Reviews tagging 'Racism'

When No One Is Watching by Alyssa Cole

376 reviews

haemby's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

This is the first time I've read a thriller. I gotta say...everything I read after this is going to have big shoes to fill.

From the beginning, the author sewed the seeds of mystery surrounding the main and side characters. There's a constant tenseness when flipping through the pages that makes it impossible to put down.

The plot slows at points, but I think it's because I'm so used to watching a thriller. Reading a thriller gives you every single detail you may miss from a fast paced movie. This author does not disappoint. Makes me want to watch it on a screen!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Medical content

Minor: Fire/Fire injury

kylieqrada's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

Truth really is stranger than fiction. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, and Racism

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, and Death of parent

Minor: Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Slavery

m_moon's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Vomit

morganeua's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark 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

4.5

This book was so surprisingly good. I don't usually give a thriller more than 4 stars, but this book really had it all. It took a LONG time to develop the thriller aspects and I actually really appreciated that. Because when we finally figure out what's going on, it feels really impactful and heavy. The information withheld from the reader felt purposeful and was not annoying. I really didn't know which direction they plot was going to go in, but everything wraps up so convincingly. I'm amazed that this book doesn't use any magical realism or sci-fi, etc. but pulls off such an intense central conflict grounded in science, politics, and social issues. And the central romance was worth reading alone! The twists and turns in the romance were better than some actual romance novels I've read. I also felt like I learned something about my own world and society. Definite recommend!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Racism, and Murder

shaun_dh's review against another edition

challenging dark funny informative mysterious sad tense fast-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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail

madpalestinian's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

I would have rated this book 5 stars because it was nearly perfect except for the awkward sex scene that felt out of place in the plot. I felt that the two main characters had very little chemistry.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism and Violence

lgkreads's review against another edition

dark emotional informative 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? It's complicated

4.0

Loved the bieginning of this book with all the history, then was super interested about what was happening, the last 100 page mark I had multiple OMG moments but the last 40 pages or so felt idk.. the ending was a lot with so little wrap up it made it feel a little unbelievable but ultimately I really enjoyed it 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

alexiusr's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Racism, Police brutality, Death of parent, and Murder

spicycronereads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective sad medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

The first half is very interesting but it did not read like a thriller until the second half. Seeds of mystery are planted along the way that keep your interest. And the history is fascinating.

The thriller aspects really picked up and all the pieces started coming together in the second half in a way that really paid off. And there are a few jaw dropping moments! 

The dynamic between Sydney and Theo really works. They have fun banter and he seems like he is genuinely interested is learning to do better. There is one spicy scene but otherwise the focus is really on the events in the neighborhood. 1/2 🌶️

The audio book performances are great. 

Overall I found it engaging! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / .5 🌶️

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Grief, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Slavery

Gentrification

lampbee's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective 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? Yes

4.25

Really well done thriller, no overly unreal aspects so it’s really easy to stay hooked. The twists are semi predictable but that doesn’t cheapen the read , it’s still very entertaining. Reading it as a white person might make you question just how realistic some of the depictions are but just lean into it, she’s right. The two leads Sydney and Theo are a good pair but for a lot of the book I found Theo very unlikeable , though as it continued I feel that that was intentional. A lot of the situations of conflict within the book make your stomach turn with frustration and helplessness which is the whole point but get ready to be very angry at a plot point  with absolutely no recourse. The build up is fantastic, the final reveal is fantastic, the way that that is dealt with is sort of lack luster bit it’s still worth it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Hate crime, Racism, Sexual content, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Slavery, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Although it’s meant to be a huge if not the biggest twist in the book

Sydneys mom being dead the whole time

is fairly obvious from the first we hear of the situation. The reveal about 75% of the way through feels a little silly because of it, like, duh… Also I felt a little annoyed at how

blatant Kim’s racism and generally evil personality was

, it felt so intense that it was no longer believable. Also the

sex scene between theo and sydney

was pretty unnecessary, is that just me ? Is anyone else getting tired of every book having a weirdly graphic scene for no real reason?