Reviews tagging 'Car accident'

How I'll Kill You by Ren DeStefano

11 reviews

hollye6's review against another edition

dark tense fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Medical content, and Abortion

rchulin1's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

• 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

lentzar's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

2.5

This book did not deliver on what it was supposed to be, at least for me. I was intrigued by the premise, but for a serial-killer romance novel, there is no "on-screen" serial-killing, and next to no romance. The ending of the story had some nice twists, and that's the best I can say about this book. It felt like it was written at a middle-school level, which is an odd choice given the extremely mature themes. I felt let down by the often incoherent and rambling prose. Overall- this novel is a fine easy read if that's what you're into, but feels a little too generic and ad-libbed to stand out to me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Car accident, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

Moderate: Confinement, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Vomit, Stalking, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

daisylady's review against another edition

dark

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Kidnapping, Car accident, and Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Vomit, Stalking, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

Minor: Sexual content, Abortion, and Classism

felixmarauder's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Stalking, and Murder

Moderate: Kidnapping

Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Car accident, Abortion, and Death of parent

leahg_md007's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, and Murder

Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Self harm, Medical content, Kidnapping, Car accident, Abandonment, and Alcohol

kelseymcg20's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

1.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, and Car accident

kreglow's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

vj_thompson's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-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: Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Car accident, and Murder

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Sexual content, Vomit, and Kidnapping

Minor: Abortion and Pregnancy

abbeyroad1410's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

3.25

This was not a bad book by any means. It was actually very well-written, but if you aren't down with graphic descriptions of murder, I would not suggest it because there is a graphic depiction of murder in basically every paragraph. It also details how to clean up a murder if you need that advice. 
One thing I love about this novel is its emphasis on the fact that romantic relationships are not the only ones that can be abusive. This, of course, does not mean that I think the main character, Sissy, was in the right for her actions, but she is very clearly traumatized and feels compelled by the dynamic with her sisters to commit most of these heinous actions.

On the other hand, I am not sure how I feel about her getting away with helping her sisters commit multiple murders.

I think Ren DeStefano does a remarkable relationship using Dara's romantic relationship as a place to draw parallels for.
At times, the relationships between characters were hard to follow, especially the dynamics between Iris, Moody, and Sissy. While the author tried to clarify this at the end, it was never quite clear who was on the same page or who knew what. 

This last complaint is going to seem super trivial, but why the heck was one sister named Amelia and the other was Emily??? Those are basically the same name. Also, these name reveals were so lackluster. I waited the entire book to find out this woman's name is the same as any other white girl?

Finally, I'm just going to put it out there Colin is so underutilized. He's in the book for about two seconds but is by far the best character. He has his own life going on, but he isn't plotting murders in detail or being a creep. Give Colin more pages!  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Self harm, Suicide, Kidnapping, Car accident, and Murder

Moderate: Domestic abuse

Minor: Drug use, Abortion, and Pregnancy