Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

The Guest List by Lucy Foley

214 reviews

franksreads's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

musicgirl_gwyn's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I was on the edge of my seat the entire book, very well written. Antagonist worth absolutely hating. The ending felt abrupt and cut off; I don’t feel a lot of closure. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Addiction, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Abortion, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

I liked this a lot, and I felt like I could really get into the characters that were involved here. I will also always remember that I was reading this one when I finally got my POTS diagnosis <3. Also I love a wedding as the setting because weddings always manage to make everyone the most animalistic and unhinged versions of themselves.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Sexual content, Suicide, Blood, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Abandonment, and Classism

Minor: Drug use, Infidelity, and Grief

katlinstirling_reads's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

Great read! Well written and great cast of characters, narrated by 6 narrators (listed below). Based on remote island just off the Irish coast, guests gather for the wedding of the year, until someone is murdered. Descriptive, dark and suspenseful, twisty and a real page turner. This audiobook had me hooked, fast-paced this read will have you guessing. 

Narrators - Aoife McMahon, Chloe Massey, Jot Davies, Olivia Dowd, Rich Keeble & Sara Ovens. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

kelly_e's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

Title: The Guest List
Author: Lucy Foley
Genre: Thriller
Rating: 3.25
Pub Date: February 20, 2020

T H R E E • W O R D S

Atmospheric • Twisty • Clever

📖 S Y N O P S I S

The bride - The plus one - The best man - The wedding planner - The bridesmaid - The body

On an island off the coast of Ireland, guests gather to celebrate two people joining their lives together as one. The groom: handsome and charming, a rising television star. The bride: smart and ambitious, a magazine publisher. It's a wedding for a magazine, or for a celebrity: the designer dress, the remote location, the luxe party favors, the boutique whiskey. The cell phone service may be spotty and the waves may be rough, but every detail has been expertly planned and will be expertly executed.

But perfection is for plans, and people are all too human. As the champagne is popped and the festivities begin, resentments and petty jealousies begin to mingle with the reminiscences and well wishes. The groomsmen begin the drinking game from their school days. The bridesmaid not-so-accidentally ruins her dress. The bride's oldest (male) friend gives an uncomfortably caring toast.

And then someone turns up dead. Who didn't wish the happy couple well? And perhaps more important, why?

💭 T H O U G H T S

I chose Lucy Foley as one of twelve authors for my '2024 Author Taste Test' project. She's a hugely popular author among the mystery/thriller genre and it surprised me I hadn't yet read anything she'd written. I decided to start with The Guest List simply because I had it on my shelves and I didn't know much beyond that fact it was set on a secluded island.

Told through alternating points of view, giving the story an added layer of depth and intrigue and continually adding layer upon layer to the mystery until the big reveal. There were certainly some holes in the mystery, yet it is the setting and unlikeable cast of characters that kept me turning the pages. What starts out as a series of different stories, eventually Foley is able to seamlessly draw them together in a satisfying manner.

The Guest List was a fast=paced whodunit perfect for relaxing lakeside during my recent summer vacation at the cottage. It certainly has a number of popcorn thriller elements making it hard to put down, yet the writing itself felt juvenile. I could easily see this one being adapted to the big screen down the road.

📚 R E A D • I F • Y O U • L I K E
• dark secrets
• island settings
• Agatha Christie

⚠️ CW: death, child death, grief, murder, toxic relationship, toxic friendship, emotional abuse, gaslighting, bullying, child abuse, emotional abuse, self-harm, cutting, classism, sexual harassment, suicidal thoughts, suicide attempt, suicide, pregnancy, abortion, alcohol, drug use, blood, vomit, sexual content, cursing, mental illness, PTSD, depression, infidelity

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"In my experience, those who have the greatest respect for the rules also take the most enjoyment in breaking them."

"But no matter what happens, life is only a series of days. You can’t control more than a single day." 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Murder, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism

Minor: Cursing and Sexual content

cutting, PTSD, depression

jenmtnbike's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Toxic friendship

teganl07's review

tense fast-paced

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

3.75

Fast paced. Couldn’t out it down. A great book to get out of a slump.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Body shaming, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

suzelarson's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.5

Keeps you guessing, on the edge of your seat and surprisingly satisfying ending

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Self harm, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Body shaming, Child death, Drug use, Infidelity, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Toxic friendship

rnbhargava's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

I quite liked this entire book. However, the reveal of the victim and the perpetrator could have been handled more effectively. The author’s habit of jumping around the day’s timeline was mostly effective but it also released some tension of the reveal of the victim and who did it. Overall, really good mystery.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

This book involves a character that preys upon late teens/early 20 somethings aged females that are just barely not minors anymore, SA and suicidal ideation resulting from this character’s actions so be aware of that.

poirot's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use, and Death of parent