Reviews with content warning for Gaslighting - Rock Paper Scissors

3.5 stars

I tend to tire quickly of twisty thrillers because the twists start sounding all the same. Enter Alice Feeney--this woman knows how to write a twist! I was sucked into this one and completely along for the ride.

In some ways, this book falls into a trope that we know a bit too well. A woman in an unhappy marriage and a husband you can't trust. Normally, this would irritate me--how many books have I read recently with that setup? Here's the thing: I believe this was an intentional choice by Feeney because this book is not like other "girl" thrillers out there. This book is intentionally disorienting, but that is what makes it work and what makes the payoff worthwhile. While I couldn't put this book down, I will say it wasn't perfect. I wouldn't say there were plot holes, but there were a fair number of loose threads that I wish had been cleaned up. I can overlook one or two of such threads, but there were enough that I noticed. Fortunately, or unfortunately (depending on how you look at it), they are bothering me more now that I’ve finished the novel than when I was reading it. I was also frustrated that Adam’s face blindness seemed to be no more than a plot device to make things work. It is such an interesting condition, and I would have loved to have seen it better incorporated into his character.

I feel that Alice Feeney is one of those authors who either works for you or doesn’t. While I’ve only read one other book by her (so far), I do think that she hits the right popcorn thriller spot for me. However, if you have read other books by her in the past and they haven’t worked for you, I would recommend not picking this one up.

However, if you have enjoyed Alice Feeney in the past, or if you just want to giver her a try, this might be the book for you.

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hannahloveslit's review

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challenging dark mysterious 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

4.5

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emmdashed's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-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

Bob is too good for all of these terrible people. Every other character was trash.

The Twist was unexpected, and it certainly kept me reading. However, given how character driven this story was I needed to be able to connect and like at least one of them. Even just a little.

The writing was fine. Very readable, if needlessly and unrealistically cryptic. But that comes with the genre, so I can't fault it too much.

I have some Thoughts on the ending so Spoilers ahead:
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Spoiler

Two separate people being this obsessed with a man? Who by all accounts seems like a completely self interested ass? The fuck? Unbelievable. Could never be me.

Especially when Adam and Robin get back together ???? Like ???? Girl psychologically tortured, then stabbed your wife? I know you didn't like your wife much but still. Can you ever trust that person again? Let alone think "everything inside her is beautiful"? What more can we expect from Adam I guess.

Amelia wasn't a good person at all, but I don't think she deserved what happened to her.

Also literally what was the point of the last chapter. It added nothing.

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dustghosts's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective relaxing tense slow-paced

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

3.0

these people may all be unbearable but ya did get me with the twists

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haylethal's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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spines's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-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

5.0

holy shit

i have never been so thrilled by a thriller in my life, i genuinely could not put this down. i kept guessing at where the story would go but it kept fucking twisting. my heart is still fucking racing, i had no idea how all the mysteries and plot threads could be resolved but alice feeney somehow did it.

this book begs for a reread, as the story began to unravel i found myself flipping back and forth between chapters to connect clues that I'd missed and holy shit this is masterfully woven. also love how stressful the ending is too, damn. according to libby this book took me 2 and a half hours to read but it felt like the whole day, i was engrossed!!

i was ready to be disappointed by the slow start but once the plot picked up i literally could not put it down, fucked up my whole day's plans lmfao

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