Reviews tagging 'Grief'

None of This is True by Lisa Jewell

30 reviews

ohyeahshebomb's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

the only time that gaslighting is okay (me, I have been gaslit)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Body shaming, Mental illness, Pandemic/Epidemic, Murder, Stalking, Adult/minor relationship, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Chronic illness, Confinement, Pedophilia, Violence, Ableism, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Torture, Vomit, Grief, Alcohol, Child death, Excrement, Infidelity, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Incest, and Sexual assault

djmelodious's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

This was an engaging read…and not because I necessarily enjoyed what I was reading. It was hard and dark. At some points the content made me so uncomfortable I wanted to skip past it, like I would a tv show.

Spoiler

I like the format of the Netflix style documentary, it made me invested to know how all the puzzle pieces fit together. I also like books that make me really wonder who is telling the truth. The Fair family were all challenged in their own ways, none of them innocent in the end. But what really happened to Brooke? I 100% don’t trust Josie but like…her story at the end seems plausible. I’m really not sure.

at the end of it all, I feel bad for some of the characters and ended the book feeling melancholy that endings are just…sad.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Child death, Pedophilia, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Body shaming, Grief, Alcoholism, Stalking, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Confinement

nn11's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Grief, Kidnapping, Murder, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Blood, Child abuse, Gaslighting, and Stalking

lauren_shilling's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

I want to start out by saying that I really loved this book, and I would highly recommend it to any thriller lovers (except make sure you check the content warnings!). It was so dark and so creepy and so incredibly engaging. I really could not stop reading it. It's also a super fast read, which was exactly what I was looking for when I picked it up. This book is getting a good bit of hype right now and I think it deserves every bit of it! I was a little nervous going into it since I found another book by this author to be predictable and slightly boring, but this book was anything but! I was so invested in the story the entire time, and I don't think there was a single moment that bored me. It was entirely unpredictable too. I didn't guess any of the many plot twists, and trust me, there are a lot. This entire book is made up of plot twists, really, and they are all so well executed. Honestly, the main reason I'm not giving this the full five stars (even though I really thought I would for the first half of the book) was because I don't think it's going to stay on my mind the way I would want it to. Of all the genres I read, I find thrillers are the easiest for me to forget about unless they are five star favorites. I think I might forget aspects of this book, so I don't think I can give it a full five stars. I just didn't get that feeling I usually do when I've found a new favorite. That being said, this book was incredible, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is interested! However, as I said earlier, make sure to check content warnings, because there are a lot of topics touched on in this book that can be incredibly triggering for some people!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Domestic abuse, Grief, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Alcoholism and Alcohol

Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic

david_slack110507's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad 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? Yes

4.0

My first Lisa Jewell book and it did not disappoint. I listened to this rather than reading it and I feel like listening to the audiobook version made for a better experience of the book as not only did it add voices to the characters and gave them additional personality but it also allowed for the podcast transcripts, interview clips, and parts of the documentary to all come to life better than they would have on the page with some really good sound design. 

This was a very messed up story that focuses on the blurred lines of what is true and what is false and how far someone will go in lying to themselves, so they believe it, particularly with Josie in the ending. Josie was an interesting character to watch as when from her perspective she repeatedly lies to the audience and shapes the narrative in a way that suits her and what she truly believes is the case and it is only later on that we start to be encouraged to question whether or not what she is saying is truthful and has any merit to it. Alix felt like at times she was a representation of the audience who are trying to piece together Josie's story while also eventually coming to point out the lies in what is considered to be the truth. I felt like the two were very interesting characters to follow as they interweave in and out of one another's lives. Josie's story of being a victim, whether her narrative is real or not, does not place her as a villain because of the things that she has said has happened to her and the subject matter is dealt with in an appropriate fashion without being written off when it comes to light that at least certain things are proven to be not true. 

The ending of the book was a major highlight for me as it seemingly wraps up the story in a clear and concise fashion in which every major plot point or secret is explained and its importance is revealed only for the final chapter to be from Josie's perspective to flip the narrative on its head due to how it questions the finality of the ending and whether or not the narrative has been properly revealed or manipulated due to who is control of it. In the ending, Josie seemingly believes that she is innocent and has done nothing wrong including the murder of her daughter, Roxy's, friend Brooke which she blames on her daughter. I liked this to be the ending chapter of the book as not only is it a good representation of the theme of control of a narrative but it also ends with the 'true' narrative of the book being up to the reader as to whether they believe what was accepted as the general truth by the majority of the public, the truth believed by Josie (that is most likely a narrative she created to avoid taking the blame) or maybe a bit of both (e.g. the murder of Brooke could be what Josie said that it was not actually her but her daughter and so she along with her family helped cover it up linking back to what Walter feared earlier in the book about something being revealed to the police). Even though it appears that it has an open and shut case ending, it could also be picked apart and given a different interpretation depending on the reader which made me appreciate the writing even more. 

Overall, I really enjoyed my first Lisa Jewell book, and it makes me excited for whenever I get around to reading the other books I have of hers as well as the rest of her books. The twists and turns that were consistent throughout kept me invested and the characters particularly our main ones were very interesting in themselves. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Alcohol, Cursing, Grief, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Stalking, Addiction, Kidnapping, Sexism, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Infidelity, Pregnancy, Bullying, Confinement, Misogyny, and Pandemic/Epidemic

gemin1reader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense

4.75

This was so good - the audiobook is absolutely amazing. I don’t really like audio but forgot to cancel my free Audible trial and needed to use a credit, but I absolutely loved this one as it really brought the podcast element to life and had a great cast. 

The story itself is a bit of a slow burn but it builds the unease so well and was incredibly gripping as you desperately want to find out what happened. 

I adore Lisa Jewell’s writing and if this one had given me just a smidge more closure at the ending it would have been five stars. Amazing though. I was so totally immersed in Alix’s world, you leave the book feeling like you genuinely know all the characters. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Adult/minor relationship, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, and Grief

Moderate: Child abuse, Infidelity, and Pedophilia

sarahmae531's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

4.5

Needed a good thriller and this did not disappoint! If you’re a fan of unreliable characters, this one is for you. So many varying accounts of events leaves you wondering who is telling the truth, if anyone.
I’ve heard such good things about Lisa Jewell but this is the first book of hers I’ve read. I’ll definitely be picking up more in the future! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Grief, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Stalking, Suicide, and Infidelity

norwegianforestreader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Cursing, Excrement, Kidnapping, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Abandonment, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Stalking, Suicide, Violence, Eating disorder, Grief, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, and Pedophilia

litbrett's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Gaslighting, Grief, Incest, Violence, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Murder, Pedophilia, and Physical abuse

pages_of_devin's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Violence, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Grief, Pedophilia, Murder, Gaslighting, and Emotional abuse