Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward

13 reviews

jj_tj's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Child abuse

Moderate: Murder

Minor: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Drug use

alexisgarcia's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious reflective 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

this book is like nothing i have ever read before. i went into it blind and would recommend everyone does the same (except for content warnings if you need to) for the best reading experience. a lot of reviews had spoilers in them, even if they did not mean to. this writing was so incredibly immersive, the characters were incredibly well-rounded, and the narration was like nothing i have ever experienced. everyone needs to read this. if you have already read this and are looking for something similar, Ian Reid is the closest comparison i can make. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Abandonment, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Death of parent, Body horror, Child death, Drug use, Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, and Suicide attempt

cady_sass's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

This is the first time ever that I’ve read a LOT of other reviews before deciding on my final feelings. I went into this blind, because that seemed to be the recommendation and also my preference with most books anyways. I was expecting horror/thriller/possibly speculative fiction? And I don’t think it’s any of those, which perhaps leads to me feeling a little disappointed. If I had to assign a genre I guess would call it psychological mystery. It’s a very slow build, and there are very few horror or thriller elements here. I guessed the “big twist” about 3 chapters in, but the final reveal I did not expect. 

After reading more reviews from people i follow, it seems like it is widely agreed that going in blind was definitely best, and i agree, and that most of the 5 star reviews I see are upon SECOND read. Which makes a lot of sense. I would probably give this 3.75… it is REALLY hard to talk about this without spoilers. Up until the last few chapters, I had some serious qualms with the representation here and how it could be damaging. I fear that because of the way it’s written, this could be triggering and people would not understand the full story or even finish it, so even though I can retract my claws (pun intended) I think the damage can still be done. I will attempt a second read at some point and see if my feelings change. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Ableism, Addiction, Alcohol, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Suicide, Animal cruelty, Blood, Self harm, Drug use, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, and Suicide attempt

chelsearae87's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Death of parent, Death, Abandonment, Animal death, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Drug use, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Gaslighting, Suicide attempt, Body horror, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Blood, Bullying, Child death, Murder, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Emotional abuse

anwolf213's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Self harm, and Vomit

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death of parent, Drug use, and Grief

cassie7e's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

5.0

So. Many. Layers!
Also now I need more suspense stories wirh the cat as a POV character!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse

Moderate: Animal death, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Suicide, Grief, Drug use, Death of parent, Child death, Torture, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Violence, Self harm, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, and Death

Minor: Homophobia, Abandonment, and Murder

theelmstreetlibrary's review against another edition

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

5.0

This book had me guessing and confused from the start to pretty much the end. Even when I thought I’d guessed the plot, it threw another curveball in the mix! 

I can understand why people may struggle with this book as it can be difficult to follow at times, but it does all come together in the end with a heart wrenching conclusion!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Mental illness

Moderate: Drug use, Animal cruelty, Alcoholism, and Animal death

corncake's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Torture, Physical abuse, Child abuse, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Death of parent, Child death, Animal death, Drug use, Addiction, Alcohol, Grief, Kidnapping, Suicide, Murder, Animal cruelty, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Vomit

mlewis's review against another edition

I want to come back to this later to write it up more completely, but the short answer is that I grew impatient with the narrators

Spoiler

being clearly a single entity with disassociative identity disorder</>, despite their richness overall. I felt less propelled as the story progressed.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Mental illness, Grief, Medical content, Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic relationship, Violence, Bullying, Gaslighting, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Vomit, and Self harm

Minor: Classism and Fatphobia

mgordon3118'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? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, and Confinement

Moderate: Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, Vomit, and Violence