Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

The Drowning Woman by Robyn Harding

26 reviews

kristenisreading's review against another edition

dark tense

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

jcinf's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

After my last few books had 70+ page chapters, it was nice reading something with short chapters again. I finished this book in 2-3 days. 

I enjoyed the plot, most of the characters, and (again) the short chapters. 

I will say, I had my suspicions from the start that

Jesse was a bad man. Never trust a love bomber, lol.

and I was right. Predicting that didn’t make it any less enjoyable for me, though. If the author didn’t want readers to make the hypothesis on their own, that could’ve been remedied by slower pacing. But I like fast-paced books and have been desperately in need of one. So I think it’s good as is. 

I liked that there were twists without it being confusing or hard to follow. That’s a trap a lot of thrillers fall into, and it ends up docking stars for me when they do that. 

The main critique I have is that I felt like one of the main characters pieced some things together too easily almost. You almost have to suspend disbelief about that in order to enjoy it. But I do feel like the ending kind of packages that up more nicely. 

I’d recommend this to anyone who enjoys thrillers!

Note: heavy trigger warnings for everything I tagged. Especially on abuse and DV. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Forced institutionalization

Minor: Misogyny, Death of parent, and Pandemic/Epidemic

sstewart89's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

daniofthewood's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Forced institutionalization

Minor: Slavery

mikaylanh's review against another edition

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

2.0

I don’t think I’ve ever read something with dumber characters than these two. Lee falls for a rando who is clearly sketchy from the start and Hazel instantly befriends a random homeless woman on the beach. I was fed up as soon and Lee agreed to that stupidly dangerous plan. Could not even believe she risked her life for someone who was practically a stranger just because she made her muffins and paid for her to get a makeover. Everyone in this book treats everyone horribly and we’re supposed to feel sorry for them. This was so predictable and it has made me question whether or not I should keep giving this genre a chance. The only thing I give it props for is keeping me interested enough in the ending (which also sucked) to not DNF it. The writing is so plain and repetitive and the POV switching is the worst I’ve seen by far. Don’t even get me started on the loose ends - what was the point of mentioning that diner employee watching Lee/Jesse getting it on, or Damon who is supposedly so dangerous he caused Lee to become homeless? 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, and Murder

schadenfreudes's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

The storytelling is refreshing for a crime and suspense novel. I enjoyed reading it cover through cover. It's such a page turner even though the book is about 350-ish pages. I would love to read the rest of her novels.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Dementia, Suicide attempt, and Murder

katiedoesntftba's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

I haven't read a book like this in a LONG time where I thought I knew where it was going and I was completely wrong. I got whiplash multiple times and loved it! I wish I could wipe my memory and read it again. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use, Gun violence, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Blood, and Alcohol

Minor: Car accident

gambizzy's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

I wasn’t sure where the twists and turns were going to go which is very nice in a thriller. The book wasn’t wrapped up very well at all though and felt unfinished. It was sometimes lazy/weak writing, but overall enjoyable and quick to read.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, and Murder

Moderate: Death, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Death of parent

bee_isreading's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Dementia, and Death of parent

Minor: Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Pandemic/Epidemic

lisasaurusreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? No

5.0

There better be a sequel to this!!! Fast-paced, dual POV that has you rooting for both female MCs. There’s some predictability in character arcs, but that only adds to the suspense! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Murder