Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'
Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto
35 reviews
melarie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Moderate: Murder, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship
nelesnotes's review against another edition
- 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
Spoiler
If there is one thing with the character development which I did not find super realistic, it was Julia's development. She has been in a very toxic and harmful relationship for over 10 years and after her husband's dead she just kind of wipes all of that away, like it was nothing. Which is of course what I wished for her and what I had hoped would happen, but in reality I think it would probably take years of therapy to get over her experience. But if it would have been like that, the story would've not been as enjoyable I guess, so I'm not mad at it at all. If someone's been through something like that and is sensitive to topics like toxic relationship etc I guess it's more critical to see.If you like light, entertaining murder mysteries with a lovely old women (you wished you knew in real life) solving the case, this book is for you!
Moderate: Toxic relationship and Domestic abuse
dev921's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Death, Toxic relationship, Grief, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Vomit, and Murder
kdailyreads's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Violence, Grief, Murder, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Death, Toxic relationship, and Bullying
Minor: Cursing, Blood, and Drug use
sparklefarm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.25
Moderate: Death, Murder, Toxic relationship, and Emotional abuse
bookishmillennial's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Omg I need to be best friends with Jesse Q. Sutanto 😭 She is so goddamn funny and I was cracking up reading this, but what’s new?! Vera is such a clever, endearing, and fun character! Reading this was such a treat because she reminded me so much of my paternal Chinese grandma. I couldn’t help but wear the goofiest & cheesiest smile on my face as I read Vera’s curious inner thoughts & heard it in my grandma’s voice. Vera, like my grandma, is a pistol, and catches on more than others think! On the other hand, I was tearing up and in my feels towards the end of the book. JQS is so incredibly talented, and I will read whatever she writes!
We meet Vera’s four potential murder suspects: Sana, Riki, Julia & Oliver, as they stop by Vera’s Tea Shop where the murder victim was found. I absolutely adored every single one of these characters (except for the murder victim, Marshall Chen, who everyone agrees was an abusive, narcissistic, overall garbage human being), and each of their POVs (third-person limited) kept my interest piqued & more importantly, kept me guessing until the very end!
Ageism is something I don’t see talked about a lot on here, and that’s on me — my feed is *mostly* full of gen x-ers and millennials. This is a great call in for me to read more books with older main characters, and this book was a perfect example of how fascinating and hilarious they could be (rather than the master narrative telling us that being old is boring)! I recognize Jesse herself is not in her 60s but if you read Dial A For Aunties, you just *know* that she wrote those aunties and Vera with real-life aunties and moms in mind. She’s pulling this from her lived experience of being loved and cared for by these Chinese-Indonesian aunties and moms, and that dynamic seeps into the page so beautifully!
I loved this book from start to finish, and I was not expecting the ending reveal of who the killer was! I also was not expecting to read a book about finding found family later in life, and how quickly these special connections can form. This book both hurt my abs because I laughed so hard, and hurt my heart because it had me in my feelings by the end as I grew to care for all of these character!
Moderate: Murder, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Death, Sexism, and Grief
Minor: Death of parent
siobhanward's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Toxic relationship and Death
Minor: Death of parent and Dementia
rachelizx's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Murder, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
bloodmaarked's review against another edition
- 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
✧ full review on my tumblr ✧
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Bullying, and Death
Minor: Grief, Vomit, Alcohol, Infidelity, Medical content, Murder, and Drug use
mattyb's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Bullying, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Grief and Death
Minor: Injury/Injury detail