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debtat2's review against another edition
4.0
Well, when Carly asks her husband Rob.... She gets a completely honest answer that is about to rock their world!
Potentially destroying all that is good!I I enjoyed the narrative style of moving through the four players all contributing their own points of view
This book covers some difficult subjects like mental health, addiction, alcoholism, and religious beliefs.
The book has a whole lot of twists, turns, suspense, drama and sex.
It certainly keeps the reader on the edge of the seat the whole way through!
There is also lots of sexual themes so this book might not be for every one, but I will defiantly be recommending this book to all my friends and our book club.
Really good book, Amanda Robson is certainly one to watch. 5 star review
Potentially destroying all that is good!I I enjoyed the narrative style of moving through the four players all contributing their own points of view
This book covers some difficult subjects like mental health, addiction, alcoholism, and religious beliefs.
The book has a whole lot of twists, turns, suspense, drama and sex.
It certainly keeps the reader on the edge of the seat the whole way through!
There is also lots of sexual themes so this book might not be for every one, but I will defiantly be recommending this book to all my friends and our book club.
Really good book, Amanda Robson is certainly one to watch. 5 star review
beaksmeep's review against another edition
3.0
Nothing I was expecting to read. Actually kind of sad. But also a rollercoaster of crazy events and feelings. 3 out of the 4 main characters die though, so that was unexpected.
_stargirl's review against another edition
3.0
This took me over a month to finish, mainly because I read a couple of chapters and had to put it down as I had a headache! I’ve never read a book that has been written the way this book has, whilst reading it the words didn’t flow nicely in my head. The words felt abrupt and I felt as though I was being shouted at whilst reading it. It was bizarre! The whole writing style was just very different to anything I’ve ever read before.
The way it is written is very clever, you feel you really get the full story, from all angles, without missing anything.
That said, the storyline was good, it had some good twists and turns. The storyline made me power through and finish the book. I’m always looking for a ‘different’ type of thriller, and this was definitely it.
The characters actions and words make you want to hate them, but once you get further into the book you find yourself emphasising with them!
I know book reviews are generally about the plot itself, but the way this book was written was the main point for me, and had such an impact that I had to mention it.
I definitely wouldn’t discourage anyone from reading this book! :)
The way it is written is very clever, you feel you really get the full story, from all angles, without missing anything.
That said, the storyline was good, it had some good twists and turns. The storyline made me power through and finish the book. I’m always looking for a ‘different’ type of thriller, and this was definitely it.
The characters actions and words make you want to hate them, but once you get further into the book you find yourself emphasising with them!
I know book reviews are generally about the plot itself, but the way this book was written was the main point for me, and had such an impact that I had to mention it.
I definitely wouldn’t discourage anyone from reading this book! :)
arispooks_'s review against another edition
5.0
It all started with one question. One question that changed many people's lives... "Who else could you go for, if you could?" Obsession by Amanda Robson, is a book you will NOT want to put down. It's four friends, two married couples and the rest is filled with a lot of twisted events that follows them. A complete page turner.
I must admit, the stupidity of Rob (Carly's husband) caught me completely off guard. Reflecting on my own marriage, I thought about putting my husband and I into the story. I personally would not want to know the answer. Nothing good could come out of the situation and for Rob to answer his wife, "Jenni" (Carly's best friend) was a complete and utter slap in the face. So it makes you think... if you were in that situation, what would you do? How would you react? Those are the two main questions I asked myself through out this book. It truly just made you think.
Though that is not the only time Rob was stupid. I can recall a few more moments, but the one that sticks out to me the most would have to be not believing in his wife. I understand that trust completely went out the window in their relationship, but he decided to try to fix things. If it wasn't working, something should have been said. Maybe these events would have turned out a lot more differently. Which leads to something you constantly ponder throughout reading this book. What could have they done differently for a better outcome?
And with focusing so much on the overall outcome of everyone's lives, it made me realized how much I was rooting for them all to be happy in the end. I know some things would never be the same, but something deep down inside me just really wanted them happy. Whether it be they all decided to have an open marriage or for them to switch partners. Whatever it would have been, I believe I would have been okay with. But for three out of four friends to die.... NOW THAT JUST BROKE MY HEART!! In those moments, I silently cursed at the author for making me feel this way.
With that aside, Amanda Robson did a fantastic job writing in present and future tense all at once. It didn't take me long at all, to catch on to her writing style and I was completely engulfed in it. Another thing I give props to is introducing mental illness. I find it hard for people to speak openly about. It was nice seeing the good and bad sides to dealing with mental illness. Though I strongly urge people to view this with an open mind, not everyone who has the same mental illnesses as Carly, will react the same way she did in the book. I felt this statement was important to state because people tend to dwell on what they now and the truth is, we are all still learning and mental illness comes in so many ways. There's no set of rules.
Speaking of Carly, how many people are pissed the fuck off that she killed herself? I KNOW I AM! I legit through my tablet on my bed, I was so astonished. I literally had no idea that things would end that way. It's crazy the power that over think can cause. I didn't want Carly to die at all. She did piss me off in the beginning. I couldn't understand that revenge type of attitude she had. I felt as though she went out of her way to try to hurt her husband and best friend because they could. I do understand she was very paranoid with the situation and in a way I can't blame her. Though why couldn't she just discuss it with her husband? So many unanswered questions.
Which leads me to Jenni and Craig... whom I seriously dislike.
Craig was the true bitch-whore. Any sort of temptation that dangled in front of him just reeled him in and he took the bait. If HE truly loved his wife, Carly wouldn't have been able to get as far as she did. She mightn't tried and looked for someone else, but even she stated herself that she was far to busy to find someone else with her kind of schedule. It wasn't entirely his fault that all this happened because it takes two to tango. But he was a huge reason this all went as far as it did. He just couldn't keep his mouth and stick to himself.
As for Jenni... she grew into a bitch-whore. At first I felt sorry for her and was made at her deeper into the book. Especially the "rape" scene. That really set me off! To only find out that it was just roleplaying and she truly wasn't AS psycho as I was thinking. Rob truly enjoyed having sex with her even as Carly was getting to be her normal self. But her killing her husband and his new lover changed my mind and she became just as psycho as I thought she was.
All in all, this book took me on a rollercoaster of mixed feelings and unanswered questions. I haven't stopped talking about this book since I finished it. I will be suggesting this to everyone I know.
Thank you Amanda Robson for this psychosexual thriller, I enjoyed the ride.
liisp_cvr2cvr's review against another edition
5.0
Obsession is a hard-hitting, emotional turmoil of a novel focusing on the lives of 2 married couples. Rob and Carly. Jenni and Craig.
First person POVs from the four of them gave for a very personal and intimate reading experience, leaving me often times frustrated. One thing is for sure, there ain’t no saints and sinners in this book. There are only sinners. Which is funny because one husband and one wife are devoted Christians and they’re not married to each other.
Due to the nature of this book, there isn’t much I can reveal in terms of plot. I couldn’t even tell you just how many surprising turns of events happen because this way you’ll expect them as you read the book yourself. There may be one mega twist, or there may be a gazillion mini twists. You’ll never know until you plant yourself into the lives of the two families. Their lives and thoughts will pull you in and as you’re on the direct train towards Town ‘Oh Hell, No’ with them, don’t forget that this is fiction you’re reading. And, please, do not ask your spouse silly questions if you can’t handle the answers!
So, I promise you this- you won’t be bored. There’s drama galore but not in the cheap manner of a Latin American telenovela but rather in a devastating ‘this could actually happen’ way. Obsession is truly quite dark, difficult to process and full of emotions ranging from love to hate, from fidelity to spouse and God to disloyalty.
Obsession is not just a story about one woman’s obsession of her husband cheating on her. It’s about more. So much more. It’s about obsession with everything: sex, drugs, attention. It’s about depression and bad decisions. It’s about selfishness and more selfishness. It’s about being a complicated human being. Most importantly, it’s about showing that we’re ALL complicated, selfish and obsessed. Some are just better at hiding it than others.
Going back to being frustrated… yeah, Robson managed to twist it all up into a perfect knot that can never be untangled. Two relationships impacting each other. 4 adults with personal demons. Using, abusing, going crazy with no return. Frustrated? I wanted to like at least one character in this book. I didn’t. Not because they weren’t written well. But because they WERE written well. I never really want to be in anyone’s head like this, so deeply, not a single thought hidden.
You know how sometimes you’re asked: If you could have a superpower, what would you like?
And sometimes people say: the power to read minds.
I say: thanks, but no thanks! I say, fuck that! And again, no thanks! Sharing deepest thoughts, desires and dreams with a spouse is good, of course. But the beauty here is knowing said spouse… knowing where their limits are, knowing the truths and secrets they can handle or not, knowing what should and should not be left unsaid. Even though two people are one, two people are still two people.
Obsession, in that sense, was really well written. I may be repeating myself here, but whatever writing technique Robson was using- it worked.
To summarize:
There were moments in this book I felt I was invading the character’s most intimate moments and thoughts. These moments were brutally honest, selfish and sad. I cringed. A lot.
Responsibility is killing me.
There were moments in this book where the intimate moments in between characters made me want to cry for help and someone to pass a scoop of common sense. Please, someone send a good few moments of mental clarity! But life isn’t pretty… we take what we want.
We climax and climax, together. A waterfall that feels as if it will never stop.
There was a moment in Obsession, when I wanted to high five a devout Christian. That was a first for me *tongue in cheek* It was funny and unexpected. I laughed out loud, so loud.
‘Jenni, I can explain,’ he repeats.
‘Can you, Judas?’ I hiss.
Fact is this- the book does feel a bit long at 464 pages. It made me feel trapped in a nightmare, and yet I couldn’t stop reading. I was inhaling every word, inhaling every inner monologue, inhaling every bittersweet moment…. 464 pages…. 464 pages of me being disgusted, of me trying to be understanding, of me shaking fists at the Lord above (yeah, not really that last one)… 464 pages of me not understanding how people can live their lives into such difficulty. How, actually, it might be easier than one could think, to slip into a dark hole and become a vile monster.
One simple question from wife to husband. A stupid, silly question. One simple answer. A stupid, silly answer! Less than a minute of interaction in between partners which resulted into years of heading towards hell. One simple question and answer, at a crossroads, which, if both were left unsaid, could have pushed married lives into a completely different direction.
Time… yes, if only we could turn back time. Hindsight is 20/20, as they say and all that jazz.
Time… yes, time is a handy tool to use.. think before speaking. Think before asnwering. That’s what time was invented for. Time to use, time to spend, time to regret…
And the ending? I don’t want to spoil it for you, but I will say this- impact equivalent of a roundhouse kick to the Solar Plexus. Karma is a clever Lady, and life is its bitch.
First person POVs from the four of them gave for a very personal and intimate reading experience, leaving me often times frustrated. One thing is for sure, there ain’t no saints and sinners in this book. There are only sinners. Which is funny because one husband and one wife are devoted Christians and they’re not married to each other.
Due to the nature of this book, there isn’t much I can reveal in terms of plot. I couldn’t even tell you just how many surprising turns of events happen because this way you’ll expect them as you read the book yourself. There may be one mega twist, or there may be a gazillion mini twists. You’ll never know until you plant yourself into the lives of the two families. Their lives and thoughts will pull you in and as you’re on the direct train towards Town ‘Oh Hell, No’ with them, don’t forget that this is fiction you’re reading. And, please, do not ask your spouse silly questions if you can’t handle the answers!
So, I promise you this- you won’t be bored. There’s drama galore but not in the cheap manner of a Latin American telenovela but rather in a devastating ‘this could actually happen’ way. Obsession is truly quite dark, difficult to process and full of emotions ranging from love to hate, from fidelity to spouse and God to disloyalty.
Obsession is not just a story about one woman’s obsession of her husband cheating on her. It’s about more. So much more. It’s about obsession with everything: sex, drugs, attention. It’s about depression and bad decisions. It’s about selfishness and more selfishness. It’s about being a complicated human being. Most importantly, it’s about showing that we’re ALL complicated, selfish and obsessed. Some are just better at hiding it than others.
Going back to being frustrated… yeah, Robson managed to twist it all up into a perfect knot that can never be untangled. Two relationships impacting each other. 4 adults with personal demons. Using, abusing, going crazy with no return. Frustrated? I wanted to like at least one character in this book. I didn’t. Not because they weren’t written well. But because they WERE written well. I never really want to be in anyone’s head like this, so deeply, not a single thought hidden.
You know how sometimes you’re asked: If you could have a superpower, what would you like?
And sometimes people say: the power to read minds.
I say: thanks, but no thanks! I say, fuck that! And again, no thanks! Sharing deepest thoughts, desires and dreams with a spouse is good, of course. But the beauty here is knowing said spouse… knowing where their limits are, knowing the truths and secrets they can handle or not, knowing what should and should not be left unsaid. Even though two people are one, two people are still two people.
Obsession, in that sense, was really well written. I may be repeating myself here, but whatever writing technique Robson was using- it worked.
To summarize:
There were moments in this book I felt I was invading the character’s most intimate moments and thoughts. These moments were brutally honest, selfish and sad. I cringed. A lot.
Responsibility is killing me.
There were moments in this book where the intimate moments in between characters made me want to cry for help and someone to pass a scoop of common sense. Please, someone send a good few moments of mental clarity! But life isn’t pretty… we take what we want.
We climax and climax, together. A waterfall that feels as if it will never stop.
There was a moment in Obsession, when I wanted to high five a devout Christian. That was a first for me *tongue in cheek* It was funny and unexpected. I laughed out loud, so loud.
‘Jenni, I can explain,’ he repeats.
‘Can you, Judas?’ I hiss.
Fact is this- the book does feel a bit long at 464 pages. It made me feel trapped in a nightmare, and yet I couldn’t stop reading. I was inhaling every word, inhaling every inner monologue, inhaling every bittersweet moment…. 464 pages…. 464 pages of me being disgusted, of me trying to be understanding, of me shaking fists at the Lord above (yeah, not really that last one)… 464 pages of me not understanding how people can live their lives into such difficulty. How, actually, it might be easier than one could think, to slip into a dark hole and become a vile monster.
One simple question from wife to husband. A stupid, silly question. One simple answer. A stupid, silly answer! Less than a minute of interaction in between partners which resulted into years of heading towards hell. One simple question and answer, at a crossroads, which, if both were left unsaid, could have pushed married lives into a completely different direction.
Time… yes, if only we could turn back time. Hindsight is 20/20, as they say and all that jazz.
Time… yes, time is a handy tool to use.. think before speaking. Think before asnwering. That’s what time was invented for. Time to use, time to spend, time to regret…
And the ending? I don’t want to spoil it for you, but I will say this- impact equivalent of a roundhouse kick to the Solar Plexus. Karma is a clever Lady, and life is its bitch.
brontet97's review against another edition
2.0
This one started out so interestingly and I was super curious as to where it was headed. The characters were interesting and I liked the switching of perspective BUT by the time it got to halfway through I realised I didn’t like any of the main characters anymore and I personally think it went on too long!
jodiew's review against another edition
4.0
Such a gripping book! For fans of psychological thrillers this book is perfect. It involves two married couples with children and on a camping trip away one wife asks her husband a seemingly innocent question about who he fantasizes about. Of course he answers and the answer plays on his wife's mind. The whole plot is thrilling and the book is such a page turner as it explores the aspect of trust in relationships and when it is okay to lie. There is a strong element of mental health in this book which adds another layer to the perception of characters. In terms of the characters, they can come across as unlikable but this is intentional of the author as it provides more depth to the story. The ending is interesting and fits with the theme of the story.