Reviews with content warning for Alcoholism - I'll Be You

Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

I'll Be You by Janelle Brown

12 reviews

ajpotz's review against another edition

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4.0

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martieliz's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective medium-paced

4.0

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cemsreadingcorner's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective 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

2.5

This is a story about twin sisters who were actors when they were children. One became an addict and the other joined a cult and kidnapped a baby. Elli, the one who joined a cult, had gotten a divorce. Her husband divorced her because she changed. She joined the cult. She had infertility issues, so, she stole someone else’s child and then went to a “retreat” for two weeks, leaving her parents and twin sister to care for the child.

Crazy story. I felt like the beginning was slow. Not much happened. There were some twists later on in the book. It started getting interesting in the middle. There were some times after that when it was a bit boring. I was nervous for Elli because she was in a cult and I was scared of what they would do if she left or didn’t follow their orders. What I did like about the story was that Elli felt guilty for taking the child.

I liked that she returned the child in the end.

I also liked that Sam cared so much about her sister that she found her and got her out of that cult. I thought that was cool.

Would I recommend this book? It wasn’t that great. It was too slow in the beginning and by the time stuff started happening, I had already lost interest in the story. I almost DNFed it. I didn’t because I wanted to see how the story would end. I was hoping that Elli would leave the cult. I’m satisfied with how it ended, but the story was a bit boring. If this sounds interesting to anyone, then by all means, read the book.

Saturday, September 23, 2023 at 10:51 AM

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cemsreadingcorner's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective 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

4.5

This is a story about twin sisters who were actors when they were children. One became an addict and the other joined a cult and kidnapped a baby. Elli, the one who joined a cult, had gotten a divorce. Her husband divorced her because she changed. She joined the cult. She had infertility issues, so, she stole someone else’s child and then went to a “retreat” for two weeks, leaving her parents and twin sister to care for the child.

Crazy story. The narrators did a phenomenal job. They helped made the story come alive. I enjoyed their performances. Some of the words were pronounced weirdly, but I still enjoyed the performances. Great job! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

Saturday, September 23, 2023 at 10:49 AM

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lisasilv's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative mysterious 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

One of my favorites of 2023. Well-written, good twists and turns, enough characters to be interesting, not too many to be confusing.

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nbreezy17's review against another edition

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dark mysterious 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

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dianapiskor's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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

3.5

This book was not a bad book. If anything, I felt like it was well written and the premise of the story was interesting, if unoriginal. I enjoyed the dual POV between the twin sisters Sam and Elli.

I think my big problem with the novel was the way it was marketed. It’s labeled as a thriller, and I found it to be less like a thriller and more of a family drama. Because of the thriller label, I expected much more from the book than I got, which I don’t believe is the author’s fault. I saw where the book was headed most of the time. The ending felt lackluster and rushed and I would have liked it to be more fleshed out.

Big takeaway here: this book is more of a family drama with some crime elements mixed in.

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