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alylively's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
2.5
Oof. I really disliked this. Great premise: to reduce violence against women, men are electronically monitored and must abide by a curfew or face jail time. What an interesting backdrop for exploring the ethics of gendered house arrest to solve a scary and *real* problem. Instead, the author shows her hand and spoon-feeds readers exposition: men are aloof at their best and manipulative and cruel at their worst; a woman who shows trust or faith in men is naive and foolish.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abortion
Minor: Domestic abuse
chelsaat's review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-paced
1.5
Whew, where to start!!
First of all, I acknowledge that this book is a reaction to the uptick in violence against women in the UK. It’s a major, troublesome issue (there and everywhere) and something definitely needs to be done about it. I also read Jayne Cowie’s author note where she mentions her abusive father and distrust in all men, and I can respect how someone gets to that level. If Me Too taught us anything, it’s that so many men are bad!
I was intrigued by the premise of this book, where men are subject to a curfew from 7 pm to 7 am that’s enforced by electronic tagging. I’m always down for a spec fic about gender issues…if it’s done well. But this was not. Let’s get into why.
1) There is no mention of how this Curfew affects trans women & men, those who are gender fluid, intersex, etc. It’s extremely binary, and the fact that this is set in the UK, a country with a well-known TERF problem, makes the absence of those in the gender spectrum extremely troubling to me.
2) It’s all very surface level. At first I thought this might go in the direction of The Power, which showed that having women solely in control of society is also not great for women. Power corrupts, and women are not perfect, infallible creatures. (It’s also a lot of stress to be in charge!!) Here there are blatant examples of women abusing their power, with one main character even inadvertently killing a guy. But this doesn’t get examined deeper. In fact, this woman is lauded as justified by the end.
Here, women are treating men the way men treat us, and I guess to some that is justice. But I hope that there’s a more equitable solution out there, where everyone can just be treated like human beings.
3) All of the men here are evil, evil, evil. I guess Cass’s friend Billy is a bit more of a grey area, but by the end you also see inklings of his Male Temper. There’s no nuance. By the end, the one character who thinks this system is problematic is completely turned around and hates men just as much as the others. It’s just so….basic.
I could go on, but I think those three points sum up my disappointment with this book. I appreciate where this story stems from, I just wish it had more to say than “All Men Are Monsters and Women Must Destroy Them.”
Thanks to NetGalley and Berkeley Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
First of all, I acknowledge that this book is a reaction to the uptick in violence against women in the UK. It’s a major, troublesome issue (there and everywhere) and something definitely needs to be done about it. I also read Jayne Cowie’s author note where she mentions her abusive father and distrust in all men, and I can respect how someone gets to that level. If Me Too taught us anything, it’s that so many men are bad!
I was intrigued by the premise of this book, where men are subject to a curfew from 7 pm to 7 am that’s enforced by electronic tagging. I’m always down for a spec fic about gender issues…if it’s done well. But this was not. Let’s get into why.
1) There is no mention of how this Curfew affects trans women & men, those who are gender fluid, intersex, etc. It’s extremely binary, and the fact that this is set in the UK, a country with a well-known TERF problem, makes the absence of those in the gender spectrum extremely troubling to me.
2) It’s all very surface level. At first I thought this might go in the direction of The Power, which showed that having women solely in control of society is also not great for women. Power corrupts, and women are not perfect, infallible creatures. (It’s also a lot of stress to be in charge!!) Here there are blatant examples of women abusing their power, with one main character even inadvertently killing a guy. But this doesn’t get examined deeper. In fact, this woman is lauded as justified by the end.
Here, women are treating men the way men treat us, and I guess to some that is justice. But I hope that there’s a more equitable solution out there, where everyone can just be treated like human beings.
3) All of the men here are evil, evil, evil. I guess Cass’s friend Billy is a bit more of a grey area, but by the end you also see inklings of his Male Temper. There’s no nuance. By the end, the one character who thinks this system is problematic is completely turned around and hates men just as much as the others. It’s just so….basic.
I could go on, but I think those three points sum up my disappointment with this book. I appreciate where this story stems from, I just wish it had more to say than “All Men Are Monsters and Women Must Destroy Them.”
Thanks to NetGalley and Berkeley Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Domestic abuse
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