Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

When No One Is Watching by Alyssa Cole

19 reviews

callidoralblack's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infidelity, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Cancer, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Slavery, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Deportation

faduma's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

cassielaj's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

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

I have so many thoughts about this book, but it’s also rendered me speechless. Holy shit. This is not for the faint of heart. It starts slow, with a sinister undertone of microagressions, racism, and gentrification, and then it builds to a truly harrowing climax and conclusion. I definitely understand some of the criticism, especially about pacing. While the slow build served to make the whole thing more unsettling, it did cause the ending to feel a bit rushed, and some details/points felt unresolved. The romance was also totally unnecessary. That being said, this story made my stomach hurt. The premise and writing are really well done, and it’s one of the most disturbing thrillers I’ve read. Worth the read — just proceed with caution. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, and Murder

Find a comprehensive list of trigger warnings and TAKE IT SERIOUSLY. This book is heavy

barefootbetsy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I really liked this. Yes, the pacing could’ve been more even, but the concept was solid and I enjoyed the story!  I, like many other reviewers, could’ve done without the romance subplot; but those issues aside, I thought the story was well done and it certainly drew me in quickly and thoroughly.

The history was fascinating and I have a new appreciation for how difficult (and horrifying) living with the remnants (and current iterations) of slavery and redlining and stolen land must be 😞

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Sexism, Sexual content, and Excrement

_cooper_'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Slavery, Medical content, Medical trauma, Stalking, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Forced institutionalization and Deportation

aud_must's review against another edition

dark informative 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Moderate: Physical abuse, Violence, and Murder

shingekiyes's review against another edition

challenging dark funny informative mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

(listened to audio book from library)

i am not a thriller girlie but i happened to see Stephen King’s tweet recommending this book and i said, “romantic thriller? okay, let’s do this.” 

and OH MY GOD was it worth it. 

this book is REAR WINDOW meets GET OUT, Hitchcock meets Peele. it carries all of the best parts of the classic thriller genre, but was driven by a timely subject: gentrification. 

i was immediately obsessed with both narrators and how unreliable they both were, even when they tried to be truthful. Sydney and her many secrets and insecurities was lovable from the get, and Theo—poor Theo—was simultaneously hilarious and romantic in all his goofy, well-meaning but off-putting gestures. somehow the combination of the two, one extremely distrusting and suspicious woman and one extremely maleable and dishonest man, was perfect. i was rooting for them the entire time. 

the plot twists were very well timed. twist after twist, i audibly gasped. at one point i had to pause to soak in the information i’d just read. 

overall, a true thrill that made me glad i genre-hopped. thanks Stephen King for the rec. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Cursing, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Slavery, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Colonisation

Minor: Racial slurs and Deportation

madmantha's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative mysterious reflective 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? Yes

4.75

One of the best books I’ve ever read, if not THE best. 
Thrilling, anxiety-inducing, emotional and yet hilarious at the same time. 

Can’t wait to suggest this read to others, I loaned it from the library but will definitely be purchasing my own copy. This is something that deserves to be remembered and celebrated for years to come. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Body horror, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, Excrement, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Slavery, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, Outing, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

vasha's review against another edition

challenging dark informative mysterious tense slow-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

4.0

Were you watching when your neighborhood, or someone else's neighborhood, slipped away? If you get caught up in this tense novel, a thriller of gentrification, you can't look away, seeing through the eyes of Sydney who's losing her home and Theo who's seeing the destruction of what could be the home he's never had. It's a good thing this book is so well written, its characters are so likeable, and it has a happy ending (more or less); or its basis in reality could make it too grim. All the historical racism recounted in it actually happened; and the fictional events have real-world analogues, even the parts that may seem outlandish (

like the medical experimentation: Tuskeegee was long ago but the experimentation by US corporations in Africa was not, see  Unethical human experimentation - Wikipedia

). The one thing I didn't think so highly of was the way it goes from a creepy slow burn, with detailed setting, to the ending being an over-the-top action-movie cleanup of villains.

All the heads of a major corporation meeting in an abandoned hospital? Seriously?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol

Moderate: Physical abuse, Suicide, Blood, and Vomit

Minor: Addiction, Genocide, Slavery, and Cultural appropriation

backseatpocket's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.5

While I found this story very engaging, I found the extremely fast pace of the climax and conclusion to be abrupt and unsatisfying. 3/4ths of this book are a slow, simmering build that has your gut clenched in uneasy anticipation and then the last 4th feels so rushed. It feels like a disservice to the story that had built up to it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical trauma, Murder, and Gaslighting