Reviews with content warning for Gaslighting - The Younger Wife

Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth

81 reviews

mags0914's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.25

I wanted to love this book. It was such a page turner. The ending was massively underwhelming.

*SPOILER*

Twists I thought were coming: something do so with the SA Rachel suffered. Something to do with the “abuse” Stephen was committing- that he wasn’t guilty or was even being framed OR it was worse that he was responsible for the abuse but it was much more sinister (like having an accomplice). Pam was pretending to have dementia so she could get away from Stephen but was very much so still lucid.

Was sooo disappointed as I felt like there was no twist and you never really found anything out for sure other than where/how the money in the water bottle came to be. With the change of ending this could’ve been a 5🌟 book.

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theverycraftyvegan's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-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

Every time I read a thriller I’m reminded of how much I love thrillers.

The Younger Wife was gloriously written. I loved bouncing between the characters and slowly piecing together the puzzle along the way.

Your heart will go out to the women in this book.

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cmbohn's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

What a ride! Some juicy drama in here. Really a good read. Hepworth is a reliably good time.

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anneclareivy's review against another edition

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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? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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hsteel's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-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

2.0

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stungbythewood's review against another edition

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medium-paced

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

3.5

I honestly don’t know how I feel about this book. It was an entertaining read, but that’s the only opinion I walk away with after finishing it.

I have mixed feelings about the whole thing and am left feeling unsatisfied.

I had some difficulty trying to describe what problems I had exactly with the characters when another reviewer had done so perfectly and it’s that these characters are characterized by their vices and that’s it…

I’ve found that this in particular made it difficult for me to like two out of the three very prominent female cast in this book. I felt like those struggles is all that those characters really were, besides being loving family members to Stephen. They don’t really feel like full fleshed out people, just tropes and stereotypes.

A lot of it just feels unrealistic? I’m aware that the brain can repress memories that are traumatic in an attempt to protect itself, but it seems like the recollections both Rachel and Tully have in regards to their father’s abuse are just for plot convenience and not due to an actual recalling of a traumatizing event in their lives.

I also think Heather making up that fake story in an attempt to confront Rachel about her rape was wildly inappropriate,
and quite frankly, none of Heather’s damn business no matter how well seeming she tried to come off.

I also don’t appreciate how Rachel’s assault gets kind of glosses over toward the end of the book. Where Tully has resources available and it’s mentioned that her and her son are seeing specialists to help with their issues, Rachel gets with Darcy and suddenly everything is bright and shiny again.

I don’t want to say that it isn’t possible but :/ it feels very unrealistic for Rachel to have ignored this trauma for over fifteen years then suddenly she’s dating Darcy and things are okay.

What was the point of Fiona Arthur? Her character felt very under utilized as well.

Some positives, this book kept me engrossed, I finished it in two days which is a quick read for me, and I liked how most of the chapters were short. I find that longer chapters tend to feel more laborious to read.

At the end of it all, I have more questions than answers and am left with more confusion than clarity. I’ve heard some positive things about her other books in other reviews so I’m willing to give those a shot.

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