Reviews tagging 'Abortion'

Good Bad Girl by Alice Feeney

12 reviews

doodlebeanz's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Alice Feeney has done it again. This is the type of mystery/thriller that I've been needing recently. I am so sick of domestic thrillers where it's the same format - husband and wife look perfect, husband is actually sociopathic/narcissistic, she tries to leave him but he ends up dead OR he cheats on her and still ends up dead, etc. I've been desperate for a book that sucks me in and keeps me guessing, and then provides REALISTIC (as realistic as these sorts of books can be, lbr) answers. This book was so confusing at first, trying to figure out the characters and how they are interconnected, but oh my god, it was such a fun ride. I love that feeling of 'wtf is going on right now' when I first start a book, it just makes me want to read more and figure it all out faster. I ate this book! I love Feeney's writing where she leads the reader down one road and then that road twists into a completely different road, where everything you just thought to be true is actually false and she was just leading you astray. I've only read this book and one other from her (Rock, Paper, Scissors) and they've both been like a game of cat and mouse between her writing and the reader, if that makes sense. It just keeps the reader on the edge of the seat and it makes the experience so much more fun and entertaining. I was literally taking notes and making a family tree of the characters, trying to put it all together myself and I still couldn't figure it out 😂

Tropes: mother/daughter relationships, short chapters, twists and turns, trust nobody, everyone is lying, lies lies and more lies, betrayals and revenge, unreliable narrators, unreliable characters

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death and Death of parent

Minor: Abortion

uranaishi's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Murder

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, and Abandonment

Minor: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Child death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

sierracaine's review against another edition

emotional mysterious 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping

Moderate: Murder

Minor: Abortion

katyannreads's review against another edition

mysterious

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Infidelity, Abortion, and Pregnancy

foldingthepage_kayleigh's review

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

At first, I was having a hard time keeping the characters straight, but about halfway through, I finally figured out who everyone was, and was able to settle in and enjoy the story. I felt like this book was written by Lisa Jewell, rather than Alice Feeney, as it was more like a domestic drama/suspense than a thriller. And I would recommend this one to those who like that genre.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Abandonment

Moderate: Body shaming and Abortion

avidreaderandgeekgirl's review

emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

    I really enjoyed this book, and while some parts were predictable others weren't. The characters were unlikable but in a way that made them enjoyable not ones you hate.
    The narrators were good, but their voices were too similar and made it harder to keep track of whose POV you were in if you came back to the book in the middle of a chapter. Luckily the chapters were named for the character whose POV it was from.
    Overall a good book, I just wish it had been a bit less predictable.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, and Death of parent

Minor: Animal cruelty, Mental illness, and Abortion

kris386's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, and Medical content

Minor: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Infertility, Miscarriage, Blood, Vomit, Dementia, Abortion, and Pregnancy

bekah1210's review

mysterious medium-paced

• 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Mental illness and Abortion

amhud1030's review against another edition

emotional mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, and Grief

Moderate: Miscarriage, Stalking, and Abortion

oceanwriter's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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? It's complicated

5.0

I look forward to Alice Feeney's books every year. After being blown away by Daisy Darker last year, I've spent most of 2023 counting the months until I could read Good Bad Girl. Though the book overall had a much different tone than what I've become accustomed to with this author, I still loved it.

A stolen baby, a runaway, a missing elderly woman, a murdered care home worker... there's an intricate series of events throughout the book that at a glance would seem unrelated but are very much connected. The POVs alternate between Edith, Patience, Clio, and Frankie with twists and turns following each of their steps.

At first, I was surprised by how differently the book read compared to Rock Paper Scissors and Daisy Darker. It didn't have the same urgency and sense of danger. I also found it much more predictable in the beginning, however, I was still caught by some twists by the end that made me react out loud as I was listening, causing me to scramble to backtrack to be sure I'd heard it correctly.

What I liked about this book was the relationships between the characters, particularly the complicated mother/daughter relationships. So much has been withheld between them causing strain and ambiguity. It took me a little while to differentiate Clio and Frankie, but I don't think that would have been as much of an issue had I been reading with my eyes rather than my ears. (Side note: The two narrators did a lovely job reading!)

Though not what I'd expected, I can't say I'm disappointed. Now the wait is on for the next Alice Feeney book!

A huge thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with a free audio ARC of the book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Kidnapping, and Murder

Moderate: Confinement, Death, and Death of parent

Minor: Animal cruelty, Mental illness, and Abortion