Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

The Coworker by Freida McFadden

24 reviews

apageoffictionallove's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Bullying

ranee_samaniego's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

4.0

Frieda McFadden strikes again with another jaw-dropping, edge-of-our-seat thriller. I was able to somewhat guess the big twist this time, but I still couldn’t put the book down and finished it within a day. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying and Gaslighting

Moderate: Infidelity, Mental illness, Suicide, Stalking, and Murder

paperbackprincess19's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious slow-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

1.75

If this wasn’t a Bookclub read I would have definitely DNF’d. I did not mind the story but the ending was terrible and bullshit to be honest.

This was my first Freida McFadden book and I just couldn’t comprehend why so many people love her books after reading this one, but I’m glad I gave her books another go as I’ve enjoyed a few since.

Definitely skip this one, even if you want to go through her backlog.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Violence, Murder, and Toxic friendship

leshalea30's review against another edition

challenging mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

My suspicions were correct, even about the dead body and who did it. 

Didn't expect the Caleb portion there..... 🤨👎🏻
Natalie- wow 😒 
Dawn- NOBODY WANTS TO KNOW THAT MUCH ABOUT TURTLES! 

I'm happy that there's no more turtle talk.  I swear just the word "turtle" is 40% of the book alone.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Mental illness, Suicide, and Murder

Moderate: Death and Murder

Minor: Infertility and Infidelity

Be prepared for turtles. Lots of turtles.......

k8lynn's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

5.0

this may have to be my new favorite by Freida. i loved how you couldn't tell which narrator was the more reliable one. as per usual, she kept me guessing the whole time!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

bookfulthoughts's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Intriguing and full of twists ✨

“After all, there’s nothing that binds two people like a shared secret.”

I was in a terrible reading slump, and this book got me out of it. I enjoyed how easy it was to get into, and the writing style, twist, and different personalities hooked me. I wasn't sure what to expect because I went in blind, but I wanted to get more into thrillers, and this did not disappoint. 

The plot was well-developed, and the twists weren't predictable! I enjoyed that each character was layered, and pieces were revealed as the story progressed. I was constantly jotting down different theories and explanations to see if I could solve the mystery before it got revealed. I have to admit that I was shocked a few times! This book had me thinking, gasping, and buzzed with excitement to reach the end. 

Overall, this was a solid read. I'd recommend this book, especially to people getting into thrillers☺️! Side note unexpectedly I did learn a lot about 🐢🤣.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cursing, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Grief, and Stalking

charlotte_helen's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

4.75

Another excellent thriller written by Freida McFadden. I especially enjoyed the dual POV and how it flicked between Natalie and emails written from Dawn in the past. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Murder

amberboo61997's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious fast-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

3.5

If you like turtles, the book is already 30% geared towards you. 
I neither loved nor hated The Coworker by Freida McFadden. The book is fast-paced, mysterious, and keeps you on your toes as each twist throws you for a loop. However, like some McFadden books I've read in the past, she definitely knows how to write a despicable and unlikable main character. Especially a main character like Natalie, who really embodies the "dumb blonde" trope in a sense as she bumbles through her own lies and bad personality traits once the heat starts being put on her. However, I can't even fault Natalie for the majority of the book since other characters featured in the book have their own flaws and nastiness within them. 
The Coworker overall is a tale about the effects of bullying in both schools and the workplace and how it can have a detrimental effect on anyone involved. Does it get this point across? Yes. But the readers might be in for a shock when the aftermath doesn't give them a sense of "justice" nor does anyone deal with the consequences of their actions. Instead, it feels rather lukewarm. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Suicide attempt, and Murder

Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Infidelity, and Mental illness

Minor: Blood

I'm also going to say this. Everyone in this book needs serious help and their priorities are so low it's in Hell. Like how are you smart and you've been plotting a revenge plot against a person for nearly a decade and yet there are so many flaws and holes in your plot that it's honestly embarrassing? Dawn's obsession with Mia turned their relationship into one that was akin to sisterhood, to one that felt more alike to a "scorned lover" plot. Which would've probably been a better plot than trying to convince us that these two were just high school best buddies. And then lets add on the turtle talk like that's going to make her character any better. Also, how are you going to be going on and on and on about how Mia deserves justice and Natalie deserves to rot and yet the ending is you two having a mutual agreement. What happened to all that gusto? I guess murdering only one of the bullies was enough for Dawn. Which we never come back to by the way. Let's just mention it and shrug it off. Also, Natalie is just...there's not much else I can say on her in terms of bad personality and bad decisions. Much to our displeasure, she'll probably keep winning in life due to her luck and good looks, but it would've been nice to see her actually lose. I feel like Natalie just got slapped on the wrist and because of that, it made the ending very unsatisfactory for me.

booksofautumn's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, and Murder

kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense 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

3.5

While not my favorite of her books, this one still packed a punch. All of McFadden’s novels read so easily, I fly right through them. Many of the chapters end in tiny cliffhangers and they’re short,  so it’s easy to keep plowing through the story. This thriller/mystery did not surprise me as much as some of the ones I’ve read in the past. It did have a twist, but it wasn’t an unexpected one to me so I think that dropped this book in my eyes as far as the rating goes. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail