Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Holly by Stephen King

9 reviews

eadrianschmitz's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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? No

5.0

What a horror! Really enjoyed this and love that Jerome and Barbara are still with us for the ride. Holly didn't seem as neurotic as portrayed in the prior three novels which I kinda miss but it shows her growth which I'm pleased with.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Bullying, Cancer, Chronic illness, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Deadnaming, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcoholism, Body horror, Hate crime, Homophobia, Pandemic/Epidemic, Racial slurs, Suicide, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Torture, Abortion, Alcohol, Blood, Child death, Outing, Stalking, Violence, Biphobia, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Death of parent, Death, Drug use, Dysphoria, Addiction, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Confinement, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Dementia, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Racism, Sexual assault, Grief, Kidnapping, and Lesbophobia

yellowpurple500's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

An incredible book to carry on the Holly Gibney character. The plot kept me hooked throughout, I never wanted to stop reading. King has once again delivered an incredible book. 

At first I was a bit unsure about the inclusion of Covid and some other clear real world parallel events however after reading the end acknowledgements, I'm so glad that's the direction king went, it makes so much sense for the character. Also could someone explain to me why the ACKNOWLEDGEMENT section at the end had me tearing up. 

Definitely read this after the Mr Mercedes trilogy, outsider and the short story in if it bleeds if you want to avoid spoilers. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Blood, Stalking, Terminal illness, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Alcoholism, Body horror, Colonisation, Cannibalism, Police brutality, Racism, Torture, Death, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Violence, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Vomit, Addiction, Dementia, Medical content, Misogyny, Alcohol, Chronic illness, Pandemic/Epidemic, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Child death, Gore, and Hate crime

theimposter's review

dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Gore, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Cannibalism, Drug abuse, Chronic illness, Classism, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Pandemic/Epidemic, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and Racism

maimy_santiago99's review

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dementia, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Cannibalism, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, and Ableism

Moderate: Stalking, Mental illness, Medical content, Alcoholism, Fatphobia, Confinement, Addiction, and Alcohol

Minor: Police brutality, Mass/school shootings, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, and Suicide

asifsyed's review

challenging 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Confinement, Death of parent, Blood, Xenophobia, Physical abuse, Homophobia, Emotional abuse, Torture, Racism, Racial slurs, Violence, Vomit, Murder, Kidnapping, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Gore

Moderate: Death

Minor: Mental illness, Drug use, Police brutality, Addiction, Cultural appropriation, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Racism, Cursing, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Lesbophobia, Hate crime, Dementia, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Grief, Cancer, Terminal illness, and Medical content

cannibalism

honeybeewitched87's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Body horror, Murder, Blood, Cannibalism, Death, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Cursing, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, and Lesbophobia

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Pandemic/Epidemic, Confinement, and Death of parent

Minor: Sexual content

devynreadsnovels's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Death, Cannibalism, Chronic illness, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Blood, Kidnapping, Torture, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Stalking, Homophobia, Racism, Xenophobia, Confinement, Grief, Alcohol, Dementia, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Cancer, Vomit, Child death, and Emotional abuse

jenniferbbookdragon's review

dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

King brings his A game to the story of Holly Gibney's investigation of the disappearance of a young woman amid her own mother's death and her partner's illness. The darkness of the secrets she discovers, along with discoveries about her family,  brings her character new challenges. I deeply appreciate her growth from timid to powerful across multiple books,  and hope she continues to appear in King's books.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Lesbophobia, Murder, Cannibalism, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Pandemic/Epidemic, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Death, Racial slurs, Death of parent, and Racism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Bullying, Suicide attempt, Gore, Blood, Dementia, and Panic attacks/disorders

jemmabrown's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad 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? No

5.0

I learned a valuable lesson reading this book - read the blurb.

I loved the Mr Mercedes series and really liked the first 2 books in the Finders Keepers series so when I saw this book I probably read the first line of the blurb and that was it. 

As a result I went on a fascinating, dark, mystery ride across American Politics, Literature and attitudes to the pandemic. 

Stephen King winds together so many threads to create a book that leaves you guessing just what will happen next whilst also creating debate on serious social issues. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Kidnapping, Alcoholism, Blood, Abortion, Pandemic/Epidemic, Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Lesbophobia, Physical abuse, Racism, Body horror, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Murder, Police brutality, Racial slurs, and Rape

Please be aware there are very graphic descriptions of things that appear in the content warnings. Particularly racism/racial slurs, homophobia/lesaphobia and graphic violence.