, sharing the stories of three different girls living in foster care with Miss Fairchild. I adored each of the girls (so close they call themselves sisters) and the women they came to be, despite their hardships and flaws. The undying love the sisters have for one another is remarkable, especially considering their upbringing. That being said, their upbringing was rough and have a ripple effect into their adult lives. This book deals with a lot of hard topics including child abuse, sexual abuse, abandonment, harsh punishments, violence, etc. Reader (listener) be aware.

When a body is found underneath the house where they grew up, the sisters return "home" to try to figure out what happened and pursue healing for themselves. The story did not progress as I was expecting - there were crazy twists and turns that were highly entertaining and captivating. I especially liked how more of the story was revealed through the inclusion of snapshots from therapy sessions for... someone. (That someone is revealed later in the book, of course!) Though I was a bit disappointed with the last twist at the end, I enjoyed the book overall. I just kept wanting to listen to it! The narrator was great too, kudos to Jessica Clarke.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this advanced audiobook. All opinions are my own.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Violence

Moderate: Child death, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

soobooksalot's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Pregnancy, and Alcohol