Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

The Drowning Woman by Robyn Harding

34 reviews

katyannreads's review against another edition

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mysterious tense

5.0


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savvyrosereads's review against another edition

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

4.0

Rating: 4/5 stars

A woman living in her car gets tangled up in more than she bargained for when she saves the life of a wealthy woman.

Another month, another great book club pick! I really enjoyed this one, which kept me entertained and on the edge of my seat the whole time. The chapters were super short (ALWAYS a plus), and the twists and turns made me excited to keep reading and find out what would happen next. I also really enjoyed the changing POVs, which I thought added a lot of layers and nuance to the story.

I did expect another somewhat more “groundbreaking” reveal at some point, but I think that is just a function of consuming a lot of thrillers and always expecting some massive shock at the eleventh hour. Overall, I thought this was really well paced and the plot unspooled pretty nicely—and while there probably could have been another left turn at the end, I’m not overly mad that there wasn’t. As an added bonus, I actually really liked the main characters (even if I questioned some of their decisions), which can be rare for a thriller and which I always appreciate!

Recommended to anyone, but especially if you like: shifting POVs; psychological thrillers; short chapters

CW: Domestic violence/abuse; dementia; death of parent; discussions of suicide/suicide attempt; discussions of homelessness/poverty

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thatswhatshanread's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Another solid domestic thriller!! This has definitely become my favorite sub-genre of mystery thrillers. And this one is heavy on domestic twists and suspenseful thrills!!

While it was a little slow to start, the intrigue never stops. It increases with each chapter (short chapters are the best) and throws in punch after punch of “WTF?!“ drama. This one is best if you go in blind, so I won’t say much else except that you will definitely have trust issues after finishing it. 

Robyn Harding is SO GOOD at what she does!! Fans of “Sleeping with the Enemy”, “Gone Girl”, “Killing Eve” and the like should flock to this book. 

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booksbytheglass's review

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dark mysterious sad 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

4.0

okay yes this was exactly the thriller I was looking for!!! it’s witty, psychological, full of gaslighting moments and unreliable narrators, and down right twisty!

this is my first book by robyn and it certainly won’t be the last!!! 🫡 the way she writes is absolutely addicting and had me flipping through pages desperate to see what happened next!

by splitting the plot into distinct narrators, it created the lull of believing one character before being thrust into another’s mind! and when I tell you that you won’t know it’s over until it’s over, I’m not lying!!!! 

the ending, for as meticulous as the rest of the story was, felt a bit rushed. one second, one of the MCs is afraid for their life, and the next, they’re totally fine … it was a bit 360 at first, but I can’t complain too much because the ending was oddly happy???

this is definitely one that I would recommend to any thriller lover who loves unique plot twists!! what started out as a typical domestic thriller turned into a totally unexpected style!!

thank you to netgalley and grand central pub for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review! 

rating: 4 stars 

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