Reviews

Emancipation by Jo Michaels

leanner's review against another edition

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5.0

I was given an ARC for an honest review.
Warning contains spoilers

This was far removed from my regular reading so I thought it might be interesting to try a new author to me.
Most of the story revolves around the prison life and letters back and forth from prisoner to lawyer. I admit thinking what a bimbo, what is your outcome going to be. He is pretty evil and she seemed to be so innocent and naive...surely not.
I'll admit I did NOT see that coming. Once that conclusion started to unfold I had guessed who she probably was. But I still wondered if he'd be able to escape and destroy her life. Got quite brutal there at the end and I guess I thought 'you had that coming to you'!
The story flowed well and the characters were well fleshed out and intriguing.
Well done, if you enjoy dark tales I recommend this book.

bookdarling1987's review against another edition

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5.0

Wow.... first off I would like to thank NetGalley and the author for my copy for an honest review. If you are looking for a book to give you the warm and happily ever after this is not your book. This is so much better then that this is beautifully written revenge! don't really know what to say without giving anything away so here goes...
Tobias is on Death row for killing a whole family. He is on a website called penpalinmate. com and receives letters from people, most to which he just throws away all except one, one that intrigues him. It's from a Jessica Phang, she is an attorney and has followed his case in law school. This letter gives Tobias a little hope as Jessica says she believes his innocence.
After a some letters back and forth and a few meetings they both believe there is a good chance of him getting freed, Tobias is already planning his next victim!
Will Jessica get his conviction overturned? Will Tobias be freed to kill again?
This is a gripping read which I encourage you to one click you will not be disappointed!

petra_reads's review against another edition

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4.0

Emancipation is the story of Tobias and Jessica. Tobias is a serial killer who has been on death row for 8 years. Jess is a 24-year-old criminal defense attorney. They get to know each other via a pen pal program. Jess wants to get Tobias's conviction overturned.
You may think Emancipation will turn into a lovey-dovey romance, far from it.
It's a dark psychological thriller containing extremely graphic material.
I was in two minds about this all the way through.
The positives:
Jo Michaels' portrayal of a psychopathic killer was fantastic. The way he behaved and talked made a lot of sense. I loved the passages where the reader was inside his twisted mind.
I thought the story-line was creative and very engaging. It definitely held my attention and I wanted to continue reading to find out what happened to Tobias and Jess in the end.
But that's where the not-so-positives started as well.
I think if you read a lot of books in this genre, you will be able to pinpoint quite quickly what exactly is happening here, so there were no big surprises.
But my main issue was that the entire situation was so unbelievable. I'm not going to expand on this because it would ruin the story for any potential readers. If you can get past the can't-see-this-happening-in-real-life and just suspend disbelief for the sake of fictional entertainment, then you have yourself an exciting thriller here with some moments that will simply blow your mind. If you're squeamish, be warned, it contains some very unpleasant details.
I tend to give low ratings to books with unrealistic plots but because this kept me totally engrossed despite its implausibility and because I loved the serious wickedness of the characters, I'm giving it 4 stars.
This was my first book by Jo Michaels, and I am very curious to see where she'll take this series with her next book.
I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

thatbooknerd__'s review against another edition

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5.0

Received an ARC for honest review!
Is there a option to give a book more then 5 stars because this book definitely deserves it.
I think maybe this is one of the most f*cked up books I have ever read. It was a basic plot, with so much more added on to turn it into something else. As I was reading I was thinking I had the ending figured out, it was going to be predictable, but I just didn't see that ending coming at all.
This was a story very well manipulated by the author, she had you thinking one thing but all along she was one step ahead with the truth.
The story had me on the edge of my seat the whole time, wondering what would happen next. There is a lot of graphic violence in this book and it's definitely not for the faint of heart. Some parts had me cringing in my seat.
I love the cover, I loved it before I read the book, it's creepy but catches your eye and makes you want to know more. But after reading the book, I think the cover is PERFECT!
If you are a fan of dark, psychological thrillers then this is right up your street.
*hides in the corner, stalking the author*
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