Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley

177 reviews

pugluver11's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I enjoyed this audiobook! The different narrators make the story come to life. The beginning is slow, but the atmospheric writing style makes up for it. Foley's writing makes you feel like you're living in the apartment with the characters. There are several twists and turns; I would say they aren't too predictable. But take that with a grain of salt because I don't read a lot of thrillers. My only fault with this book is Jess' poor decision-making. Jess is presented as a street-smart, no-nonsense woman, but some of her choices throughout the book left me cringing. It seemed like a cheap way to move the plot along. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: Sexual harassment

clairevn's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Violence

Minor: Suicide

emma6544's review against another edition

dark sad medium-paced

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

3.25

I read The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley which I really enjoyed so I was looking forward to this book. 

There is some similar themes to The Hunting Party: it is set in one main location (the apartment building) with a closed circle of characters but for me, the execution was not quite there. 

The book started off really good with an intriguing mystery and interesting characters but, as the plot progressed, a lack of events made the book drag which wasn’t helped by the constant switching of characters every chapter (I particularly lost interest in Jess, which is not helped by the fact that she is the main character). 

The ending helped to redeem the rating of this book somewhat as I liked the twists

that the wine company was a front for prostitution and the concierges daughter is Mimi’s real mother. Plus Ben was writing an article to expose all this which the family wanted to cover up.

 

However there was a lack of clear resolution at the end as well

Ben publishes the article but we as the reader don’t really see a great fall from disgrace. Which does mirror reality but is still annoying.

I will still be reading The Guest List and The Midnight Feast at some point after a long break but I would still recommend trying this book out as you may love it. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Sexual assault, and Blood

Minor: Sexual content

mollymorrell's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

Thriller isn’t my go-to genre but I found this book absolutely gripping!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use, Sexual content, and Trafficking

fancyjess_party's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Trafficking, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Deportation, and Pandemic/Epidemic

jmdressel's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

4.5

an absolute page turner. i only ever put this book down when i was forced to! loved the first person voice from multiple characters. 

the pace was medium throughout, with the end resolution coming in waves rather than all in one bite. 

timeline was a bit difficult to follow in some instances, as each chapter is no longer than a few pages before the POV switches again. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Alcohol

Moderate: Death, Homophobia, Infidelity, Sexual content, Trafficking, Stalking, and Death of parent

Minor: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Vomit, and Deportation

abbyynormal's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Sexual content, and Death of parent

Minor: Alcoholism, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infertility, Vomit, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Classism, and Deportation

bookedbymadeline's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

I finished this in just 2 days, which is pretty quick for me especially in the summer! It took a bit to get into the story but once I did, I did not want to put it down 🤭

I loved the switching POVs and getting to know the characters. At first it was a little difficult to keep track of everyone but it got easier over time! It also helped having such a large cast that I was constantly trying to guess the suspect.

Writing can be a little too much telling over showing at times. It was harder to get into compared to Foley’s other books. There are also quite a few pop culture/brand name dropping references which I don’t love, it’s a pet peeve of mine that will make the book feel dated in years to come😂

I only guessed one of the smaller reveals/twists. Absolutely shocked at the big reveals and watching the secrets come to light!! My jaw was on the floor, as always Foley has done it once again and continues to be one of my favorite thriller authors ❤️

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Sexual content, Suicide, and Stalking

Minor: Homophobia, Infertility, and Police brutality

tdawgg07'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? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Infidelity, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Homophobia, Infertility, Sexual content, Suicide, and Alcohol

angorarabbit's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

1.75

Context: I wish I could remember the review that made me want to read this, I thought it was going to be more mystery and less thriller. 

 

TLDR:  I got hung-up on the foster care stuff, your mileage may vary. 

 

The plotting was pretty tight for the most part with a few plot holes that didn’t matter very much. The central mystery was interesting and fresh. Most plot twists were a surprise. 

 

My main problem came with the characterisation. The foster care system does heavy lifting in explaining Jess and Ben. Which wouldn’t have been so bad if there weren’t some important plot points that for someone somewhat familiar with the system are just plain unbelievable. I don’t know how much experience Ms Foley has had with the system but she might have benefited from an experienced beta reader.It’s rather like a non-Roma writer with a main character who is Roma and not having some Roma readers to advise them on Roma life. Just saying, “oh, they were in foster care so they are like this” is lazy. 

 

The ending felt like Ms Foley found her deadline approaching and her editor wanted a happy ending for all rewrite. Anyone surviving foster care could tell you that there never is a happy ending for everyone.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Police brutality, Trafficking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

the foster care system