Reviews tagging 'Dementia'

The Drowning Woman by Robyn Harding

32 reviews

melaniel's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Dementia

briana_elaine's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Still processing this read, but the twists and turns really got me emotional. I’m reminded how heartless and cunning someone can be. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Slavery, Dementia, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Abandonment

kyrie's review against another edition

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

4.5

A feminist thriller with a hella good plot twist

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Dementia

astoriareader's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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

3.5

SYNOPSIS

• Lee is currently unhoused & living out of her car. She’s waiting tables at a shady diner in Seattle, and she’s living in her car.
• Lee decides to start sleeping in car in a secluded park with a beach area in an upper class neighborhood. One morning, she wakes up when she hears a woman drowning, and she saves the woman. The drowning woman, Hazel, and Lee become friends.
• Hazel confides in Lee that she’s in an abusive marriage, and basically, she came out there to end her life that morning. As their new friendship begins, Hazel asks Lee if she will consider helping Hazel disappear & start her new life.

MY THOUGHTS

• Harding is a talented writer. 
• Short chapters.
• Structured in different parts. We begin with Lee’s POV, then shift to Hazel’s POV.
• I thought the first half was a much stronger than the second half, and I really loved Lee’s part. It started off very strong.
• Some plot holes and inconsistencies that don’t make sense. Also, the story generally requires suspension of disbelief.
• This one had a lot of potential, and I was let down in some ways. It was an awesome beginning, a blah middle, and an okay ending.

TL;DR: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫3.5 stars. Really awesome beginning. Execution wasn’t really up to par for middle & ending. Still enjoyed the read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Dementia, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Sexual content, Blood, and Vomit

Minor: Car accident

sstewart89's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

daniofthewood's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Forced institutionalization

Minor: Slavery

janeebaggs's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.5

Twists I didn’t see coming!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Suicide attempt

Minor: Dementia

schadenfreudes's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

The storytelling is refreshing for a crime and suspense novel. I enjoyed reading it cover through cover. It's such a page turner even though the book is about 350-ish pages. I would love to read the rest of her novels.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Dementia, Suicide attempt, and Murder

a_libraryghost's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.5

I absolutely loved this! One of the books strongest aspects is the two leading characters. I don’t think I’ve connected quite as much as with characters in a thriller for a while like I did with Lee and Hazel. For the most part I didn’t really guess any of the twists and honestly had no idea how it was going to end. Honestly for a long time I thought this was going to be a 5 star rating for me. 

There were some plot threads though that did feel unnecessary and like they didn’t go anywhere. I also wasn’t in love with the ending. It felt unfinished. I was surprised when I saw how little was left on the second last chapter. 

Overall still a great book though. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Confinement, Drug use, Dementia, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol

Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic

kayrenee521's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Homeless, and running from her past Lee discovers one morning a woman so desperate to get away from her abusive husband that she’s suicidal. She says her name is Hazel and her husband Benjamin is a criminal defense attorney who controls her every move. The two become close, hatching a plan to get Hazel away from Benjamin.
       Lee soon learns that Hazel isn’t everything she seems and she may have been running from one bad situation right into an even worse one. 
     I enjoyed this book, large portions were told from alternating perspectives of Hazel and Lee. I found myself sympathetic to both women and their situations. My only complaint is things seemed too tidied up at the end and it had a little too much of a “ happy ending “
Plus I had to suspend disbelief at the way Benjamin got away with some stuff he did.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Dementia, and Classism