Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
dark
mysterious
sad
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
Oh man. This was so icky but I could not put it down.
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Wasn’t too descriptive, but descriptive enough to make me feel icky. Fueled my hatred for men and traditional society. I’m normally pretty good at guessing plot twist, I somewhat guessed it, but figured it was too far fetched. Still enjoyable though. Didn’t love the ending, but couldn’t really see it ending any other way. Over all great read 🖤
Holy crap this was intense! Twisty in the best possible way and was quite unpredictable. It was unexpected how much I enjoyed this book!
I have literally spent 4 whole months, FOUR, thinking about [b:The Last Housewife|59349100|The Last Housewife|Ashley Winstead|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1649778403l/59349100._SY75_.jpg|93510806] by [a:Ashley Winstead|19926652|Ashley Winstead|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1636826749p2/19926652.jpg] and what on earth I should rate it. For one, I actually had a ton of issues with the content in this story, but at the same time have to imagine that a lot of it is more realistic than I would like to think it is. The book revolves around a sex cult and there are so many triggers that I wouldn't even dare to try to list them all since I know for sure I would miss more than one. For that reason, you most certainly should NOT go into this blind if you have any sensitivity to triggers at all. Thankfully, the triggers (could there be more? maybe) are listed at the very beginning so if you can't or don't want to find them through reviews you can definitely find them that way.
Beauty and all that comes with it is a major theme throughout the novel and something that Shay struggles with. Despite the darkness of the story, I can appreciate what Winstead was trying to do here, and the conversation with her at the end of the book is a must-read. This would honestly make a great pick for a book club, and there is more than enough content to fuel a great discussion. Alexis Van Aiken narrates the audiobook, and if you are bold enough to dive into The Last Housewife, I would highly recommend it. Van Aiken did a phenomenal job, and I can only imagine it takes a special kind of person to be able to voice this book. I loved the podcast aspect of the story and the something extra having it offered. If you can get past the dark and disturbing, there is a lot to think about here and it just might be Winstead’s best yet.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Beauty and all that comes with it is a major theme throughout the novel and something that Shay struggles with. Despite the darkness of the story, I can appreciate what Winstead was trying to do here, and the conversation with her at the end of the book is a must-read. This would honestly make a great pick for a book club, and there is more than enough content to fuel a great discussion. Alexis Van Aiken narrates the audiobook, and if you are bold enough to dive into The Last Housewife, I would highly recommend it. Van Aiken did a phenomenal job, and I can only imagine it takes a special kind of person to be able to voice this book. I loved the podcast aspect of the story and the something extra having it offered. If you can get past the dark and disturbing, there is a lot to think about here and it just might be Winstead’s best yet.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Wow wow wow wow wow. I really appreciate the content warning at the beginning: “Suicide, rape, physical violence, sexual violence, trauma, self-harm, misogyny, gender essentialism, drug use”. This is appreciated because the story was incredibly disturbing and shocking, if not also deeply real. Although very much fictional (especially the scale of the cult), the sexual violence, misogyny, and gender essentialism is what we live. The women’s rage is also so familiar.
I appreciate that this author took the time to counter the story’s misogyny and gender essentialism. I’ve had gripes with books before that have explored similar themes and have not challenged them in text. There’s an assumption that we, as the reader, know what we are reading is wrong and why. However, these themes are pervasive in our society and are often taken for granted. I think it’s important to not allow sexual violence, misogyny, and gender essentialism to be unchallenged in text.
I could have gone without the romantic subplot, tbh.
This story can be very triggering, so please take that into consideration if you are thinking of reading it!
I appreciate that this author took the time to counter the story’s misogyny and gender essentialism. I’ve had gripes with books before that have explored similar themes and have not challenged them in text. There’s an assumption that we, as the reader, know what we are reading is wrong and why. However, these themes are pervasive in our society and are often taken for granted. I think it’s important to not allow sexual violence, misogyny, and gender essentialism to be unchallenged in text.
I could have gone without the romantic subplot, tbh.
This story can be very triggering, so please take that into consideration if you are thinking of reading it!
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This one was weird
best book ive read in 2022.
i love how this novel explores the idea of what makes up a victim, and the idea of consent. that sometimes internalized misogyny and manipulation can run so deep that you consent to extremely painful things to satisfy yourself through that pain in a physical or emotional way.
also i know a lot of people are complaining about the addition of shay's marriage, but i think the author is right about what it adds to the story. there's a clear imbalance of power between shay and cal, and that while people who are violently misogynistic and abusive like don do exist, there's this casual sort of misogyny that can exist even in something supposedly equal, such as a marriage.
i love how this novel explores the idea of what makes up a victim, and the idea of consent. that sometimes internalized misogyny and manipulation can run so deep that you consent to extremely painful things to satisfy yourself through that pain in a physical or emotional way.
also i know a lot of people are complaining about the addition of shay's marriage, but i think the author is right about what it adds to the story. there's a clear imbalance of power between shay and cal, and that while people who are violently misogynistic and abusive like don do exist, there's this casual sort of misogyny that can exist even in something supposedly equal, such as a marriage.