Reviews tagging 'Ableism'

A Criada by Freida McFadden

8 reviews

tourmalinequeen's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

2.25

I read it for book club and I both did and didn't enjoy it. Not my genre but I'm sure it's something that others will enjoy.
The characters serve the plot not the other way around, and the plot surrounds an abusive relationship. It begins with gaslighting and develops quickly to confinement and psychological abuse. If it weren't for the book club I would not have read it. None of the characters are likeable and backstory gets info dumped in awkward expository segments rather than serving the characters or allowing them to develop. Plot is very fast paced and can be enjoyable at times but the unlikeable characters mean I didn't want anyone to succeed in the narrative, there was no sympathetic character even the ones surviving abuse did not come across as sympathetic. It reads like the author wanted it to be a movie or tv show rather than a book.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation

rlevy_95's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

I liked the idea of the book more then the execution. I just didn’t really enjoy Millie’s voice, it felt really young which makes sense but it just didn’t hit the right notes for me. I’d give some of her other books a shot though!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Torture, and Murder

itsjustkatereading's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

After seeing all the hype surrounding this book, I finally caved and whilst it was nothing mind blowing and I’m not sure I see what all the fuss is about, it did make for an entertaining afternoons read.

This was a very copy and paste kind of thriller. It’s something I feel like I’ve read many times before (besides the ending, which was refreshing after a rather uninspired first 90%) however it was unbelievably easy to read. I flew through this and definitely found myself wanting to know what was going to happen. It’s just a shame I correctly guessed the answer to that question within the first few pages. 

Overall, this was an incredibly easy read and a great one for those new to the thriller genre but nothing awe inspiring (I was also not a fan of the ableism surrounding mental illness).

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Ableism and Fatphobia

katharina90's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

1.0

Unoriginal, predictable, boring, not well written.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Violence, Murder, and Classism

Minor: Sexual assault

znvisser's review against another edition

mysterious tense fast-paced

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

2.0

Meh. This was creepy right from the start and it was easy enough to continue reading, even though for about the first third nothing much happens except variations of the same issues. The chapters were too short to have each one ending with a dramatic sentence in conclusion, I’d have preferred smoother transitions. Nina felt stereotypical, and the gaslighting and Millie’s naïveté kept dragging on; even though it’s clear why she needed this job, I didn’t understand her complete refusal to try exerting some influence over her situation, like doing some job searching on the side or learn basic Italian. Especially weird considering where she spent the previous ten years: no survival instinct at all, just helpless vibes, staying in place while everything around her warned her to do the opposite.

And once you find out the details of her past, it’s even weirder she blindly trusts this random guy so quickly.

So despite the tension, this turned out quite repetitive and the flat characters were the final blow, all of this completely lacking depth. Yes, it’s fast-paced and mysterious, but at what cost? Really confused the reviews aren’t at least more mixed for this. Well, at least I ticked off the first prompt of my reading challenge!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Body horror, Death, Fatphobia, Infertility, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, and Blood

typedtruths's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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? No

2.0

yeah, booktok lied. 

i have read this book in, at least, ten variations and almost all of them did it  better

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Cursing, Infertility, Infidelity, Torture, Forced institutionalization, and Gaslighting

Minor: Racism, Sexual assault, Violence, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Sexual harassment

peachmoni's review against another edition

dark 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

2.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Death, Infertility, Infidelity, Torture, Murder, Gaslighting, and Classism

Minor: Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Gore, Rape, Sexual content, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

emcfeely's review against another edition

1.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Infidelity, and Forced institutionalization