nessabali's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Child abuse, Child death, Pregnancy, Violence, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Blood, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Vomit, Abandonment, and Car accident
jdoerhoff's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Pregnancy, Mental illness, Child abuse, Child death, Infidelity, Death, Abortion, Sexual content, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
sydbent21's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Child death, Death, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
eshiltonn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Minor: Child death, Grief, Infidelity, Chronic illness, Blood, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Abortion, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Car accident, Violence, and Murder
albeertte's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Murder, Death, Child abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
criticalgayze's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
A part of me wants to say that I now at least have an understanding of the CoHo craze, but this is her only thriller, and I truly cannot imagine reading a book by her that was just the romantic parts of this one.
I fully intended to give this book 1.5-stars because I am absolutely sick of the trope of painting PPD as some kind of villainous trait in women, but I think that, while the narrator is still disgustingly judgmental of the kind of psychological trauma pregnancy and childbirth can put a woman through, Hoover herself seems (maybe?) to have mostly redeemed her own complicity in the trope with the book's ending. (Although I am largely as confused as the narrator as to whether this is actually the case or not)
Speaking of the ending, talk about rushed. I felt like, throughout the book, the order of escalation was out of whack, there were largely spurts of tension in amongst the drudgery of straight white horniness as opposed to well built and sustained suspense, and that the culminating scene was over largely before I even realized it had begun.
tl;dr: Not good writing, but I tore through it in two days, so maybe there's something to be said for the Hoover phenomenon.
Graphic: Abortion, Child death, Murder, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, and Sexual content
Moderate: Terminal illness, Blood, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Cancer, Confinement, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Drug abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Car accident, Death, Alcohol, and Death of parent
l_myers'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
1.0
Graphic: Gore, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Child abuse, Sexual content, Mental illness, Abortion, Violence, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief
Moderate: Car accident, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Blood
ayshereads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Graphic: Child death, Vomit, Blood, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Grief, Hate crime, Violence, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Death, Death of parent, Car accident, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
bookish_ari'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: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Child abuse, Abortion, and Sexual content
eimii's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Abortion, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Vomit, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Car accident, Child death, Violence, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Blood, Death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, and Suicide attempt