Reviews tagging 'Deportation'

The Housemaid by Freida McFadden

30 reviews

tourmalinequeen's review against another edition

dark 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

2.25

I read it for book club and I both did and didn't enjoy it. Not my genre but I'm sure it's something that others will enjoy.
The characters serve the plot not the other way around, and the plot surrounds an abusive relationship. It begins with gaslighting and develops quickly to confinement and psychological abuse. If it weren't for the book club I would not have read it. None of the characters are likeable and backstory gets info dumped in awkward expository segments rather than serving the characters or allowing them to develop. Plot is very fast paced and can be enjoyable at times but the unlikeable characters mean I didn't want anyone to succeed in the narrative, there was no sympathetic character even the ones surviving abuse did not come across as sympathetic. It reads like the author wanted it to be a movie or tv show rather than a book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation

dmackreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I figured out the majority of the plot about halfway through but there it was still a tiny twist at the end I wasn’t expecting and it was so good I read it in a day. Honestly such a good thriller. I don’t like the cheating trope, even in situations like these, so that irritated me. The writing style was good and it was easy to follow also. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Gaslighting

Minor: Deportation

kaitlynokeefe's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Fatphobia, Infidelity, and Gaslighting

Minor: Infertility, Sexual assault, and Deportation

rainerasnic's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, and Violence

Minor: Deportation

fire_wolf's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
FRIEDA MCFADDEN *bows down to her*

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, and Torture

Minor: Deportation

abbiwesner's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• 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: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cursing, Drug use, Infertility, Infidelity, and Deportation

kadinelouise's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Deportation

sophieamreacher'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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Read in one day. Good premise and kept me interested. Was unsure about how the book was split up. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation

kjm19's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I haven’t read a book like this in a very long time - probably since the Girl on the Train?

An incredibly fast-paced crime/thriller novel about a woman on parole who is hired to be a live-in family maid. You can see twists and turns coming for the most part, but you don’t know the specifics and that’s what keeps you on your toes. 

The change of POV at a critical point in the story didn’t leave me wanting more, in fact it answered some questions but also gave me a thirst for more answers. 

The plot centring on the injustices of the prison system and how poorly women in abusive relationships are treated by law enforcement and the ‘establishment’ made it more impactful for me. 

Other than the police chief person’s daughter being Andy’s ex (cliche, lazy, forced…), the ending (last chapter with Andy’s mum at the funeral and the epilogue with Millie being interviewed at a new place) chefs kiss. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation

dezaraemd's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful 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? Yes

5.0

This is without a doubt one of the top 3 books I’ve ever read. Possibly number 1. I can’t wait to start the next one!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body shaming, Eating disorder, and Fatphobia

Minor: Bullying, Cursing, Infertility, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Classism, and Deportation