Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Not a Happy Family by Shari Lapena

19 reviews

avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

Book Rating: 2.25 stars
   I found this book hard to enjoy because I hated almost every character! They were all just dripping in privilege and entitlement. It made me honestly just scream at them and burn down our current inheritance policies. 

   Catherine was particularly unlikeable, as she didn't seem to have any redeeming qualities, she and Dan were the worst of the bunch. Dan was simply creepy AF. 
   The main mystery of the story wasn't too hard to solve by about halfway through the book. It was pretty obvious it was one of the kids. I honestly wish the author had gone another route as to who was the killer. I think Jenna's boyfriend would have been a good one to go with. But that's just me! 
   It wasn't terrible, but not nearly as good as I'd hoped with the hype. 


Narrator Rating: 2.0 stars
  This book just begged for a full cast audio, but instead, they just had one narrator which made it confusing, even in a 3rd person narration. 
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brookey8888's review against another edition

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

3.25

This was entertaining, but I’ll never think of it again. It had a lot of reveals throughout which I didn’t see coming and I wanted to know what happened. As for who did it,it didn’t shock me. This was fine, if you like this author or if this sounds good pick it up, but if not your not missing anything amazing in my opinion. 
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amberjackonski's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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emma6544's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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bookedbymadeline's review against another edition

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dark mysterious relaxing tense fast-paced
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is the 5th book I’ve read from Lapena and I think it’s my new favorite from her! I love Lapena’s books and she’s definitely cemented herself as my one of my favorite thriller writers. 

I was immediately pulled in and I couldn’t put it down, finishing in 3 days! There were jaw dropping plot twists I didn’t see coming. Never guessed what happened, the storytelling was incredibly done making everybody seem guilty.

The characters were complex and well written! The pacing was well done, holding my attention the entire way through. I also thought the ending was perfect, leaving the story somewhat open ended which worked well for this novel. Highly recommend for anyone who loves thrillers and psychological family dramas!
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kdonovan's review against another edition

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

3.75

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juliaaa02's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This murder mystery is fast paced and interesting. It’s easy to read and the author makes you change your mind about who the killer is repeatedly. Deep down I knew who it was from about the middle of the book but the story telling was engaging enough to keep me second guessing.
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silene's review against another edition

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

4.5

This is very well written with believable twists justified by the deeply but consistently flawed characters. The writing style and pace of revealed details works very well. Be warned: most of the characters are awful people and rather unlikeable.
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readingwithcats's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Full of toxic, garbage humans and an ending I wasn’t a fan of. But I never once considered giving up on it, so…2.5 stars?
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