_msmarian_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Wow. WOW. WOWW.
I have no words to really describe the rollercoaster of emotions that I went through while reading this book! It's a proper mind boggler, to say the least.
While the reader may start formulating who the villain is, it's impossible to really know until the very end.
Probably one of the best paychological thrillers I've EVER read!
HIGHLY recommend this fast-paced page turner if you're interested in this genre.
I have no words to really describe the rollercoaster of emotions that I went through while reading this book! It's a proper mind boggler, to say the least.
While the reader may start formulating who the villain is, it's impossible to really know until the very end.
Probably one of the best paychological thrillers I've EVER read!
HIGHLY recommend this fast-paced page turner if you're interested in this genre.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Pregnancy, Death, Infidelity, Child death, Child abuse, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Murder, Mental illness, Grief, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, and Death of parent
33vee's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Murder, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Death, Emotional abuse, Animal cruelty, Violence, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
brelovestoread21's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
5.0
Read it in one sitting! I couldn’t put it down!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Suicide, Murder, and Violence
robin_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.0
Unreliable narrator who is incredibly stupid at the same time. Contradictory thoughts and behavior. Idek. I only finished reading because I wanted to know if my predictions were right. They were. Still not worth it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gaslighting, Murder, and Death of parent
Moderate: Violence and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Animal death and Animal cruelty
sharlapeggy's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Grief, Vomit, Emotional abuse, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide, Suicide attempt, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Murder, Pregnancy, and Violence
elocinrenae's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Violence
Moderate: Child death and Suicide
on_your_raedar's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
It’s a fine book. I think booktok overhyped it and I had expectation this book couldn’t meet.
Everything felt over written and listening to Jo was 🫠. The dog was the only good character and homie wasn’t even mentioned much.
Anyways at least it’s done now.
Spoiler
The gaslighting as a theme/ way to create an unreliable narrator made all the character insufferable.Spoiler
I will say that Chloe was convincing, the way she had an answer for everything but there were enough signs to know she was the evil. Don’t get me wrong, the husband is TRASH, absolutely trash, but he never came across as a psycho. He enabled his daughter’s condition so he shouldn’t have been surprised that he met his maker in the end. Wish Jo had went to visit her mother in law sooner, that could have cleared a lot of things up for her really quicklyAnyways at least it’s done now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Violence, and Mental illness
Moderate: Death of parent and Child death
Minor: Animal death
jcxjab's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is one of the few books I’ve given a 5! After finished this early in the AM, let’s just say I turned my lights on and tipped around my house. I saw a creator RAVING and usually I don’t take suggestions from others. However, I have been wanting to break into thriller/horror and I think this was perfect.
What an amazing novel. It’s 5/5 for me!
Spoiler
This is a book that nightmares are made of. It makes you question the truth. Who is lying, who has the best intentions, etc. Joanne was a great protagonist. She was misunderstood and seen as mentally unstable. Which had me questioning…. is she just a paranoid mother? Richard could be seen as the one who was wrong when you find out “the truth”. he’s seen in previous chapters smashing glasses, gripping Joanne too tight, having anger issues. So what Chloe says makes sense! Until you hear from Nan…. Poor Joanne. Richard’s face is blown off and she is stuck with an Evil Step Daughter who now has to perfect her plan… againWhat an amazing novel. It’s 5/5 for me!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Suicide, Murder, and Mental illness
ellejo3's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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? It's complicated
3.5
I received an early copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. I'm voluntarily sharing my thoughts on this book.
It's a wild ride. Joanne, her husband Richard, and their baby Evie have recently moved to a big house in the English country side. One day, Joanne sees a letter that she worries is from Richard's ex-girlfriend. Only, it's actually from his estranged 20-year-old daughter, Chloe, from his first marriage. Chloe stopped speaking to him two years ago when he married Joanne. She heard that he and Joanne had a baby and wanted to reconcile so she could get to know her new sister. Richard is overjoyed because he's made several attempts to reconcile with her. Joanne wants to make Richard happy and does her best to welcome Chloe.
The visit quickly spirals out of control, though. Chloe repeatedly gaslights Joanne and treats her poorly overall. Each time, Richard immediately sides with Chloe and aggressively tears Joanne down in ways I consider verbal and emotional abuse. He also gets volatile and throws objects. There are one or two times when he does side with Joanne, but for the most part, he aggressively defends Chloe, which Chloe is fully aware of and exploits.
Despite how obvious the gaslighting is, Joanne begins to worry that she's becoming like her own mother, who was hospitalized for paranoia and other mental health related issues when Joanne was a baby. She also really wants to make Richard happy.
The gaslighting here was so heavy-handed and repetitive that I almost DNFed the book because I was annoyed. The last third is where things really started to pick up though. It was twist after twist. I kind of wish it ended two chapters early. That would've been the ending I was hoping for as I read it. I'm still not sure what I think about the last two or three chapters. I am glad that there was more to the story than a stereotypical gaslighting story, though. I also enjoyed the "Rebecca" vibes.
Overall, I recommend it if you enjoy psychological and/or domestic thrillers. There's definitely some dark twists and turns.
I do want to note a content warning that's not obvious from the description. It is a spoiler, though, so be warned.
It's a wild ride. Joanne, her husband Richard, and their baby Evie have recently moved to a big house in the English country side. One day, Joanne sees a letter that she worries is from Richard's ex-girlfriend. Only, it's actually from his estranged 20-year-old daughter, Chloe, from his first marriage. Chloe stopped speaking to him two years ago when he married Joanne. She heard that he and Joanne had a baby and wanted to reconcile so she could get to know her new sister. Richard is overjoyed because he's made several attempts to reconcile with her. Joanne wants to make Richard happy and does her best to welcome Chloe.
The visit quickly spirals out of control, though. Chloe repeatedly gaslights Joanne and treats her poorly overall. Each time, Richard immediately sides with Chloe and aggressively tears Joanne down in ways I consider verbal and emotional abuse. He also gets volatile and throws objects. There are one or two times when he does side with Joanne, but for the most part, he aggressively defends Chloe, which Chloe is fully aware of and exploits.
Despite how obvious the gaslighting is, Joanne begins to worry that she's becoming like her own mother, who was hospitalized for paranoia and other mental health related issues when Joanne was a baby. She also really wants to make Richard happy.
The gaslighting here was so heavy-handed and repetitive that I almost DNFed the book because I was annoyed. The last third is where things really started to pick up though. It was twist after twist. I kind of wish it ended two chapters early. That would've been the ending I was hoping for as I read it. I'm still not sure what I think about the last two or three chapters. I am glad that there was more to the story than a stereotypical gaslighting story, though. I also enjoyed the "Rebecca" vibes.
Overall, I recommend it if you enjoy psychological and/or domestic thrillers. There's definitely some dark twists and turns.
I do want to note a content warning that's not obvious from the description. It is a spoiler, though, so be warned.
Spoiler
Richard and his first wife had another baby daughter when Chloe was 10 or 11. She died at three months old. Her death is off page, but you do learn how it happened. Due to how traumatic the death of a child is, I wanted to make sure that I noted this specifically.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Violence, Domestic abuse, and Murder
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