Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'

The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks, Sarah Pekkanen

12 reviews

dev921's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Abortion, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Cancer, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, and Infidelity

taliatalksbooks's review

challenging emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

3.5

The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen was painfully slow for the first 100 pages or so, but after the end of part one, it was oh so worth the build up. I LOVED the little twist at the end of part one, and though some moments got a bit bogged down in information sharing, the book started flying after that. I think this book plays with the idea of “the other woman” and revenge in a really reflective way, ultimately leading to an epilogue that left me shocked. While it didn’t get the coveted audible gasp, it definitely got a little squeal of excitement. The pieces of this story come together perfectly, if you’re patient enough to let them unfold. This book really points to the strength of survivors, and how survivors need to support others, which I really admire and didn’t expect from the title. I would definitely recommend this book, but you have to stick it out for the first part of the book. I promise, it’s worth it! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Addiction, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Grief, Death of parent, Death, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Panic attacks/disorders, Miscarriage, and Abortion

mags88's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious tense fast-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

4.75

Twist and turns!
Loved how it came together! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Grief, Suicide, Addiction, Body shaming, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Abortion, Car accident, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Stalking, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Pregnancy, Sexual assault, and Suicide

Minor: Miscarriage, Drug use, and Drug abuse

jkarki's review

dark sad 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

3.5

The twists in the book weren't exactly unpredictable... there were a couple I didnt see coming. The plot was interesting, the way it intertwined, but I felt like the story could have focused more on fleshing out the side characters than what type of wines they drank. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Toxic friendship, Sexual content, Sexism, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Infidelity, Death, Car accident, Blood, Grief, Forced institutionalization, Eating disorder, Dysphoria, Classism, Body shaming, Sexual harassment, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Infertility, Death of parent, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Fatphobia, Drug use, Ableism, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Bullying, Alcohol, Stalking, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Car accident, Vomit, and Terminal illness

Minor: Abortion and Miscarriage

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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? No

3.75

This was an enjoyable read, and I think I would try these authors again. They definitely did a great job bringing their voices together. I do like a "dark past" story, but sometimes authors can refer to it too often, which makes the reader feel like screaming "oh my GOSH JUST TELL ME ALREADY," which I felt a teensy bit here. Overall, I was surprised multiple times throughout the book, which is great.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Grief

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Misogyny, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Physical abuse, Violence, Abandonment, Car accident, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Bullying, and Stalking

Minor: Death, Death of parent, Child abuse, Classism, and Fatphobia

hancaavdic's review

challenging mysterious slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Infertility, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Death of parent, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Car accident, Addiction, and Adult/minor relationship

marisa_n's review

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

Lots of twists & turns. Some were more enjoyable than others. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Stalking, Alcoholism, Grief, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Mental illness

Minor: Suicide, Abortion, and Injury/Injury detail

abbs15norm's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Cursing, Gaslighting, Infertility, Infidelity, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Stalking, Alcohol, Eating disorder, Pregnancy, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Car accident

Minor: Addiction, Cancer, Body shaming, and Blood

sarahmae531's review

emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

A very interesting twist, I guess I should say twists. Enjoyed how it was split into parts and something new was revealed/focused on each time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Pregnancy, Infertility, Domestic abuse, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Sexual violence, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Abortion, Terminal illness, and Suicide

Minor: Car accident

jadeandsuch's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Okay look.. I thought I knew. I thought I was reading a thrilling little love triangle story. I was cocky. I was so wrong.

The characters play their parts so well. Richard, the doting and wealthy husband. Nellie, the young and devout second wife. Vanessa, the obsessed and spiraling ex. They’re all shaped and presented with such care that you immediately get a sense of who they are. They all feel real and tangible and physical, like you know them personally. As the reader, you find your concern volleying between the narrators, trying to pick a side. It’s a credit to the spectacular writing that you don’t immediately feel split between the characters. Your sympathy goes out to them and while you don’t know how it is going to end, you hope they make it out okay. 

The plot is such a staple of the psychological thriller genre: crazy ex wife obsessed with young new wife. It’s been done, we can admit that. However, it has never been done like this. As you read, you feel the build up, you know something is about to happen. The moment our characters collide, my mind was properly blown. I reread the page four times to make sure I was reading it right. That twist was phenomenal (I actually told my family about it, it got me so good, and they just stared in support but I know I sounded crazy). And just when you think we are going to zig, we zag. The story begins unfurling further and revelations are made and it’s just dramatic and wild and consuming. It’s like every twist that’s ever been done is shoved into one novel but it’s not overbearing or monotonous. It works. Really well, in my opinion. Honestly, to me, it feels like an old school movie. Like a 40s noir film. It’s scandalous, thrilling, and cunning, all wrapped in a modern package. 

This is such a well crafted novel. Each aspect of the story, the plot and the characters, hell even the layout, is meticulously put together to make it the best version it could be. The duel narrator aspect plays SO WELL into how this story is read and absorbed. At no point in time did I feel bored or forced to get through a part in hopes of a more thrilling story on the next page. Every page was the promise of being another page closer to the next divulgence of a secret.

I devoured this book. If you’re in a reading slump, this is the book for you. If you’re obsessed with psychological thrillers or love unreliable narrators, this is the book for you. If you like stories with marital or familial drama, this is the book to read. I don’t care if your favorite genre of book is vintage Norwegian cookbook, I’d recommend this story to you. Please, just read it! 

(Also if you read it, please talk to me about it because my family is sick of me talking AT them about my books lol)

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Infidelity, Infertility, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting

Minor: Death of parent