Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

The Return of Ellie Black by Emiko Jean

24 reviews

loribree83's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Sexual violence

nadinesnutsandbeans's review

dark sad tense slow-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Blood

hollydyer328's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

A great dark and suspenseful mystery/thriller that exceeded my expectations! The content gets pretty dark in terms of what happened to Ellie, and it took a bit to get going because there’s a lot of names. But I was getting into the story and wondering what happened / will happen to Ellie. I didn’t see the ending coming and was hooked to see how it resolved. Audio was great—the main narrator for the detective was not my favorite but I enjoyed the others and liked the full cast.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

nellzzzz's review

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Blood, Abortion, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Grief, and Alcohol

heyshay07's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I had a hard time putting this one down! I even read it digitally on my phone which is my least favorite form but I had to know what was going to happen. Jean does such a good job with the pacing which is why I read thrillers. I did not see the twists coming but I had an inkling who the captors would be since there aren’t a ton of characters in the book. However, because there aren’t a ton of characters and misdirection, the author spends a lot of time on character development which I think helps the story. All the main characters in the story are flawed, but have enough about them to keep them relatable, if not completely likable. Some of the other reviewers said they felt like it was too preachy and man hating, but I think it’s just the situation and villains of the story. TRIGGER WARNING: There is sexual and physical abuse of teenagers. It’s mainly a lot of mental abuse, but I know I wouldn’t recommend it to some friends because of that. Other than that- 5 stars! If you like thrillers, go read this one!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Death of parent

Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Pregnancy

amandapaige14's review

challenging 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Violence, and Kidnapping

readalongwithyasmin's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This book was much darker than I expected. The world is dark enough for me. It started slowly but picked up after the second half. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, and Murder

louiepotterbook's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

kwolfie's review

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This book did nothing to help my paranoia about being a woman in our society, but still I couldn't put it down. Most thrillers center around people who are already dead, but this one focuses on the return of somebody who was essentially presumed dead after 2 years, and I loved this angle. It was deeply dark and very depressing, but also enthralling. It appealed to the psych student side of me leaning into the "why" behind the events and people in the book. I wish it leaned into this more, but I know that wouldn't be appealing to a wider audience, so I get it. The first 50 or so pages didn't get me, but once I got past that I read the rest of the book in 1 day, thinking about it on my drive home. I truly did not see the twists coming. Reading TWs is SO important for this book though if you need.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

jerica_mercado's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective 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? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, Kidnapping, and Gaslighting