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readingwithrylanne's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
I was super excited to read For Your Own Good after loving Samantha Downing's other two books, My Lovely Wife and He Started It. I knew to expect some wild plot twists and unlikeable characters, and while For Your Own Good certainly had those elements, I unfortunately did not end up enjoying this book as much as I had hoped. I think the most challenging part of this book for me was the choppy point-of-view shifts that sometimes would happen every couple of pages or even paragraphs. I never really felt like I could get into one character before we moved onto someone else's. I felt disoriented while reading much of this book and was unexcited overall by the ending, but I do love good unlikeable/unreliable characters, and we definitely have those in this book. For Your Own Good was not my favorite book by the author, but I am still excited to dive into more!
Graphic: Death, Suicide, Stalking, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Drug use, Infertility, and Vomit
velsbooknook's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Death, Stalking, and Murder
hazelgirl21's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death and Murder
Moderate: Stalking
Minor: Suicide
crystal689's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Death, Drug use, Suicide, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Classism
lily_peach's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Violence, Stalking, and Murder
Moderate: Classism
Poisoninglinneak's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Death, Suicide, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cursing, Drug use, Eating disorder, Infertility, Infidelity, Alcohol, and Classism
islesbiyana's review
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Murder, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Stalking, and Classism
Minor: Drug use, Infertility, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, and Fire/Fire injury
valpuri's review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Suicide, Murder, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Body shaming, Confinement, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infertility, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Classism
Minor: Forced institutionalization and Alcohol
nickoliver's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
I think part of it had to do with the fact that the aforementioned character, Teddy, wasn't the only perspective I read from. The story was told from a whole cast of characters and even changed within one chapter several times, which kept things interesting. And while no one was extremely likeable, not all of them were narcissistic psychopaths, and most of them did feel very real and authentic.
Plus, there were so many twists and turns! I was actually surprised by how hooked I was, because I thought going into it that it was going to be very clear-cut. And while yes, the murderer was who you thought he was the entire time, there were still some directions Downing took that made the story intriguing and not boring and entirely predictable. I definitely enjoyed this a lot more than "My Lovely Wife"!
Graphic: Death, Stalking, and Murder
Minor: Suicide
CW poisoning (including carbon monoxide poisoning), toxic parentslogger_j's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Suicide, Stalking, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Classism
Minor: Infertility, Forced institutionalization, and Car accident