Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Die Geheimnisse von Hill House: Roman by Elizabeth Hand

10 reviews

chaisquarelatte's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-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? Yes

4.0

I really enjoyed aspects of this book, some parts were really well done, and other parts I think could’ve been done better. I will be thinking about the story for a long time.

The four people who stay at the house have a vested interest in remaining in the house when things clearly are not right. There is jealousy, toxicity and promise of renewed careers and it seems that the play that has bought these people together is doomed. The thing that kept me going was waiting for the metaphorical car crash to happen. But when it did happen, it didn’t really pan out in a way that made sense.

Stevie was the one that was supposed to go and while it was in some way an interesting twist that Nisa’s spoilt attitude made her fall victim instead, the fact there is no body really makes no sense given the House’s history/MO

. I also think the epilogue was unnecessary and actually made the ending worse. 

I know this review sounds quite scathing for a 4 star, but I really enjoyed the build up, the ending fell flat. Also, as I listened to the audio book, I really have to give kudos to the production. I don’t think I would’ve been so invested if I had read a physical copy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Blood, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Child abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Alcohol

Minor: Death and Car accident

kaiyakaiyo's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

spectacular, give me 14 of em right now

but in all seriousness this has the exact dreamlike, lurking, looming presence Shirley Jackson created, but brought into the present and made all the more frightening for being juxtaposed with technology

i… for once i have no real complaints, this was scrumptious 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Infidelity, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Sexual assault

abbyynormal's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Infidelity

Moderate: Confinement and Blood

Minor: Cursing, Death, Drug use, Sexual content, Grief, Car accident, and Alcohol

vixenreader's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

The best move the author did in writing a sequel to “The Haunting of Hill House” was not attempting to aspire to the same level as the iconic novel. Furthermore, it captures the spirit of the original text without losing an original story about the horror of no boundaries and no self-awareness. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Sexual content, Blood, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Violence, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Fire/Fire injury

Be aware that this book addresses ageism (especially for women), problems in theatre, an incident involving falling from a great height, stigma against people struggling with addiction, fear of abandonment and failure, witchcraft, and tensions between theatre people.

alicroz34's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

3.75

This was a very fun read! It sometimes felt like Hill House, sometimes felt like the Overlook, sometimes felt like something totally different. A few things took me out of it, like the sound design references that didn't totally make sense and a few concepts that felt counter to the original material. For instance, I have a hard time imagining Hill House sitting so idly by while all its furnishings were sold off by some Hillsdale realtor. You can suspend disbelief to assume that the three women watching over the house have discovered ways of tempering it, but still - not exactly in the Jackson world that I am fully obsessed with. 

Bonus points for the poisoning that felt like a nod to We Have Always Lived in the Castle.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse

lefthandlou's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

2.25

Pages and pages dedicated to a stained table cloth and creepy bunnies? A tiny door? A magazine? The first 80% of the book had nothing actually scary, horrifying, or even a little creepy. And so much was left unresolved. Not in a mysterious way, but in a “the author forgot about this plot point” kind of way. 

Deeply irritating, self-absorbed, and boring characters with extensive back stories that do nothing to make them feel more real or likable. Their backstories are also awkwardly shoe-horned into the rest of the story. 

The constant inner monologues from the characters were an attempt at building suspense but were just irritating. 

This felt less like an homage to Jackson’s work and more like a mish mash of everything that has ever tried to capitalize on the genius of The Haunting of Hill House. 

There were some creepy moments in the last bit of the book, but not enough to redeem the lack of cohesion in the plot, the detestable characters, the abrupt ending, and the many forgotten threads. 

I’m disappointed. I really, really wanted to like this but it’s a failure for me, both as a riff on Jackson’s work and as its own story

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Drug use, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Murder, and Toxic friendship

themelaniewaite's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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? Yes

4.5

The day I sat down to read this, I read through 70 pages. It’s so easy to get into, and while it felt like a slow start getting to know characters - the eerie factor of the story begins very early on. The atmosphere, the loss (and gain?) of time, the black hare that seems to be following the main character Holly.  

Throughout the story there are so many brilliant callbacks and subtle nods to the original novel woven within, it feels like you’re in on the secrets of the house in how it comes back to life again. It is absolutely clear that the author is a fan of the original novel. 

I read this so fast, I could not put this book down. While some of it felt a little slow, and the storytelling shifted through memories of how the characters were connected, to even switching between first (Holly’s perspective) person to third person (for the others’ scenes/perspectives), it all helped in the overall tone of the story. It all paid off with the climactic few chapters, really bringing the house to life and tying into the original story with a warning of what might happen if anyone else dared to underestimate Hill House. 

The moment I found out about this book, I had to have it and I am so, so glad I gave it a chance. It mirrors that eerie, impending horror that has been building under the surface that the original had, the execution and pay-off were totally worth it, and I have been recommending this book to anyone that enjoyed the original story or enjoy a haunted house plot. I couldn’t stop thinking about this book, eager to get back and read more; even now, after finishing it I can’t stop thinking about it. The hares, the shadows, the voices - that ending! It has definitely left an imprint on me like Shirley Jackson’s original novel, and I think that really says something about the love and dedication that went into creating this story. 

A sequel or continuation is never as good as the original - we know this for many examples - but this is a strong follow-up to the Hill House universe. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Car accident, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Religious bigotry, and Pandemic/Epidemic

The characters are pretty complex and have reasonably traumatic background - including grooming, accidental death, suicide of a friend.

snickies's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

Very creepy, but I greatly disliked all the main characters. Undecided if I liked this or not.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug use

Minor: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Car accident, and Murder

hexedmaiden's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

2.5

Did The Haunting of Hill House need a continuation? No, but I personally read it as a book that happens to take place inside the infamous house so it didn't bother me all that much. 

I don't feel like this was a bad book by any means, I just think I expected something I little different than what I got as someone who reads the haunted house sub-genre a fair amount.

I was, however, mad that the queer rep we get involves one of the bisexual character cheating on their partner with the other bi character in the story. I'm tired of bi characters being seen as the cheaters and shit.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Blood, and Alcohol

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Drug abuse

Minor: Child death, Drug use, and Car accident

obsetress's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Murder, and Pregnancy

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Car accident, and Pandemic/Epidemic