Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

When No One Is Watching by Alyssa Cole

46 reviews

yourbookishbff's review against another edition

challenging 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

4.0

When the reality of gentrification is a horror story, it makes a compelling premise for a thriller. Cole weaves together a story that should feel impossibly evil and calculated, but every time the reader is tempted to think so, she points again to history - it happened here, and here, and here. I enjoyed the dual POV, and Cole's use of Theo's narrative helps to highlight the advantages white people - even in abject poverty - have over Black people and other people of color. Sydney's narrative, meanwhile, is the haunting reminder that the abuse of - and gaslighting of - Black women is far from fiction. My only challenge in this was the pacing in the first half - I struggled to stay invested - and some dialogue that felt flat toward the end and lessened the emotional impact. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Classism

clrouse's review against another edition

slow-paced

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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Cursing, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, and Forced institutionalization

brookebatesratesbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• 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: Cursing, Kidnapping, and Stalking

Moderate: Racism and Violence

Minor: Drug abuse and Sexual content

bookishchaos's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-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

So the actual "twist" was pretty good but the pacing was extremely slow, and dragged on A LOT. I thought about giving up on it several times but powered through it because I heard great things about the ending. The first 100 pages or so just felt like meaningless conversations, at about 180 pages, things start to speed up. So I have mixed feelings about this one, I really wanted to love it but it was just okay.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Cursing, Stalking, and Toxic friendship

tillysg1's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.25

I feel that one character had a fair amount of growth and development while another didn't.  Overall, the story was good, the twists were interesting.  The character of the neighborhood and the personal look at race issues is what really caught me here.  Great look at neighborhood culture and what that loss can look/feel like.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Hate crime, Racism, Sexual content, and Police brutality

Moderate: Addiction, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Bullying, Death, Slavery, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Deportation

One short, but quite graphic sex scene (would be easy to skip if you prefer)

vaguely_pink's review against another edition

challenging 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Racism, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Murder, Gaslighting, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal cruelty, Cancer, Chronic illness, Confinement, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Medical content, Dementia, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Deportation

kumquats87's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Gun violence, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexual content, Slavery, Terminal illness, Medical content, Kidnapping, Stalking, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Homophobia, Infidelity, Vomit, and Police brutality

ahopper7's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Racism, Blood, Kidnapping, and Murder

Moderate: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

shaqydoo's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, and Classism

caitlyn_rehs's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• 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: Racism

Moderate: Slavery

Minor: Addiction, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Classism