Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

The Broken Girls by Simone St. James

6 reviews

dalek_caan's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? Yes

4.25

I found the plot of this book to be really well executed. I did not expect that it would have quite so many layers as it did, I really enjoyed this author's method of storytelling. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Murder, Sexual assault, Police brutality, Confinement, Death, and Grief

Moderate: Antisemitism, Gun violence, Child abuse, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, and Mental illness

Minor: War and Violence

alliedelexa's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

my first book by Simone St. James and it didn’t disappoint. admittedly, it took me 3/4 of the book to really get invested. i enjoyed the dual timelines and the ending. i could’ve done without the love story because they generally feel forced but i understand the need to entangle the past with the present in this book. i found all the flashbacks incredibly interesting and i always looked forward to those point of views. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Antisemitism, and Child abuse

Minor: Drug abuse, Addiction, Hate crime, Cursing, Murder, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Forced institutionalization, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Grief

paronomaniac's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content and Murder

Minor: Suicide attempt, Child abuse, and Emotional abuse

b_lownds127's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.0

I really enjoyed parts of this story, the ghost story for one, the 1950 storyline for another. The 2014 storyline felt forced and unrealistic to me, I did not feel the "romance" of the characters to be convincing and the Big Bad felt incredibly over the top. 

<<<<<Spoiler: 

I felt the resolution of the ghost story was too vague, I really enjoyed the resolution of the 1950 murder, and was irritated beyond tolerance by the end of the 2014 mystery. I felt the author was making a great point about the "good ole boy" cops and small town quid pro quo system with victim silencing accompanied by shoddy police work and then she completely went off the rails and gave us a cop willing to literally hide bodies, cover up murders, kill a journalist, and then shoot at his own son. All the believability ebbed away at that point and I feel the MC's conversation with the irritated chief of police at the end of the book made a better point than the rest of the "corrupt cop" storyline. >>>>

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Genocide, Violence, War, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Antisemitism, Bullying, Forced institutionalization, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Murder, Racism, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

cassielaj's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.25

I liked this. I love a ghost story that also exposes the horrors that exist among the living. The concept of Mary showing everyone their fears and horrors was very creepy and compelling, the back and forth between Fiona and the Idlewild girls kept me on my toes, and both of the mysteries had enough twists that I wasn’t always a step ahead. This book has a lot of emotion in it as well, which always improves a mystery in my opinion. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, and Grief

Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Police brutality, Mental illness, Antisemitism, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide attempt, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Rape, War, and Violence

This book discusses the Holocaust and Nazi prison camps.

kostyalya's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Sexual assault, and Suicide attempt