Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Love of My Life by Rosie Walsh

21 reviews

bezzzzza's review against another edition

mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Pregnancy

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

laurawoods13's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Pregnancy

Moderate: Infertility and Death of parent

Minor: Alcoholism, Miscarriage, and Stalking

ynaiita_5896's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

 🦀 Emma, a marine biologist lives a quiet, fun and happy life with her husband Leo, an obituary writer, their daughter, Ruby and rescue dog, John Keats. Leo, an adopted child adores this joyous life he's built with Emma in her grandmother's tiny crammed house in London feeling a sense of belonging for the first time in his life. On paper, everything is perfect. But Emma isn't who she said she was. Emma may not even her real name. As Leo unravels the darkness that Emma has so carefully tried to hide, their love is put to the test.

🦀 I went into this book not having read the blurb or any reviews. I just had a feeling it was for me. And boy, was I right! This book has everything I love — a good story, plot twists, suspense, layered, multidimensional characters, and emotions that seep through the pages! I wasn't sure if I loved Emma until part 3 of the book when I was convinced. Rosie Walsh made me feel like Emma was real. A real individual with a past, who's made mistakes, who's loved and lost and who bears it all in the hope that she is also loved back. The story makes you invested because of the rawness of Emma and the beauty of her relationship with Leo. It makes you truly believe that love can win if we allow it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Pregnancy

themadqueen's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Grief, and Pregnancy

Minor: Death, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Medical content, Stalking, Abortion, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, and Alcohol

mo_3's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

Minor: Alcoholism

blairlynn's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad 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

4.0

A solid 4. Started a little slow. conclusion wow. The ending was tied with a bow. Too tidy. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

entropyseeker's review against another edition

adventurous challenging medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.75

I truly didn't know what to expect going into this book. I picked it up because it was linked to some goodreads achievement and man was this a whirlwind. Especially since its a white woman in the UK suburbs. Highly rec, big page turner with just the right bread crumbs to keep you guessing

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Cancer, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Kidnapping, and Death of parent

kelly_e's review against another edition

emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

Title: The Love of My Life
Author: Rosie Walsh
Genre: Mystery
Rating: 4.00
Pub Date: March 1, 2022

T H R E E • W O R D S

Entertaining • Twisty • Propulsive

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Emma loves her husband Leo and their young daughter Ruby: she’d do anything for them. But almost everything she’s told them about herself is a lie.

And she might just have got away with it, if it weren’t for her husband’s job. Leo is an obituary writer; Emma a well-known marine biologist. When she suffers a serious illness, Leo copes by doing what he knows best – researching and writing about his wife’s life. But as he starts to unravel the truth, he discovers the woman he loves doesn’t really exist. Even her name isn’t real.

When the very darkest moments of Emma’s past finally emerge, she must somehow prove to Leo that she really is the woman he always thought she was...

But first, she must tell him about the other love of her life.

💭 T H O U G H T S

I included The Love of My Life on a list of 23 books to read in 2023 because it was one of the 2022 releases that intrigued me, but that I never got around to picking up. I wasn't exactly sure where this story would take me, yet it ended up taking me to the right place at the right time.

Combining elements of a variety of genres (mystery, suspense, romance, literary) flawlessly this book was an entertaining exploration of marriage, motherhood, and whether we ever really know the people we love. Well rounded complex characters are the foundation of this novel. Switching between Emma and Leo's perspectives, there's a slow suspenseful pace where everything unravels at the perfect moment. I didn't ever quite know where things were going to go next, which is why I ended up enjoying my time with this book.

The Love of My Life was another enjoyable GMA pick. Despite this having a slower pace, it was still a page turner that kept my interest. If you're looking for something thrilling, this isn't it. I look forward to reading Ghosted next year.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• domestic suspense lovers
• readers who loved The Last Thing He Told Me

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"When we have experienced more loss than is bearable she says, we hold on to everything."

"I don't know anything, other than that it's only when something's damaged beyond repair that we realize how beautiful it was." 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Cancer, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Infidelity, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Stalking, Abortion, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

bethanyearle's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Moderate: Death, Infertility, Stalking, and Death of parent

Minor: Suicide attempt

wifeslife's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, and Gaslighting