Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter

18 reviews

tinkithesquirelll'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? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This book knocked the air out of me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Death, Cursing, Stalking, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Torture, Violence, Abandonment, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Murder, Pedophilia, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Rape, Sexual violence, Gore, Grief, Addiction, Body shaming, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Car accident, Drug use, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Blood, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Emotional abuse, Genocide, and Sexual assault

cannibaldear's review

3.75

Oh, to be able to blame all of the things that have gone wrong in you and your family's lives on one man.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Misogyny, Confinement, Child death, Torture, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Murder, Gore, Drug use, Addiction, Trafficking, Stalking, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Suicide, Infidelity, Gun violence, Grief, and Death

Moderate: Body shaming

Minor: Car accident

wends_nblw's review against another edition

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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I'm so happy that this lived up to its hype. Around the 50% mark, I had accepted that this would be a run of the mill thriller and was over-hyped. I've never been so happy to be wrong. The plot twist had me grinning and the ending was so tense. I always thought it was an over-exaggeration to say you were "on the edge of your seat", but it really is true. 

It went beyond my expectations, and I was so pleased when my predictions were wrong. The closer to the end, the better it got. So good! Would highly recommend this. <333

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Gore, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Gun violence, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Abandonment, Body shaming, Car accident, Death of parent, and Fatphobia

Minor: Infidelity

sabrinalefebvre's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

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

2.5

While the book did deal with some pretty dark themes, I was expecting on page graphic scenes, which honestly didn’t really happen.

I didn’t have the right expectations going into this book, I will concede.

However, when I first started reading, I was bored out of my mind for the first 150-200 pages-ish. I thought the pacing was also a bit off at first, and I was pretty confused about the plot. Some things weren’t explained or didn’t make sense, some characters magically figured something out out of the blue. 

While I did enjoy the dad’s chapters, I don’t see the point in them. To me, they didn’t really add anything to the story. Perhaps showing the perspective of a grieving father?

Ngl, I kinda knew what was going to happen in the first pages, it wasn’t that hard to figure out.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Rape, Addiction, and Gun violence

Moderate: Abandonment and Sexism

katybugggg's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Murder, Stalking, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Excrement, Blood, Confinement, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Vomit, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Fatphobia

amsswim's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

I really enjoyed this book. Devastating look into a family torn apart by a missing sister. While I was able to predict some of the twists, the details and other parts kept me very interested and caught me off guard. My final listening session (today), I started at 60% and listened to the rest. Really picked up in the end, despite the beginning not really even dragging. The actions of the main characters felt believable and detailed. Overall a good read.

This was incredibly violent and graphic, so I'd recommend reading warnings before starting. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Vomit, Child death, Death, Body horror, Drug use, Abandonment, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Grief, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual assault, Rape, Sexual content, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Misogyny, Car accident, Sexism, Classism, Dementia, and Medical content

Minor: Cannibalism

heathermarie08's review against another edition

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

5.0

Loved this book! It was a little slow in the beginning but it quickly picked up and held my interest the entire time. If you like intense crime stories, this is definitely for you!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Torture, Rape, Physical abuse, Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual assault, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, and Violence

Moderate: Death of parent, Suicide, Abandonment, and Addiction

Minor: Vomit and Car accident

jusreadz's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Torture, Slavery, Sexual content, Rape, Physical abuse, Murder, Medical content, Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Grief, Death, Violence, and Sexual violence

thatswhatshanread's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

A vastly gripping psychological thriller that packs punch after disturbing punch of twisted lies and chilling in-depth details about a young woman’s disappearance.

Claire and Lydia, estranged sisters brought back together by another tragedy, embark on a journey almost twenty-five years old as new clues come to light about their older sister, Julia, who went missing when she was nineteen and was never found. Nothing is as it seems as present begins to connect rather ominously with the past.

This was my first Karin Slaughter book and man, did it deliver. It’s definitely a very dark book that seems to get darker with each shocking turn, not shying away from grisly facts or chilling thoughts. The writing was intense, fast-paced, evocative. Slaughter’s words made the story so vivid and realistic, my heart pounding the whole way through as if I were one of Julia’s sisters, too. 

If you’re a fan of Gillian Flynn, you’ll also devour this one. I found their writing styles quite similar and engaging.

I loved the way this story played out, the different story arcs that came to fruition. Of course, the subject matter is even more sinister then you’d imagine out the gate, but it was used so well in this one. 

I suspect I will be thinking of this book for a long time!! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Murder, Violence, Alcoholism, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Rape, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Addiction, Gore, Cursing, Drug use, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Stalking, Torture, Death, Death of parent, Blood, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Suicide, Trafficking, Kidnapping, and Mental illness

Moderate: Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Dementia, Infidelity, Abandonment, Alcohol, Body shaming, Excrement, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Self harm, Fire/Fire injury, Bullying, and Gun violence

Minor: Body horror

rachelparker's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Excrement, Grief, Infidelity, Blood, Fatphobia, Child death, Drug use, Murder, Torture, Gore, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Stalking, Body horror, Suicide, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Vomit, Abandonment, Addiction, Confinement, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Gun violence