Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell

122 reviews

allisonpaigex's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Grief, Stalking, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

anne_reader's review against another edition

mysterious 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

kashby's review against another edition

i liked the first two acts but when the theme went from being about how people who experience trauma sometimes gain the capability to harm others into how this girl is cray cray 😝 and forced an old man to date her i was kind of over it. the writing was really good but i just didn’t really fw the ending or how walter’s character was handled.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Moderate: Eating disorder, Gore, Infidelity, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Bullying, Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Pandemic/Epidemic

kitaface's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I don't know how to feel.

No one in the book is reliable or can be trusted, but it seems to be true that Josie and Walter's relationship began when she was a teenager and he was in his forties. HE IS A PEDOPHILE AND SHE WAS ABUSED. No matter what happened later or if she "manipulated him".

The audiobook has great production though, 5 stars for that.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Stalking, and Murder

Moderate: Confinement, Death, Infidelity, Excrement, Kidnapping, Grief, and Death of parent

sweill803's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking

Moderate: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Body horror, Cursing, Drug use, Infidelity, and Blood

wickedgrumpy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

1.0

When it comes to ambiguous open endings, I usually don't mind because I can imagine what I want to follow as an epilogue.  That requires having a good foundation though and this book lacked that in spades.  When the title is the book, you question everything.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

heather_harrison's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.75

4.75 ⭐️

0.25 off because a pedophile is a pedophile not matter the twist

This had my jaw on the floor many times. Somebody order a wellness check for Lisa Jewel because her mind is just 🤯

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, and Pedophilia

Minor: Drug use, Grief, and Pandemic/Epidemic

courtnetto's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

5.0

Whooooa! 
This book really did have me gripped and wanting to find out what happens next, which I love about a book anyway! 
This book revolves around Alix Summer and Josie Fair, after a chance encounter in a restaurant when Josie overhears that it is also Alix’s birthday… they then later discover that they are the same age, and were born in the exact same hospital which then causes Josie to spark an interest in Alix and her personal life.
However, Josie is married to a man who is over 20 years older than her while Alix is married to a man of their age and her kids are still of school age while Josie’s children are in their 20s and one of them has moved out. 
Alix has her own Podcast which Josie becomes interested in, thus adding to her interest of Alix’s personal life. Josie uses this as an opportunity to try slander her own mother, husband and her two daughters (Roxy and Erin). She claims that her husband is abusive to her and both their daughters, hence why their younger daughter moved out. She claims that Walter (her husband) is also abusing Erin on a night when she is asleep so that she doesn’t know - however, it’s later revealed by that he actually goes into her room to game with her as she’s a well known streamer on Glitch (I love that this is the books version of Twitch!) and her Dad adds to her persona as she is quiet but he is chatty and loud, so they end up becoming “Erased and Pops.”.
Josie is a very shady character and she just becomes weirder and weirder as the book progresses, stealing various items from the Summer’s household, such as a drawing Eliza did, Leon’s passport photos, a bracelet and even a necklace! However, as the book progresses we soon discover that she is behind more than just these thefts, as she may be behind murders!
I really despised the character of Josie by the time I got to the end of the book, she just seemed very manipulative and vindictive, Alix is proof of this as she is somehow manipulated into allowing Josie to stay at her house after she had supposedly been “abused” by her husband, Walter who has also hurt their daughter, Erin. Josie is also revealed to be behind the disappearance of Alix’s husband, Nathan, but tried to cover it by using her daughter Erin’s cards to pay for things, such as a hotel room. 
I loved the writing style of this book, it really had me hooked and I just wanted to keep reading and finding out what happened next, keeping me on the edge of my seat. I binged the last 100+ pages within an hour or two because it was so gripping! 
I think Lisa Jewell is going to be an auto-read author for me, well worth the 5 star review!⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Minor: Infidelity and Pandemic/Epidemic

spellbindingtomes's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense 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

4.0

𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘴. 

𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐢 𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬:
Alix Summers, a popular podcaster, meets Josie Fair on their shared 45th birthday. Intrigued by Josie's mysterious life, Alix makes her the subject of a podcast. As Josie becomes increasingly involved in Alix's life, dark secrets emerge. Suddenly, Josie vanishes, leaving Alix and her family in danger. Alix finds herself the subject of her own true crime podcast, desperately trying to uncover Josie's true identity and motives.
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I struggled in the beginning of this one. It was a slow start for me, but I'm so glad I stuck with it because the story became utterly engrossing, I couldn't put it down!

As the plot unfolds, the tension increases immensely. Lisa is a master at creating unsettling and disturbing atmospheres and this was no different. Josie's gradual intrusion into Alix's life was well done and it kept me on edge the entire time. 

I highly recommend the audiobook for this one. The entire podcast effects and narration were phenomenal.

None of This Is True is a riveting psychological thriller that's hard to put down! While it tackles heavy themes, the narrative is absolutely captivating in the most disturbing ways. A perfect blend of suspense and psychological depth that keeps you guessing until the very end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

lizziaha's review against another edition

3.5

My only problem with this book is that it didn’t quite stick the landing. The alternating perspectives of the original timeline and the podcast worked really well, and pulled me in. Having the before and after perspective built tension and kept focus even during slower parts of the story. So for the climax of the story to be told largely off-page felt a little off. I also think (and a lot of thrillers fall into this trap) that the author valued plot twists over a completely coherent plot. Both were subtle—the twists and the inconsistencies—but they both detract from each other. I sort of wish that we’d been able to get a little more into Josie’s headspace as well, though that would’ve perhaps ruined some of the twists. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Violence, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, and Blood