Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing

25 reviews

aleesquer's review against another edition

adventurous 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? Yes

3.75

Man: I love my wife so much she's so cool and sexy and I would murder people to see her smile
Anyone: so you would be honest to her about like. Basic things then?
Man: no ❤

Pros:

• the characters actually have to deal with being parents, rather than just having kids be in the background
• the relationship between Unnamed Man and Millicent is unexpected and really interesting
• less gore than I expected (this could also be a con, I guess, it depends on the reader)

Cons:

• miscommunication is way too common for it not to be annoying
  Bro, you and your wife kill people together. Would it hurt you to be honest about your credit card payments??
• I didn't actually like the ending? Yes, M is a bad person, obviously, but she clearly wanted the whole "2.5 kids picket fence" thing. Why would she mess that up on purpose? I get her throwing Unnamed Man under the bus to save her skin, but poisoning her kid?
• Unnamed Man cheating seems stupid when 1- it is almost certain she would find out, which he knows, and 2- he's head over heels in love with his wife (which is actually one of the things I enjoyed most about the book)
• Not enough info on Holly, imo

All in all, an enjoyable read! The dynamic between the two main characters was really interesting, and I'm excited to see what Samantha Downing writes in the future. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Blood, and Dementia

Minor: Alcohol

alexandriasreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I haven’t binge read a book this long in quite a while. It was so hard to put down! Every time I thought I knew what was coming next, it took a different turn.
I do wish the resolution was a bit better, or maybe just longer, it seemed the set up took precedence. I did enjoy that last line, truly came full circle! Overall, pretty fun read! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Stalking, and Murder

Moderate: Suicide and Alcohol

Minor: Child abuse and Death of parent

heather_lt'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? Yes

5.0

Narrated by a man only known by his alias, Tobias, the plot follows his seemingly ordinary life with his wife. His perspective was great. The author uses his thoughts and memories to tell the entire story of his relationship with his wife in a way that doesn't detract from the plot. Through him recounting various events in his life you get to really learn about his wife and her unnerving personality, which only served to ramp up the tension. It's so hard to review a thriller without giving anything away so I'll say no more, except Samantha Downing exceeded my expectations with a twist to the serial killer plotline. This book is engrossing, twisted, and disturbingly addictive. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Torture, Stalking, and Murder

sarz's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Gore, Gun violence, Blood, Vomit, and Car accident

riella_reads's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Stalking, and Murder