Reviews with content warning for Blood - Phantom Limb

This is unfortunately my first "meh" from Lucinda Berry! I didn't quite guess the big plot twist about 2 hours into the audiobook but I was damn close. After the twist, I did guess the final act. It was just overall not very grabbing. How the characters talked about the others in the facility really took me out of the narrative - it just wasn't very kind to folks with mental/psychological disorders. I wasn't a fan of how they were portrayed or discussed. That on top of being able to mostly guess the plot was just not a win for me. I did finish it though, so that's something!

Content Warnings

astoriareader's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

SYNOPSIS

Elizabeth and Emily are identical twins. Their childhood is horrific. Eventually, they were finally adopted by a good family, but not before suffering imaginable things.
Eventually, one of the twins finds herself in an inpatient psych unit at a hospital. She is very confused by what people are telling her, and it’s not in line with her memories of the last few years.

MY THOUGHTS

Very dark! Be sure to check out trigger warnings because there’s a lot of potentially triggering topics.
I love Lucinda Berry, and I think she’s a phenomenal writer.
This is her 4th book that I’ve read. I gave 4 stars to “The Best of Friends”, 5 stars to “When She Returned”, and 3 stars to “If You Tell A Lie.”
Complex characters with excellent character development. I enjoyed the side characters, like Rose & Lisa, too.
Berry writes a lot about mental health and trauma in this one, and I enjoyed how she presented the DSM and the look into the diagnoses.
The whole story is told from the perspective of the twin, who is hospitalized. I loved learning from her eyes. Through conversations with others, she gains a lot of insight. There are flashbacks and memories as well. And, there’s a small portion of the book at the beginning that is prior to the hospitalization.
I felt really connected to the main character, and I felt like I was right there with her trying to understand what exactly happened to her. The pacing was great. I was satisfied with the ending.

TL;DR: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Lucinda, girrrrrl, you’ve done it again! I would definitely recommend this one, but I highly suggest checking out trigger warnings. Some heavy topics in this book.

Content Warnings