marlisenicole's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Mental illness, Vomit, Dementia, Infertility, Blood, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Violence, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Murder, Gaslighting, Suicide, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, and Rape
hannahmg's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
1/2 writing/structure/character creation
1/2 enjoyment
I would not recommend this book.
Overall I did not enjoy this book, the first 250 page were not needed and were poorly written, the last 50 pages were as bad as the first part of the book. I only enjoyed a small snippet of the book. The length of this triller is way to long and unnecessary. I felt like I was reading a first draft of a idea.
The writing was partly smart with good ideas but poorly done, the journal extracts giving us a unreliable pov which was smart, reminded me of Dracula, but this was done in a manner which made it worthless, more dialogue than actually description, this was so unrealistic it was unnecessary to make it seem like a dairy. Nicks pov was closer to a dairy than Amy's own dairy entries. The repetition was unbearable, -yes Nick we get it you have a mistress and she is young, very young, and pretty.
The character creation was immense and well though through, Amy and Nick are both so realistic but fucked up at the same time. This is one of the major reasons it is a two and not a one star review.
I thought there was a lot of unnecessary added details, the level of Misogyny and sexism was not needed and weakly touched on at the end. Specifically the character of Nick's father who has Dementia and becomes extremely misogynistic, with the use of the slur "bitch" in both his speech and Nicks thoughts. Why add this, I just think the book would of been fine without it and it didn't feel like a representation of any sorts but more a tick for the check list and even excusing the behaviour.
I was very disappointed in the trigger warning list i found (Storygraph). Yes it is a thriller, we should expect triggering things but at the end of the day the book should have a page of trigger warnings.
Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Death, Self harm, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Cursing, Cancer, Vomit, Violence, Murder, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Gore, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Dementia, Terminal illness, Infertility, Grief, Rape, Pregnancy, Emotional abuse, Body horror, Toxic relationship, Torture, Misogyny, Miscarriage, and Lesbophobia
agirlthatreadsbooksforfun's review against another edition
4.25
“We weren’t ourselves when we fell in love, and when we became ourselves – surprise! – we were poison. We complete each other in the nastiest, ugliest possible way.”
I love mind games, and psychological thrillers seem to have them. I didn't like the first half as much as I thought I would, but when the second half hit, it hit hard. Even though I guessed the big twist, it's what that twist did for the story that made it so captivating. I didn't like the writing style at certain points of this book, it felt a bit too graphic with the cursing and gore (for my taste, that is). It made me uncomfortable, which I guess, is the point. However, overall, this book is chaotically unhinged, disturbingly dark and deceptively brilliant.
Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Cursing, and Suicidal thoughts
katerinamckenna's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexism, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Violence, Domestic abuse, and Death
Moderate: Abandonment, Grief, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, and Pregnancy
Minor: Cursing and Classism
janewa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Blood, Cancer, Death, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Cursing, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Self harm, Violence, and Rape
Moderate: Miscarriage, Rape, Kidnapping, Medical content, Terminal illness, Sexism, Alcohol, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, and Stalking
Minor: Alcoholism, Gun violence, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Vomit
sierrabedwell's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Cursing, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Violence, Grief, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Death, Emotional abuse, Rape, and Vomit
madelinequinne's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Stalking, Alcohol, Blood, Cursing, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Toxic relationship, and Sexual assault
clare072's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Murder, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Cancer, Pregnancy, Blood, Chronic illness, Kidnapping, Stalking, and Rape
Minor: Confinement, Drug use, Grief, Miscarriage, Violence, Misogyny, Cursing, Death of parent, Death, and Dementia
taelights's review against another edition
- 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
Spoiler
Graphic: Sexual content, Blood, Death of parent, Dementia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Suicide, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Murder, Pregnancy, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Cursing, Medical content, Cancer, Death, Infertility, and Rape
Moderate: Miscarriage and Vomit
renyoi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Death, Gore, Sexism, Death of parent, Self harm, Sexual content, Alcohol, Confinement, Cursing, Blood, Terminal illness, Torture, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Rape, Violence, Kidnapping, Cancer, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Classism, Sexual assault, Dementia, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Stalking, and Vomit
Moderate: Incest