Reviews with content warning for Body horror - His & Hers

I had a great time reading this book, and it’s closer to a 4.5. Right from the beginning, it had me questioning the credibility of every main character that popped up. All of the characters are so shady and suspicious in their own ways, so it was easy to be led astray. Some of the things these characters were doing are still weird, even after finishing it, and I’m still wondering if everything was as it seemed. They are either guilty or chronically shady.

I tried to predict the twists and turns before the ending as I was reading, but nothing prepared me for the plot twist at the end, with the killer. I didn’t have a large reaction to seeing it, but maybe that was just the shock of it all because I was truly surprised. Even with the big reveal, I’m finding it hard to believe that certain characters didn’t have anything to do with what goes down. They lie too much and have too many secrets that they’re supposedly clinging on to for them to be innocent. I enjoyed throwing out wild accusations to the very end, though… almost. At the end, I was too locked in to be asking too many questions.

The author had so many amazing quotes in this book, it was insane. They started to feel a little performative at times, but I was eating them up regardless. I’m including a couple below:

“We were children masquerading as adults and now we are adults acting like children.”

“A smile doesn’t mean someone is happy, just like tears don’t always mean someone is sad. Our faces lie just as often as our words do.”

Alice Feeney does a wonderful job at setting the tone of the novel, and it got me into a headspace that led to many of my wild accusations. She also invokes suspense and unease incredibly well, especially near the end. I got chills at one point, and I love how it made me feel.

Well, there was one scene that made me SUPER uncomfortable, so I would recommend looking at the trigger warnings for the book before reading. It touches on some heavy topics. I appreciate that it touches on the negative effects of peer pressure, bullying, and popularity on young children. Catherine’s story is just so terrible, and she didn’t deserve anything that happened. Richard was also a surprise; that’s all I’ll say.

When they say that the first person who was killed was a terrible person, please believe it. This person is so twisted and evil that it’s hard to be too upset by their fate.

Overall, it is a book that I would definitely recommend (after giving TWs to anyone who picks it up). It left me wondering how much people lie on a daily basis and wondering the motives for it, and it’s something that’ll stick with me after reading.

Content Warnings

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
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

This one just kept me on the edge of my seat, and it creeped me out real bad. Did not see the end coming, and I was really wondering until the last second who I should feel most afraid of. Alice Feeney writes good shit.

Content Warnings

flore_campion's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Content Warnings

kay_reads_books6's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

5.0

I really really thought I knew who the killer was but nope. Not even close. This book had me on my toes, from beginning to end, through every twist that kept happening.

This story is told from 3 POVs: His (Jack's), Her's, and the truth (the mysterious killer).

I reread each POV that was the killer's 3 times each to make sure my guess of the killer was probably correct. It still wasn't. Alice Feeney did an excellent job at keeping you guessing.

This book gives me weird, sex cult Heather's vibes but grown up in a mystery thriller book. I honestly think that's the best way to describe this book.

Content Warnings

growintogardens's review against another edition

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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

2.5

More graphic than expected, and too much focus on some of things mentioned in the content warnings. This book is trigger warning central, it's a lot. Surprised me here and there, but not her best.

Content Warnings