Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Litani by Jess Lourey

10 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

randalynhill's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

2.0

This book was messed up. 🫣 I’m usually a big fan of thrillers and mysteries but this took it a little too far. Lowkey had nightmares the day I finished it. 😅 

It’s not an easy read and it’s not light-hearted. If you’re looking for something to make you question the sanity of the human race, read this.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Grief, and Death of parent

trysarahtops's review

challenging dark mysterious 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

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

kensey14's review against another edition

mysterious tense slow-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

2.0

Just seemed slow. Skimmed a good quarter of the book

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Incest, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Death of parent

tiasy97'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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse

Minor: Child death, Death, Rape, and Death of parent

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

boba_nbooks's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

If you’re looking for something creepy and a little too real, look no further. Lourey’s latest novel takes the reader back to the 80s when there was a satanic cult scare, but as people worried about the cults, they forgot to look for the monsters in their own towns and homes. Told from the perspective of a young teen, the reader witnesses the horrors of child abuse and parental trauma. The novel unravels our view of a “safe” neighborhood and trusting our neighbors. Sure to send a chill down your spine, “Litani” is worth the scare. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Death of parent

Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, and Abandonment