Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins

52 reviews

yarisbooksandbevs's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

I went back and forth with my feeling on this book and ultimately I think I liked it. I did read Jane Eyre a long time ago and I remember enjoying so I do come in with that background (I could see how some people who have not read Jane Eyre might not enjoy this. They are parallels with this having a modern twist). I always thought Bertha was done dirty in the original so I was excited for this read. That being said this book was not what I expected but it wasn’t bad.

I have to admit I did find Jane to be quite annoying from the beginning. She was complaining a lot and it was rough (I did remember that in the original). She got better as the book went on and you start to root for her some. She’s smart, brave, and tenacious and just had a string of horrible things happen to her which kind of explain how she is currently. I like the parallels between Bea and Jane.

Spoiler

I was a bit bummed at first that Bea was actually the villain I wanted justice for Bertha but I’m not mad with the way it ended. I like that Jane and Bertha got better in this novel than the original and it did feel like the right ending.

This definitely wasn’t a bad read just not what I was expecting. For the most part I enjoyed it and I loved the way Hawkins modernized the world and characters of Jane Eyre. It fit.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Blood, Addiction, Alcohol, Murder, Child abuse, Classism, Death, Infidelity, Confinement, Cursing, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Drug abuse

Minor: Bullying, Sexual content, and Suicide

bookedbymadeline's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

4.5

The pacing was great with many twists! It’s a great retelling of Jane Eyre, I haven’t read the whole novel (although I am this month), but I know the gist of the story and still recognized similarities! However it’s not completely the same which made it better in my opinion.

I really enjoyed the switching POVs! This was a quick, easy read. I wasn’t completely satisfied with the ending and felt there were a couple of plot holes but overall an entertaining domestic/gothic thriller!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Murder, Alcoholism, and Death

Moderate: Infidelity, Child abuse, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Child death

bookishchaos's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

This was pretty good, it had a slow beginning but picked up after you switched povs. I didn't guess the plot twist and I was entertained the whole time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Murder, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Gaslighting, Alcoholism, and Child abuse

Minor: Violence

chloeve's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Death, Confinement, and Blood

czoltak's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

Even though I found this extremely predictable, I still really enjoyed it. Something about Hawkins’ writing style is incredibly addicting and made it hard to not just read this all in one sitting. However the actual storyline and characters weren’t all that compelling. I definitely would recommend this as a good book for those who are new to the thriller genre. However, those who have read a lot of thrillers will probably agree that it’s nothing exciting. As this is her debut thriller/adult book, I will pick up Rachel Hawkins’ future works.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Toxic friendship, and Murder

medini_l's review against another edition

mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Murder, Abandonment, Classism, Infidelity, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, and Toxic relationship

3readingcircus's review against another edition

medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement

Moderate: Death of parent and Classism

Minor: Sexual harassment, Child abuse, and Addiction

chelle22's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Confinement, Toxic friendship, Cursing, Sexual content, Violence, Vomit, Physical abuse, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Blood, Alcoholism, Deadnaming, Death, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

hilaryreads89's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

🪴Twisty, Upper Class, Secrets🪴

🪴 Jane is immersing herself in the lavish world of Thornfield Estates walking dogs. As she begins to “collect” trinkets from her clients, she starts to slip into Eddie’s life and ultimately his house. But she feels the presence of his deceased wife in their home and in the community. Jane begins to uncover that there maybe more to her death than the community believes.

❤️ The setting details on this one are spot on! I love all the extras that Hawkins puts into the story. I felt like I was in Birmingham with Jane.

I am really not sure how I feel about the ending of this one. It would make an excellent book club discussion! If you’ve read it, message me your thoughts.

📖 Overall, this one was a solid thriller. Good twists. Excellent pacing. Atmospheric. I cannot wait to pick up something else by Rachel Hawkins.

Anyone looking for a fast-read in the form of an entertaining thriller full of secrets is going to enjoy this one.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement and Domestic abuse

mysterymom46's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Classism, Confinement, Toxic friendship, Violence, Alcohol, and Gaslighting