Reviews tagging 'Stalking'

For Your Own Good by Samantha Downing

21 reviews

readingwithrylanne's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense 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

3.0

Teachers, students, and families at a prestigious private school find themselves in a tangled web of murder, poison, secrets, and lies.
 
 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!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicide, Stalking, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Drug use, Infertility, and Vomit

velsbooknook's review against another edition

4.0

 If you're looking for a thriller with a dark academia setting look no further! For Your Own Good was a very fun and quick read. I enjoyed the different POVs and I loved the short chapters. The plot and pacing were very well done and I had a great time trying to piece everything together. There were so many twists it kept me engaged the whole time and I couldn't say whodunit! The ending felt a little too rushed for me but I very much enjoyed the epilogue. I definitely recommend if you haven't read it already (especially paired with a glass of milk)! 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Stalking, and Murder

hazelgirl21's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

• 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Murder

Moderate: Stalking

Minor: Suicide

crystal689's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• 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

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Drug use, Suicide, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Classism

lily_peach's review

challenging dark tense fast-paced

• 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Stalking, and Murder

Moderate: Classism

Poisoning

linneak'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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

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 against another edition

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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

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

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

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

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

4.5

The first 100 pages or so left me skeptical, I didn't particularly enjoy them. (To be fair, that was partly because I really didn't enjoy the character that seemed to be at the centre of it, and he wasn't supposed to be likeable, so that was a problem I pretty much knew was going to happen.) However, it got a lot better after a certain time!

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"!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Stalking, and Murder

Minor: Suicide

CW poisoning (including carbon monoxide poisoning), toxic parents

logger_j's review against another edition

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Suicide, Stalking, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Classism

Minor: Infertility, Forced institutionalization, and Car accident