Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

The Quarry Girls by Jess Lourey

8 reviews

chrstnlvly's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad slow-paced

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

1.5

The premise of The Quarry Girls was interesting, but the execution fell short.

Set in 1977, the story was supposed to be about a normal summer until girls started to go missing. As a fan of mystery thrillers, I was drawn to this book, but ultimately didn't enjoy it.

The villains were easy to guess and the writing became both repetitive and convoluted. The author relied too heavily on reminding readers that men are untrustworthy and that one should always be on guard. Additionally, the backstory was often provided in a way that interrupted the present scene, leaving the reader feeling lost.

The writing tried too hard to capture a Western vibe, which was distracting and made it seem like the author was trying too hard. However, the tone was well done and set the atmosphere effectively.

 Overall, I gave The Quarry Girls 1.5 stars (0.5 for the interesting premise and 1.0 for the successful tone). I would only recommend it to readers who are fans of mystery thrillers and have run out of other books to read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Murder, and Misogyny

Moderate: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault

Minor: Pedophilia, Infidelity, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

emmalizzz's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

This was such a fun listen to kick off warmer weather! It’s faced paced and once it starts it does not slow down. I love the dual POV and it leads to a really exciting scene towards the end of the book! The plot twist is a tad predictable, but didn’t make it any less enjoyable. The main character, Heather, and her friends remind me of my friends and I growing up in a small town, and while they can all be dumb and frustrating sometimes, they’re easy to love. The creep factor was definitely upped with the addition of the mining tunnels connecting all of the houses and there are some really disturbing visuals, which of course is what I’m here for. Overall an easy, quick, enticing story that gives you all of the spooky summer small town feels!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Police brutality, and Rape

Moderate: Alcohol, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Child abuse, Grief, Kidnapping, and Murder

jenlindeman's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Child abuse, Confinement, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Murder, Death, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, and Sexual assault

smkelly1997's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Tragic. Beautiful. Beautifully tragic. There is no other way to describe this book. Heather has you rooting for her from day one as you watch her world change around her. She’s strong, brave, and terrified but willing to stand up for those she loves. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Confinement, Death, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Violence

abookandaspotoftea's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Confinement, Grief, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Drug use, Kidnapping, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Murder, Rape, and Chronic illness

jaydub0221's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Kidnapping, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Grief, Stalking, Confinement, Child death, and Mental illness

Moderate: Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, Cursing, Murder, Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, and Blood

raechalws's review against another edition

adventurous 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Mental illness, Murder, Child death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Death, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Torture, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Drug abuse, Alcohol, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Grief, Abandonment, Blood, Drug use, Chronic illness, Bullying, and Misogyny

rosesofthespring's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I'm so happy that this was the book I started the new year with.

Jess Lourey writes with an anger that demands answers. Why are men allowed to act with violence in response to the same injuries that women are expected to swallow and smile through? Why are the hopes, futures, and very lives of girls an acceptable loss in the face of men's desires?

"Does that sound like the kind of guy who would abduct a girl?"

If your answer is no, what would it take to change it to a yes?

I didn't grow up in the 70s, when this book is set, but the echoes of a midwest girlhood resound through the decades. Parties you know you shouldn't go to. Friends pressured and stifled simultaneously, growing up way too fast. Men and boys who think you owe them something. This is an absolute powerhouse of fiction.

If I had one genuine criticism of this story, it would be that everything wraps up a little too cleanly. However, given what Lourey has been through in her life -and what she puts the reader through in her book- maybe that's a catharsis we both deserve.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Cursing, Death, Confinement, Drug abuse, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Police brutality, Rape, Drug use, Grief, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Gore, Murder, Kidnapping, Medical content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Pedophilia

Moderate: Infidelity, Stalking, Trafficking, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Adult/minor relationship, Gaslighting, Vomit, Domestic abuse, and Suicide

Here I'll try to expand on cases where the content is explicit, but does not take up that much page space. With regards to pedophilia:

Spoiler

Adult men are revealed to be coercing underage girls into sexual contact. The youngest girl we see on-page is 16, but there's evidence of girls potentially as young as 12 being in the same situation.

With regards to police brutality:

Spoiler

The top cop in the area is essentially trafficking girls. He's found to be using the authority of the badge to trade sexual favors for expunging juvenile offenses. While this isn't "violent" in the sense of a physical attack, it's certainly sexual brutalization.