Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

Penpal by Dathan Auerbach

8 reviews

torihbu's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

while some may find the nonchronological flow of this book confusing, i found that it contributed to the novel being incredibly suspenseful. a few questions remain unanswered, but i personally enjoy when a book leaves me with something to think about after i finish it. a chilling example of the horrors of reality and how hard it can be to accept and understand that humans can be just as terrifying as monsters or ghost.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Stalking, Car accident, and Murder

Moderate: Cursing

Minor: Abandonment

nalakoala's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Pedophilia, Blood, Kidnapping, Stalking, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Violence, and Grief

madelinequinnee's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Wow, this book has left me absolutely broken. I had no idea what to expect going into this as I knew it was best to go in blind from the recommendations i’d seen online, and i’m so glad i did because this was one of the most incredibly sad horror stories i’ve ever read. 

The horror was so effective in such a ambiguous way, it didn’t rely on shock value or gore, it was all in the atmosphere and the unknown of what was happening, and I think it was so cleverly written. 

This story will stick with me for a long time 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Cursing, Death, Blood, Dementia, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

_fallinglight_'s review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Pedophilia, Dementia, Kidnapping, and Car accident

bashsbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? No

4.25

What an eerie book. I was not expecting a horror that could, more or less, be real. I liked that aspect of it. I think that the jumping around in the timeline mostly works, but the sections where

the main character spent time with Veronica and then she died, felt kind of random and disjointed compared to the rest of the story. I know it was to reconnect him to Josh but I just felt like she appeared out of nowhere just to die.

That said, I really enjoyed most of this book, and while I feel like I guessed a lot of what was going to happen, that didn't really ruin the experience of watching the mystery unfold. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Murder

Minor: Animal death, Bullying, and Cursing

maniacjac's review against another edition

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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Pedophilia, Dementia, and Grief

Minor: Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Blood, and Kidnapping

tpsebast92's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death and Death

Moderate: Child death, Cursing, Gore, Mental illness, Blood, Grief, and Stalking

finleyfrogreads's review against another edition

dark sad medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Dementia, Kidnapping, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Pedophilia, Blood, Medical content, Grief, and Gaslighting

Minor: Cursing