Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

The Butterfly Garden by Dot Hutchison

44 reviews

stephrozjac's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Vomit, and Abandonment

kimmytanzone's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

gillzzzo's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

4.0

Very well written book and sad/creepy storyline. For some reason I didn’t find it as thought provoking as I was hoping it would be, which was slightly disappointing but that was probably just an expectations thing. 

Overall a good book, but didn’t change anything about my worldview or anything

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping

Moderate: Pedophilia, Rape, Murder, and Abandonment

lcampbell1003's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective 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

4.0

This book is veryyyyyyyyy dark. Be forewarned. It is not a thriller, it is *horror*. Sometimes the horror and trauma was gratuitous, not because it was overtly described, but just because the whole situation was just layer upon layer of fucked up shit.

The way the novel was written kept me invested. Back and forth between first person account and third person as told via interviews with FBI detectives who added the needed levity and warmth to balance things a bit. 

This was an interesting one! 🙃

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Gore, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

reeccees's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, and Murder

Moderate: Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Abandonment

Minor: Vomit, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury

lethridge's review against another edition

challenging emotional tense medium-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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Murder, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, and Kidnapping

katy_four's review against another edition

challenging dark 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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Abortion and Abandonment

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Blood

kendallhoward's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

coffeequill's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Medical content

thatswhatshanread's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.75

Actual rating: 4.75

Dot Hutchison’s mind?????? This was one of the more disturbing books I’ve ever read, an intricately woven psychological suspense thriller of captivity and control.

I was fascinated by this story, with every terrifying and twisted detail revealed, every piece of the puzzle notched into place then thrown back into the pile of crazy. The writing was very fast-paced and the dual POVs lended well to this kind of storytelling—one from the main character during her days of being held captive, the other from the FBI agent interviewing her in the aftermath of her rescue. There are no “chapters” per se, but none of it ever feels like it’s dragging.

I don’t want to give anything away about the plot and how insane it truly is, but this book definitely gave me serious chills and thought spirals. It reminded me of The OA a lot, as well as “Pretty Girls” by Karin Slaughter, both of which I loved. But overall it’s a very unique story of abduction, delusion and survival. 

I took off a quarter of a star only because there was one element of the ending that seemed a little too coincidental!! 

Only other thing I would say is this book is riddled with graphic, upsetting descriptions and depictions. Pretty much any trigger you can think of is in this book so it’s not for the faint of heart, like at all.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use, Pregnancy, and Alcohol