nisquah's review against another edition
Spoiler
Incorrect description of ASPD, then the further demonizing of those with ASPD and not just the evil character in the book. This isn't a "callout", it's a more personal thing for me. As someone with ASPD who learned cognitive empathy and has many fulfilling and genuine relationships, I just don't enjoy consuming media that speaks about the disorder in this generalizing and/or inaccurate way. There is always a chance that this is rectified later in the book, of course! But I just don't have the energy for it at the moment. I respect those who do!Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Classism, Misogyny, Rape, Infidelity, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Alcohol and Torture
Minor: Death of parent, Abortion, Blood, and Suicidal thoughts
pookiee's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.5
The Wife Between Us is a much better version of the same story; read that instead.
a lot of reviews mention plot twists, but I only read one (
Spoiler
that daphne finally realized what amber was up to and wanted her to ’steal’ her husbandthe writing is very bland; everything is “She did this. Then, she did that.” with no interesting figurative language. the simplicity makes it easy to speed through the book at least.
the characters are supremely boring, too. it’s crystal clear whom readers are supposed to root for/against and these people have no life outside of being virtuous/villainous and rich/poor.
the pov in part i is exhaustingly bitter and part ii is filled with tactless descriptions of abuse just to have us pity one chara and hate the other even more. this is not a deeply psychological book or character study, it’s emotional manipulation with total caricatures and major, laughable plot conveniences.
Graphic: Classism, Infidelity, Sexual violence, Alcohol, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Grief, Chronic illness, Infertility, Sexual assault, Eating disorder, Rape, Terminal illness, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, and Body shaming
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, Abortion, and Child abuse
Minor: Blood
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