Reviews tagging 'Rape'

None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell

79 reviews

lestatbp's review against another edition

mysterious slow-paced

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

0.25

A terrible book. I felt like I read the notes and outlines for five different books. 

The first part is nice and slow and mysterious. About halfway through it all goes to hell with messy plots, characters who all of a sudden act differently or disappear from the story, characters that appear from nowhere and have nothing to do with the plot, and and hundreds of red herrings that are just there for no reason (not ever referenced again, just filler to confuse your mind).

It's a real shame because it could have been a great story. It almost feels like it was written by AI because it has huge gaping holes or things said about characters that make no sense to a human mind. 

I read 150 books a year and, honestly, it is the worst book I have read in five years. Don't waste your time. I assume the rest of her books are as bad, so I wouldn't bother with trying another one by the "author." 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Just a terrible book that seemed to stuff in as many "triggering" topics as possible whether they pertain to the story or not. It was a really bizarre experience reading this.

savergano's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Rape, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

lightthebeam's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

2.0

Outside my normal genres and this confirms that these sort of books are indeed not my cup of tea. I don’t think it was poorly written by any means, it just doesn’t feel good to read these type of books. An unreliable narrator is one of my least favorite tropes though I do believe this one was done with slightly more success than others I’ve read. I still didn’t like it. The premise was cool enough, but I could guess a fair amount of what would happen. The twist? At the end with the daughters didn’t feel like a twist as you get no indication of what is the real story which maybe some people like but to me it felt lazy & unkind to the reader. The mixed timeline/different perspectives were the coolest part. But honestly I did not like this book and will likely not read anything similar to it for a long time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Sexual harassment

dirrtydeenyul's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Stalking, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Confinement, Eating disorder, and Murder

Minor: Infidelity, Rape, Stalking, Pregnancy, and Pandemic/Epidemic

sophieannabelle's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-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

2.75

I liked the mystery aspect of the book of slowly finding out more and more as Josie reveals her story to Alix. However, unreliable narrators is not my favourite trope. I didn’t find characters likeable but I thought the plot was interesting modern take for a murder mystery/psychological thriller and the description and language did portray the weird creepy feeling from Josie very well.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, and Rape

maybe_shelby's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

throughout the beginning of the story, you feel the main character to be plain and boring. on her birthday night, she runs into her birthday twin- a podcaster who was born on the same day in the same place. She agrees to interview her for her podcast about someone in the process of changing her life. From the title, you know that someone isn't telling the truth, and strongly don't like her. Eventually, the perspective flips between the two women. Some chapters are excerpts from the recordings [the audio narration enhances this]. These increase in frequency throughout the book, and also begin to come from an unknown source. She begins to spin wild and vivid tales of an unfortunate upbringing, and trauma-filled day-to-day life. She also begins to steal things from her interviewer, and mildly stalk her. By the end of the book, which you keep feeling has ended and then another story is revealed, you really aren't sure what is true. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

melaniesmolter's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, and Murder

Minor: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Rape

lottieingham's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and Alcohol

Minor: Drug use, Incest, Blood, and Vomit

radh's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

4.75

Really enjoyed this one as a domestic thriller. The story unravels in a very interesting way, alternating between a traditional book format in present tense and the script/screenplay of the televised remake of one of the main character's podcast, which she is actively creating in the "book" parts. It's an interesting read the captures your attention and has many twists and turns keep you second-guessing everything right til the end. 
Only complaint is that the pandemic is mentioned at the end due to the years chosen for the story, and I really dislike when books & shows bring the pandemic into their storylines.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Domestic abuse

Minor: Rape, Kidnapping, and Murder

juliamarievincent's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail