Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

Litani by Jess Lourey

5 reviews

steffy10816's review

dark emotional sad 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

3.0

This was a nice quick read, good but predictable. Definitely check trigger warnings because child sexual abuse is referenced in this book. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, and Death of parent

lovelydeadgirl's review

dark 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? No

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping and Death of parent

Moderate: Rape

renyoi's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.75

At the risk of sounding demented, I think this book would have benefitted from more explicitly horrifying moments. Everything was left to imagination and interpretation, which enhanced the experience for the first 70% of the book, but when I never truly know the horrors of what happened, some of the intensity and bite is taken out of the story. It could have gone further. 

That said, it was still an enjoyable, tense, mysterious read, and even though it did not have enough satanic panic-based 80s horror for me, my experience reading it was good.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Abandonment

Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Alcohol

Minor: Forced institutionalization

junowo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.75

This book promised a dark, intense experience—and I would say it mostly delivered. It was absolutely a page turner, and for most of the book I struggled to put it down.

However, for me, I felt like there was so much hesitance to go into detail about the horror of what happened to the children in Litani that it left a lot unfinished. Many of the smaller plot lines were briefly mentioned in a finishing way, but left no details. I think Lourey is masterful at creating tension and discomfort for readers, but the lack of following through on that tension, as well as the way the end of the book wraps up quickly and neatly, felt a bit disappointing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Kidnapping, and Death of parent

Moderate: Alcoholism and Drug use

ohhthehorrors's review against another edition

dark hopeful mysterious fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Grief, and Death of parent