Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Still Beating by Jennifer Hartmann

55 reviews

alis143's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-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

I never cry reading books and this book made me cry. I was reading in public when it made me cry too 😭. It has AMAZING PTSD representation. RUN to get this book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

katherineguild35's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

kristinlovallo's review

challenging dark emotional 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, and Murder

Moderate: Self harm and Alcohol

allieraj's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Cursing, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

amurray1996's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I don’t have the words to describe this book properly. It was one of the best books I’ve read, ever. Heartbreaking, grueling, tough read at the beginning. But turns into painful angst, healing from trauma, and becoming an unconventional but tragically beautiful love story. This book was flawless, and is one of those stories that sticks with you long after. I’m in awe. Not to mention, the writing was incredibly well done. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Alcohol

klsreads's review

challenging dark emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Homophobia, Sexism, and Pregnancy

Minor: Animal cruelty, Forced institutionalization, and Death of parent

reddeddy's review

challenging dark emotional inspiring sad tense fast-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Medical trauma, Stalking, Abortion, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Incest, Misogyny, Medical content, Car accident, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Dysphoria

hannibanani29's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Kidnapping, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal cruelty, Homophobia, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Torture, Dementia, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

emmab_86's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

• 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

dontbechey20's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

5.0

This book absolutely DESTROYED me in every way possible...and has become one of my favorite books because of it. I initially tried so hard to not like this book. Seriously! I was fighting it. It's beyond messed up to fall for your sister's fiance after he is forced to do unspeakable things to you after being kidnapped together...right?! WRONG! Jennifer did such an impeccable job unraveling the story of Dean and Cora, both as enemies and lovers. 

One of my favorite things about this book is how raw and real it is. It's not an insta-love story that works out perfectly. It has glaringly obvious and frustrating bumps along the way, which makes the love between Dean and Cora feel so real and authentic. As a reader, I was THROWN every which way with my emotions. I spent the entirety of this book crying, laughing, swooning, and yelling from pure and utter frustration. 

Authors can very quickly and easily fall into a "pit" of trauma and pain. Writing a story stemming from pain, dispair, and trauma can be easy. Jennifer seamlessly joined two timelines together to tell the love (and hate) story between Dean and Cora. She somehow brings awareness to dark, heavy, and deep topics, while simultaneously keeping the book hopeful and hauntingly beautiful. I was honestly worried the entire book was going to be focused on the abduction, so as I got through the first chapters that were utterly disgusting (in the best way possible), I was worried Jennifer was only going to hone in on the ugly. To my surprise, she pivoted the story rather quickly to focus on the part of the story a lot of people avoid - the recovery. That is why this book is so powerful. 

This book is not meant for everyone, but if you can find the mental space and capacity to read it, please do. You will not regret it. It will leave you aching, crying, and in love with both characters individually and together. Also, this book is NOT focused on the spice. Expect spice (don't worry, it gets better), but that is not the focus of this story. 

Quote from the book: "I know I said you’re holding me underwater but you’re the only thing keeping me afloat." I CAN'T!! How can you read that and not fall in love?! 

BRB, going to see if I can find a matching necklace, because I need to torture myself every single day with a reminder of a chef kiss of a book boyfriend. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, and Murder

Moderate: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Minor: Abandonment and Alcohol