Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Pretty Baby by Mary Kubica

13 reviews

craftygal's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy

Minor: Cursing, Eating disorder, and Forced institutionalization

theyaz's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

3.25

Basically.... WUT. 

The ending wasn't much of a surprise or twist. Overall this is a book that is dark, a little twisty. Unreliable voices.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Rape, and Sexual assault

Minor: Mental illness and Murder

swimmer120x's review against another edition

challenging dark sad medium-paced

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

3.5

If you can tolerate the content warnings (the biggest ones are:

adult/child relationship, rape, kidnapping, & child abuse by a foster parent

), this is a fairly decent book. It had some plot twists, but not nearly as many as other mystery/thriller books that I’ve read recently. It was better than meh but not spectacular. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Cancer, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Infidelity, Blood, and Vomit

Other content warning:

Child abuse that occurred while a child was in foster care

astoriareader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

SYNOPSIS

• Heidi lives in Chicago with her husband, Chris, a busy corporate attorney, and her 12 year old daughter, Zoe. She always wanted more kids, but ended up with only Zoe.
• Heidi is a do-gooder, and she loves to help others.
• One day, she sees a young woman, Willow, and her baby, Ruby, waiting for a train in the rain. They end up crossing paths a few more times, and Heidi figures out that the pair appear to be homeless.
• Heidi insists on bringing Willow and Ruby back to her place, and she gives them a place to stay without checking with her husband or daughter. What could possibly go wrong?

MY THOUGHTS

• Mary Kubica is one of my favorite authors, and this is my 7th book of hers that I have read.
• 🤌🏼Ahhh, this is one of her bests. I devoured this in a day. In the moments when I wasn’t reading, I was thinking about the story & wondering what happened.
• The story is told from alternating POVs (Heidi, Chris, & Willow).
• I was able to guess a few things, but there were so many great twists & turns. Very satisfying ending. 
• Kubica is an expert in character development. Loved the backstories and getting to know this cast of characters. I really felt like I knew all of them, and felt for each of them. 

TL;DR: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ one of Kubica’s best. amazing character development. finished in a day. add this to your TBR shelf ASAP!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Cancer, Infertility, Abortion, and Pregnancy

Minor: Infidelity, Mental illness, Car accident, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Fire/Fire injury

thepurpleseal's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Grief, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent

Minor: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail

shesalwaysreading's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I love Mary Kubica but struggled with this one. Admittedly, it did not capture my attention fully until the 50% mark. I was a little bored with one of the main character's obsession with the baby. Either way, it came together and I enjoyed how it ended like I do with all of this author's books. I read several of her books in 2023 and will continue reading her other works. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Miscarriage, Sexual assault, and Abortion

cbroughton's review

dark medium-paced

3.0

This novel was just “okay”. Unlike other mystery/thrillers, I feel like this one didn’t have the tension, suspense, and twist that I was hoping for. I didn’t connect with the characters, and I wasn’t overly invested in the story. Personally, I found the ending a little strange too. While this is not my favourite novel in this genre, it wasn’t necessarily bad— it just fell a little flat for me. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse and Sexual assault

wulfwyn's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I was surprised by my reaction to this book. I expected to enjoy it and I did. I wasn't expecting to spend as much time as I did thinking about the characters. I was a bit fascinated by the personalities and how life circumstances affected them. It's a book that will have you seeking other readers to discuss the story, the choices and the ending. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Child abuse, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Grief, and Death of parent

shereadsmysteries's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Abortion, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Cancer, Infidelity, Mental illness, Grief, and Death of parent

dbinfet22's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Cancer, Death, Blood, Abortion, and Death of parent

Minor: Self harm and Car accident