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kfquarium's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity
Moderate: Cursing, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Stalking, Terminal illness, Alcohol, Death, and Gaslighting
Minor: Miscarriage, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Infertility, Bullying, Car accident, Death of parent, and Sexual content
nrogers_1030's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Stalking, Cursing, Gun violence, Alcohol, Infidelity, Grief, and Violence
Moderate: Murder, Infertility, and Death
Minor: Pregnancy, Blood, Suicide, Death of parent, Miscarriage, and Terminal illness
toofondofbooks_'s review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
So this book is about a therapist who's lost her license and now she treats her patients with out-of-the-box methods, because she can, and somehow no one steps in to question her ethics. Literally, not a single person in this entire book stops for one second to say, "this isn't ethical." Right off the bat, it's asking me to suspend a little too much of my disbelief.
So much of this book hinges on you being patient with mediocre writing, hollow characters, twists that make absolutely no sense with very little evidence throughout the book to support it, and for you to keep track of a bunch of side characters that add little to the story as a whole. Not to mention, by the time I was less than halfway through, I was already so tired of reading about these privileged WASPs - literally characters with lineage dating back to the Mayflower. I just stopped caring, but I *did* want to know if my theories were correct, because I am a freak who is obsessed with being right.
I can't say this is a complete dud - the book did have its moments that were genuinely creepy, and where I thought that Avery, the therapist, was sort of interesting. I enjoyed her chapters because at least they didn't feel as hollow as the chapters that followed Marissa, her client and one half of "the golden couple" in question. I also enjoyed her dog, he was adorable. I also thought that one of the scenes toward the end was very chilling, but it quickly became cringey and far-fetched, so it didn't really amount to much. Though I did enjoy Avery at times, it became increasingly hard to believe that she is as smart as these authors want to pretend she is.
All of this said, for once, I didn't call the ending of a thriller, which I enjoy, usually...except...I only didn't guess this ending because it made no sense in any realm.
So much of this book hinges on you being patient with mediocre writing, hollow characters, twists that make absolutely no sense with very little evidence throughout the book to support it, and for you to keep track of a bunch of side characters that add little to the story as a whole. Not to mention, by the time I was less than halfway through, I was already so tired of reading about these privileged WASPs - literally characters with lineage dating back to the Mayflower. I just stopped caring, but I *did* want to know if my theories were correct, because I am a freak who is obsessed with being right.
I can't say this is a complete dud - the book did have its moments that were genuinely creepy, and where I thought that Avery, the therapist, was sort of interesting. I enjoyed her chapters because at least they didn't feel as hollow as the chapters that followed Marissa, her client and one half of "the golden couple" in question. I also enjoyed her dog, he was adorable. I also thought that one of the scenes toward the end was very chilling, but it quickly became cringey and far-fetched, so it didn't really amount to much. Though I did enjoy Avery at times, it became increasingly hard to believe that she is as smart as these authors want to pretend she is.
All of this said, for once, I didn't call the ending of a thriller, which I enjoy, usually...except...I only didn't guess this ending because it made no sense in any realm.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Blood, Gun violence, Gaslighting, Murder, Alcohol, Infidelity, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Stalking, Terminal illness, Cancer, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death of parent, Sexual content, Miscarriage, Child death, Pregnancy, Infertility, and Medical content
Minor: Self harm, Suicide attempt, and Animal cruelty
savvyrosereads's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Rating: 4/5 stars
Avery Chambers practices a unique form of therapy—she only accepts clients whose problems she can fix over the course of ten well-planned sessions. When Marissa and Matthew Bishop begin seeing her to work through Marissa’s infidelity, Avery quickly realizes that the apparently golden couple may be hiding some much bigger secrets…
This was my February Book of the Month pick, and since it was my first read from the writing duo of Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen, I went in with no specific expectations, though I had heard good things. Happily, all the good things I heard were true, because I really enjoyed this one!
The Golden Couple is fairly fast-paced, with just the right amount of drama and action mixed in with necessary character and plot development. The characters are very well-written—I personally found each of them slightly unlikable in their own ways, but this works so well for the story that I consider it a strength, not a weakness—and the main plot twist was perfectly teased without being obvious. I guessed at some aspects of the final reveals around halfway through, but other details remained a mystery right up until the end, which is the balance I’m always hoping for from a thriller!
In short, this was a really fun read, and while it was my first Hendricks/Pekkanen novel, it definitely won’t be my last.
Recommended to anyone, but especially if you like: domestic thrillers; complex marriages; books about therapy.
CW: Death/murder; sexual assault (implied + not described or depicted); infidelity; terminal illness; infertility.
Avery Chambers practices a unique form of therapy—she only accepts clients whose problems she can fix over the course of ten well-planned sessions. When Marissa and Matthew Bishop begin seeing her to work through Marissa’s infidelity, Avery quickly realizes that the apparently golden couple may be hiding some much bigger secrets…
This was my February Book of the Month pick, and since it was my first read from the writing duo of Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen, I went in with no specific expectations, though I had heard good things. Happily, all the good things I heard were true, because I really enjoyed this one!
The Golden Couple is fairly fast-paced, with just the right amount of drama and action mixed in with necessary character and plot development. The characters are very well-written—I personally found each of them slightly unlikable in their own ways, but this works so well for the story that I consider it a strength, not a weakness—and the main plot twist was perfectly teased without being obvious. I guessed at some aspects of the final reveals around halfway through, but other details remained a mystery right up until the end, which is the balance I’m always hoping for from a thriller!
In short, this was a really fun read, and while it was my first Hendricks/Pekkanen novel, it definitely won’t be my last.
Recommended to anyone, but especially if you like: domestic thrillers; complex marriages; books about therapy.
CW: Death/murder; sexual assault (implied + not described or depicted); infidelity; terminal illness; infertility.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity
Moderate: Death, Infertility, Terminal illness, and Murder
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence
one_to_fifty_two's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-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
4.0
I enjoyed this one. It was a page turner and I kept wanting to know what happened next. This made it a very fast, enjoyable thriller read.
The only problem I had was that I didn't really LIKE any of the characters. Since they were unlikeable, it was hard to feel remorse or compassion for any of them. This didn't stop me from wanting to know what was going to happen though.
I also felt like the twists and turns in this one were not completely obvious. I didn't see the ending; however, I was still a little disappointed in it because I felt like it had been written before.
Overall, I would definitely recommend this one to all the thriller lovers. I think it is enticing and will keep you on your toes, regardless of my complaints. It was a solid 4 star book for me.
The only problem I had was that I didn't really LIKE any of the characters. Since they were unlikeable, it was hard to feel remorse or compassion for any of them. This didn't stop me from wanting to know what was going to happen though.
I also felt like the twists and turns in this one were not completely obvious. I didn't see the ending; however, I was still a little disappointed in it because I felt like it had been written before.
Overall, I would definitely recommend this one to all the thriller lovers. I think it is enticing and will keep you on your toes, regardless of my complaints. It was a solid 4 star book for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Stalking, and Emotional abuse
I enjoyed this one. It was a page turner and I kept wanting to know what happened next. This made it a very fast, enjoyable thriller read. The only problem I had was that I didn't really LIKE any of the characters. Since they were unlikeable, it was hard to feel remorse or compassion for any of them. This didn't stop me from wanting to know what was going to happen though. I also felt like the twists and turns in this one were not completely obvious. I didn't see the ending; however, I was still a little disappointed in it because I felt like it had been written before. Overall, I would definitely recommend this one to all the thriller lovers. I think it is enticing and will keep you on your toes, regardless of my complaints. It was a solid 4 star book for me.veronicats's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Cancer, Death, Stalking, Gun violence, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Grief, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
katrinasherise's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Gun violence
Moderate: Stalking, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, and Infidelity
Minor: Infertility and Terminal illness
A murder from the past is mentioned several times. Alcohol is mentioned and drank throughout. Infidelity is the reason the couple is seeing the ex-therapist. There is suggestions of stalking and being followed. One character is a widower, her husband dying from a terminal illness prior to the books beginning. Mentions of infertility/fertility issues with the MC.
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