Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

The Perfect Marriage by Jeneva Rose

12 reviews

mckenziecreads's review against another edition

funny medium-paced

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

1.5

This genuinely may be the worst book I’ve ever read. The writing, ending, character development, and story are just bad. It was the kind of bad that may be cringe and sigh with disappointment more than once. I unfortunately cannot recommend this book to anyone I want a cordial relationship with.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Classism

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Vomit, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Alcoholism, Biphobia, Bullying, Child death, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Stalking, Abortion, and Alcohol

So many plot holes that never get filled.

rchulin1's review against another edition

tense fast-paced

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

3.75

Okay so I knew who the killer was because of a Facebook post and I really was looking for hints of that character being the killer but there weren’t any just so many plot holes I also wish there were more court scenes all that being said the basis of the book was very interesting 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

almendraa's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Infidelity

Moderate: Cursing, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Murder

Minor: Addiction, Sexism, Stalking, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship

disguisedposer's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

2.5

Ended up giving it a 2.5. I started reading it and almost dnf after the first couple of chapters but then had a long drive so put the audiobook on. Adam's chapters/narration kept me in, it was actually kind of funny in places (not sure if it was meant to be), but Sarah's chapters and narrator were not good. I would have evened it out with a 3, but the ending made me roll my eyes so hard I was in danger of driving off the road. (This scenario is more plausible than this book). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

rsagarin's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Infidelity, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

mel_bee_421's review against another edition

dark medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

violetbentbackwards1036's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

madreadings's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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

2.0

this book reminded me of gone girl in both the best and worst possible ways.  in both this book and gone girl, i didn’t trust either of the narrators but found the male lead to be too arrogant and stupid to actually pull anything off.  the pacing, writing style, and dialogue all felt very gone girl to me.  however, the biggest difference lies in the characters.  in gone girl, i didn’t like anyone but i found them enjoyable to read; in the perfect marriage, i didn’t like anyone and found them insufferable.  sarah is a very arrogant character, shown by her belief she can do whatever she wants whenever she wants; adam is a coddled momma’s boy who is whiny, jealous of his wife’s success, and an overall annoying narrator.  the side characters feel cartoonish and stereotypical — the gay best friend, the sleazy sheriff, the slutty mistress, the overly dependable assistant (who, of course, is not really an assistant but a friend).  

i also guessed the killers half way through the novel.  the actions aren’t hard to tell if you’ve read any halfway decent suspense novel.

if you separate realism from the book, it would be more enjoyable.  however if you look from a realistic viewpoint, the book falls apart.  sarah’s actions are completely inappropriate and unethical, the sheriff would never let her do half the things she does, and the way the lawyers act in this novel is unrealistic.  

it’s not the worst book i’ve ever read, but as a “completely gripping psychological suspense” it falls flat.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Blood, Police brutality, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

megan_j's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Was going to give 3 but it was bumped up because I genuinely didn’t expect the twist, but at the same time it didn’t SHOCK me. Sarah gives me big Amy dunne vibes, just not as well written. Girlboss gatekeep gaslight ✌🏼
Most of it was boring repetitive and predictable, don’t see what all the fuss was about. Idk why they got married in the first place. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Stalking, Murder, and Toxic friendship

jayne_kal's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Blood

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Addiction, Physical abuse, Suicide, Police brutality, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail