Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

Before the Devil Breaks You by Libba Bray

5 reviews

cowmouflage's review

dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

1.75

I think a bullshit way to end a ship is to turn one member of it into a potential r*pist. That scene was completely unnecessary and took me out of the story for a few days. This book all around was very disappointing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Alcoholism, Antisemitism, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Death, Murder, Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, and Adult/minor relationship

maddiereadswords's review

4.5

Great news!! Even after reading this book three times and fully knowing what's coming, the ending of this book can still make me cry. It's fine, I'm totally fine.

This doesn't have the same creepy, haunting vibes as the first two books, and the two parts feel a little more disconnected to the point where I almost wish it had been two separate books (mostly because the back half in particular is so fast-paced and plot heavy that it really loses that spooky edge, and also partly because I selfishly can never get enough of these characters.) This is easily the darkest and most "adult" installment so far, and while it doesn't hit quite as hard as the first two for me, it's still an absolute powerhouse of a book that drags me through the full spectrum of human emotion every time I read it. <3

Also shout out to Ling Chan for being so autistic that she accidentally bypassed internalized homophobia, and to Miriam Lubovitch and Viola Campbell for being such milfs that they keep adopting fucked up children like Pokemon despite being held captive. I love women.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Racism, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Ableism, Antisemitism, Death, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Gun violence, Animal death, Violence, Alcohol, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Homophobia, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, and Stalking

Moderate: Classism, Deportation, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Sexual content, Dementia, and Sexism

larareads's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious sad 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Antisemitism, Death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Racism, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Sexual assault

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Murder, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, and Xenophobia

emilyplun's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Murder, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Death, and Blood

Moderate: Ableism, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Police brutality

Minor: Alcohol, Death of parent, Gun violence, Homophobia, and Slavery

riella_reads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious 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

5.0

 Ughhhh this was everything I wanted! This was so much better than Lair of Dreams, and maybe even The Diviners! This also got way more emotional than I thought it would, and has a lot more triggers than others.  I cant wait to read the next book even tho I heard it sucks. There's so many things that I need cleared up, and that cliffhanger! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Stalking