Reviews tagging 'Torture'

The Housemaid by Freida McFadden

785 reviews

fkshg8465's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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

5.0

I loved this way more than I want to admit. It was as twisted as Flowers in the Attic and as delicious as the most decadent chocolate cake. I thought I was going to hate it as the story unfolded, but the second twist immediately undid my reservations. I thought it was going to be a story of the princess waiting to be rescued by the prince. I was extremely wrong and oh so happy to be wrong. And I realize that I love this book because I harbor a modicum of internalized, impotent, simmering rage for all the women who’ve been in Nina and Millie’s positions, myself included (though certainly to a much, much lesser degree). I have a feeling lot of us women identify with these characters more than we want to think about. I’ve read several books by Freida McFadden, and this one is my favorite. I really looking forward to the next one in the series. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

mallorybree's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Loveable characters? No

3.5

I have been conflicted about my rating/ how i feel about this book. I think the writing is very... bad. lol. i found multiple grammar mistakes that just make it feel unprofessional i guess. however, i read it in 3ish sittings. it moves super fast, which i like, and because the writing is sooo simple you never have to reread a sentence haha. the plot is pretty predictable, but not so bad that it isnt fun to read. there are definitely plot holes and inconsistencies but i dont think this book is meant to be very sophisticated. at least i hope it isnt...

 i did find it hard sometimes to read about the abuse/torture. especially as its

a man towards women.

the topic is heavy but thats just a personal thing for me to not love. however the writing is bad enough that it doesnt ever feel TOO real 💀 

overall i liked cruising through the book, and the plot had me wanting to know what would happen (even though i guessed it almost entirely). i saw someone say that this book is a good "palette cleanser" and i fully agree. good to read in the moment but certainly did not change my life, make me want more, or earn a high rating 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Murder

Minor: Rape

brittinyh3711's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Spoilers*****




Wow. I thought she was certifiable then I felt bad for her. Then felt scared for Millie. And after we find out why she went to prison and why Nina hired her! I thought maybe the parents did this and that's why he does it and sort of right. What the mother says at the funeral! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting

starglitters's review

mysterious 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Torture

Moderate: Infidelity

Minor: Rape

meg1241's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I couldn't put this down! Great twists! I never would've predicted it. My first Freida book, and it got me hooked!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Pregnancy

pheebs_reads_'s review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse

Minor: Torture and Murder

hellokaley's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

2.5

My first (and probably last?) Frieda McFadden book. I wasn’t sure what to expect and honestly am not sure how I’ve read this long without venturing into her library, but the idea of a movie had me intrigued in reading the original.

Overall, this one is fast paced with short chapters that makes it a binge-able page-turner. Many of the chapters ended on a “or is it?!” sort of cliffhanger and with the next chapter being 2-3 pages long, it’s easy to just keep it going. 

I don’t really know what to say otherwise- the first part set the scene but you knew all things weren’t quite what they seemed because of the genre. Some things just seemed a bit implausible and dramatic but here we are. Part II took a turn in which I probably would have appreciated reading the content warnings ahead of time. I usually don’t feel like I need to, but the abuse and torture was a little much for me personally. 

All in all, a fast read with a bit of a predictable plot and the parts that were unpredictable were quite unsettling to me personally!

Is Frieda McFadden the Colleen Hoover of thrillers? 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Torture

Moderate: Mental illness, Murder, and Gaslighting

Minor: Infertility

rayahsunshine's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Torture

Minor: Rape

deri_booknook's review against another edition

dark 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Torture

sophieezreads's review against another edition

fast-paced

2.5

the best features were the short chapters and the fast pacing… but during the majority nothing much happened and i thought i was reading some sort of romance novel. the ending was quite thrilling and sort of satisfying but idk… i‘d say not worth the hype

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Torture, Violence, and Gaslighting