kcrutch'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
4.0
Graphic: Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Ableism, Body shaming, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
minimicropup'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
3.0
Main POV:
- A married parent with the ‘perfect’ family. They are a wealthy philanthropist dedicated to cystic fibrosis awareness and funding. They seem open-minded, docile, spoiled, and naïve due to loneliness.
- A single adult in their 20s working in a real estate office while going for the long-con in a self-concocted scheme to infiltrate the philanthropist’s life, although we don’t know why. It could be revenge; it could be because they are completely unhinged.
- Set mostly in a wealthy suburb near Manhattan, NY
- On the ‘juicy’ soap opera side of over-the-top. Not a story you want to go in overthinking or looking for meaningful commentary or symbolism from.
- I don’t mind OTT, but the SLOW OTT is hard to pull off, so although it was an interesting plot in theory, it fell apart in execution for me. I think it could have benefitted from some cuts because the slowness wasn’t contributing to the story, it was stalling it out. We have the story delivered through overreliance on hold-backs (“If only they knew what I was about to do”), overly descriptive scenes about the clothing and appearances of everyone, and a lot of MC internal monologue that involves reminding the reader of a goal or thought we are already are familiar with because it was previously revealed to us…sometimes multiple times!
- There are some problematic tropes in this book, but I think that’s forgivable with OTT/soap opera type plots. It’s like angrily therapeutic. Someone plotting to steal your life and destroy you in the process? Wouldn’t it be nice to find out they self-destructed? Yes, we have women throwing themselves at a man’s feet, being toxic to other women, and using each other to further their own goals. However, this plot used severe physical, emotional, sexual, AND verbal abuse as a major revenge element. It felt icky. But, we also have stories glorifying female serial killers, so just go in to this one aware that it falls into that territory.
- Juicy, behind closed doors domestic thriller
- B****, I’m gonna steal your life trope
- Slow, scheming, long-con sociopathic mind
- Guilty-pleasure soap opera revenge plots
Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Sexism, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Ableism and Fatphobia
Minor: Abandonment and Death of parent
Sexual violence, rape, assault etc are on page, repetitive, and occur within a marriage. Ableism refers to reading difficulties in a childSpoiler
(dyslexia and stuttering)Spoiler
(father abandoning daughters in favour of his sonlizwarnerr's review
- 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
When I first started this book, I hated it. I hated amber, the main character. She was trying to con her way into marrying a powerful man because she had had such a bad life, which is an overdone trope IMO. She connects with his wife and instantly becomes her friend and weens her way into their family. I thought her plans for making her way into their lives and getting this man to succumb for her were working too easily, and I was annoyed because that’s not how it would’ve worked in real life.
The last part of the book plays side by sides of amber and Daphne’s POVs. We get to see it play out of how Amber thinks she’s won when the husband decides to divorce Daphne because she’s finally giving the son he’s always wanted. Daphne is excited because she gets enough money out of the settlement to have trusts for the girls and can escape from him forever.
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Ableism, Abortion, and Domestic abuse
heyimberbie's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Physical abuse, Ableism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Fatphobia and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Abortion
literamy'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
0.5
Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Violence