Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

Godshot by Chelsea Bieker

16 reviews

apriless's review

dark emotional sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I only wanted to read this because I am from the area where the author set this story and grew up adjacent to before becoming involved in familiar religious circles.

Themes around true believers, gifts/acts of the spirit, girlhood, puberty, sexuality and assignments for women around long-suffering hit the hardest. The god glitter was a fun mention. There's this way that Lacey May does/does not engage the world that felt super familiar. She at once wants to feel chosen by those around her yet also "wanted a different world. One that did not exist." She is, afterall, a young girl, and I do not believe in any judgment against her for simply surviving. Sometimes you survive by seeking affirmations. Sometimes you survive by dreaming of new worlds. And sometimes too, you survive by making friends with the witchy, gothy women who lean into having been cast out from the beginning. I probably related too hard to be objective about anything, but I welcome this story in my own after-life where I try to make sense of my childhood from far away.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Body shaming, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Rape, Alcohol, Incest, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, and Pregnancy

aalfie's review

dark reflective 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? No

5.0

this book made me want to crawl out of my skin but i know i’ll be thinking about it for a long time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Alcoholism, Vomit, Abandonment, Addiction, Child abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, and Adult/minor relationship

sbauer2894's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Trafficking, Incest, Child abuse, Addiction, Sexual assault, Rape, and Pregnancy

geminireader's review

dark emotional reflective slow-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

4.0

If you can stomach the content, it is a really brilliant read. The writing is so unique and the story is very bizarre and unlike anything I’ve ever read. Using the cult setting really tied to the themes well. Not a book I would ever recommend for its very disturbing content, but if you feel drawn to it, you will not regret this read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Addiction, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, and Infertility

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Abandonment

Minor: Suicide, Confinement, and Kidnapping

katealiss's review

dark hopeful sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Addiction, Child abuse, Alcoholism, Incest, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, and Suicide

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Abandonment, and Vomit

supertaylormoon's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Child abuse, Incest, and Rape

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Addiction, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, and Emotional abuse

lilyaugust's review

dark sad tense 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? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Adult/minor relationship, Pregnancy, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Physical abuse

mohradventurous's review

challenging dark emotional funny reflective tense medium-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 don't think I've left a book this emotionally devastated since Room. Which is to say I loved it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Religious bigotry, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Rape and Incest

rileyharrell's review

dark emotional 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? It's complicated

2.5

 WARN SOMEONE NEXT TIME...

Okay I did not NOT like this book, but I did not LIKE this book either. I am unsure about my feelings for this book. This story contains so many trigger warnings that I feel like it isn't the best forum here on Goodreads to even list them all. Anyways this has such a unique writing style that it took me a minute to get into. However, once I did, it went pretty smoothly. Some of the characters were hard to read and follow, so not really sure where their story went. I didn't feel that it was very character-driven or developed, and I felt that it wasn't necessarily plot-driven either? All of the characters, including Lacey May felt really underdeveloped and this book didn't really give them any room to grow. You could tell Bieker really wanted them to grown and definitely gave them an opportunity to do so, but it fell short in the writing of developed characters for sure.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Incest, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Gun violence, Rape, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, Trafficking, and Violence

abbsjay's review

dark mysterious reflective 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, and Child abuse

Moderate: Alcoholism, Blood, and Violence