Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks

9 reviews

tmholsman_1994's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad 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? Yes

4.0

This is my second Nicholas Sparks book as an adult and I love his writing. I just love the stories that he comes up with and while not all of them are happy endings they depict very real and true stories that everyday people deal with in secret.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Stalking, and Alcohol

chesca_fran's review against another edition

dark hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.5

If you can power through the first 150 pages, that are slow and uneventful,  the rest is actually enjoyable! Some of the writing and descriptors lean so hard into the norm it's cringey. On the other hand the internal dialogue and struggle various characters think through is interesting, especially towards the end.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Gun violence, Mental illness, and Stalking

Minor: Chronic illness, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual content, and Vomit

kianau_reads's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, and Toxic relationship

sydnik3's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

probably my favorite nicholas sparks story, i love it so much. 

first time reading it through instead of watching the movie and im really shocked at how different it was. I feel like Alex’s character is completely different in the book with getting an actual background and depth to him. 

also seeing kevins inner thoughts was extremely disturbing so look at trigger warnings and read at your own risk

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

emilyxjoyce's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Toxic relationship

briannehuffman's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Stalking, and Alcohol

Moderate: Death, Gun violence, and Murder

reclamgelb's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

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

2.5

Bissl enttäuscht von Bestie Sparks. Protagonistin ist super unsympathisch und der Typ hat nen Mommy-Kink. Wenn ich noch einmal lesen muss, dass sie ne super Mutti für seine Kids wär, kotz ich. 
Plot war so vorhersehbar, dass selbst ich es hab kommen sehen. 
Also, can we please give women some friends? Nur eine einzige Bezugsperson, die nicht der Love interest ist? Bitte? 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Alcoholism

Minor: Body shaming

lizziertaft's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

brookey8888's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

Honestly this is probably more of a four, but I’m not going to change my rating. 
This was a reread to me and I still really enjoyed it. This story is a lot different than his other books(if you know you know) and I enjoyed that. The plot of this kept me engaged and I love a small town vibe. The romance was honestly whatever. Sparks male leads are all the same and have zero personality in my opinion. This does deal with some heavier topics. The middle of this did kind of drag which is why it’s closer to a four star. I also cried reading this which I don’t know if I did before so there’s that. I would say this is one of his better books and would recommend 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail