Reviews tagging 'Gore'

Not a Happy Family by Shari Lapena

7 reviews

avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Stalking, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Cancer, Drug use, Gore, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Vomit, Medical content, and Abandonment

faerietale_princess's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

Couldn’t put this one down— finished in a day. I was always eager to know more about whatever secret the author teased.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, and Death of parent

Minor: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Vomit, and Pregnancy

kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Classism

writtenbydnicole's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Cancer, Child abuse, and Alcohol

meredith_williams_'s review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Stalking, and Alcohol

jholt2899's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

[TL;DR]
The Mertons are the perfect family; rich, beautiful, and successful. Or at least that's what they seem like. When both their parents are found dead in a murder robbery, the Merton children stand to inherit millions. Catherine, Dan, and Jenna are all suspects, and there is no clear answer as to who did it.

I'm going to need more mysteries like this that spin true crime. I adore this genre and coupled with the family drama, Not a Happy Family is deliciously juicy. The character drive here is what keeps the storyline interesting. I think it's really fun to have an unreliable narrator, and the third person point of view shielded the reader from the characters' inner thoughts which created a more complex narrative.

I only wish that the plotline regarding Rose had turned out to be more dramatic considering how chaotic this family was. Perhaps a crazy meltdown of a fight would have sealed the deal for me. Otherwise, this was wildly entertaining and the ending was perfection, tying the bow on the whole story.

Rating: 4.5/5 stars
TW/CW: blood, murder, family drama, explicitly detailed scenes, gore

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, and Murder

Moderate: Emotional abuse

amandalorianxo's review against another edition

dark 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? Yes

3.25

So this was is the first novel of Shari Lapena’s that I’ve read and for the most part it was eyebrow raising (but in a good way.) Just when I definitely thought one character commuted the crime, there was more evidence brought to light about someone else. It definitely a classic who did it? twists and turns thriller. It was a fast read with short chapters and easy vocab. I do wish though the person who did commit the crime was actually caught / arrested but we can’t predict them all. 😅

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Infidelity, Suicide, Vomit, and Medical content