Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham

17 reviews

brittanylee0302's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.25

This book blew me away. The slow burn killed me & I was really ready for the ultimate disappointment at the end but it definitely held up. I feel like it took forever to get to anything that was really exciting though & more things could have been sprinkled throughout instead of holding it all for the last 30%. Another thing I really struggled with is the flashbacks or more so day dreams, I feel like they could have been better separated because I was so lost at some points that I had to be like what time period are we in & what exactly is going on? Just a space between paragraphs would have been a little helpful instead of just jumping right into things 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Violence, Death, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Rape, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Vomit, Sexual content, and Gun violence

llamallama527's review against another edition

dark hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

This book was a tad more predictable than I'd prefer, but! It was well written and very interesting. Given this was the author's first published book, I intend to give her next books a read! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Death, Murder, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Murder, Physical abuse, Abandonment, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship

caseyf's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Death, Murder, Child death, and Violence

vj_thompson's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

What a wild ride. There are twists, deep deep betrayal, second guessing. The ending shocked me but at the same time there were signs.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Child abuse, Addiction, Drug abuse, Alcohol, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Death, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Vomit, Miscarriage, and Self harm

cait_demorato's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Self harm, Violence, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Child death, Gaslighting, Drug use, Murder, Miscarriage, Grief, Death, and Domestic abuse

myreadingdream13's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

2.0

The main girl makes frustrating decisions. The story veered dangerously close to some compelling ideas and thoughts but forgot all about them for the twist-riddled mess of an ending. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Abandonment, Child abuse, Death, Addiction, Child death, Suicide, Alcohol, Blood, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Stalking, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Eating disorder, Gun violence, Miscarriage, and Vomit

rachelmerrie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

This held my attention the entire time. I loved the mindset it put me in as far as thinking about the relatives of serial killers and the trauma that comes from it. So many twists at the end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Death, Drug use, Drug abuse, Medical content, Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Child death, Murder, Addiction, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Pedophilia, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, and Self harm

thereadedit's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-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? Yes

4.0

I'm having a hard time deciding where my feelings land on this one. Through most of the book I had trouble wanting to sit down and read it for extended periods of time. I would get 35-50 pages in and I could just walk away without it being an urge to get back to because I had to know what was happening. 

And I absolutely hate that I couldn't sit for an extended period of time to get through it. But do not get me wrong. This was a great story. I really enjoyed the twists, turns and the shock of events within the book. 

I also wish there would have been more from from Coopers side of things. If we could have seen how it affected him or Daniel for that matter it could have sewn more doubt regarding who did what. I needed more of an explanation for what happened in the end. There was none for some things and I hate that there wasn't. It would have rounded the story more for so many questions that are being asked. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Alcohol, Child abuse, Death, Physical abuse, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Blood, Child death, Pregnancy, Suicide attempt, Panic attacks/disorders, Gaslighting, Grief, Infidelity, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, and Murder

jennyoli96's review against another edition

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? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Child death, Death, Drug use, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Gaslighting, Self harm, Sexual content, and Medical trauma

Minor: Forced institutionalization and Gun violence

jamiejanae_6'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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Child death, Death, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Suicide attempt, Grief, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Murder, and Panic attacks/disorders