Reviews with content warning for Toxic relationship - Our Kind of Cruelty

I hated this book for most of it. I also expected to find out I was being gaslighted by Mike’s perspective. I won’t say if it did to avoid spoilers, but I will give it a four because I get what the author is trying to say. It’s a book I’d want all my girls to read in college as a cautionary tale of the fragile male ego and the darkness that has been fostered in them by systemic patriarchy , with the understanding that protagonist is an extreme example. I also find this title clever in that the “Our” presumably includes the reader and society at large.

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megwilli's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

3.75

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joelleen's review

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dark sad 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

2.0

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lemurdance's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Mike Hayes is lucky enough to have met the love of his life in college. Unfortunately, the horrors of his childhood, first with an abusive mother and then the subsequent years in foster care, have permanently altered his perception of healthy love and relationships. When he meets Verity, he knows it is forever. Their relationship is rife with mindgames, secret signals, and intensity that Mike clings to even after their breakup and all the way through the tragedy that rips through their new lives.

What begins as the sweet stories of a man deeply in love with his partner gradually reveals itself to be a first-person narrative of an escalating stalker. Mike's earnestness is almost ingratiating to the reader, as he insists everything that's happened since they broke up, including V's marriage, is part of an elaborate puzzle she has set up for him. Were we reading this from V's perspective, everything in me would scream RED FLAGS to her; instead we are stuck waiting to see what Mike's delusions will lead to next.

This tale evoked feelings of sympathy, pity, disgust, hopefulness, and horror. It is truly a rollercoaster from beginning to end and is a prime example of a psychological thriller in all the best ways.

I almost didn't want to love this book because of how emotionally difficult it was at times, but it is so exquisitely dark and twisty that I have nothing but praise for Araminta Hall and can't wait to read more from her.

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sadgirlsidney's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

2.75

You 2.0. The delusions Mike spouts throughout the entire book will make your blood run cold. Although there are times when you doubt and when you question is it real? Did Varity completely manipulate him? Which I think is fantastic because a book like this should make you wonder and question everyone and everything. I do wish I had some insight into what Varity was thinking so we had more answers but alas we are left with the unreliable narrator that is Mike.

All that quasi-positive stuff aside, it's just another run of the mil creepy guy. There isn't anything special about it aside from naming the game Mike and Varity played when they were together. All in all, not worth going out of your way to read but not worth avoiding either! A smooth middle ground to me.

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ruth_power's review

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dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Scarily plausible! Great disturbing and chilling read, kept me guessing throughout

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whimsicalish's review

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dark tense

3.75

I have never heard of this book until I found it on my library app. I like to read suspense/mystery novels; sometimes reading a poorly written suspense can act as a guilty pleasure. By the synopsis, I thought this was going to be a cheesy book about a stalker.

While it does follow an extremely delusional stalker, it wasn't written as cheap as I first thought. I was surprised we got a look into Mike's POV and background. Still didn't make me empathetic towards him.

In the end, it made me sad. After reading the author's note, I think that was the intention.

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hufflesnoot's review against another edition

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dark 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

2.0

I read the whole book waiting for something to happen. But it never really did. There wasn't any suspense and I just didn't care about the characters at all. It got repetitive real quick and it was so slow paced, that I had trouble finishing this book.

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