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criticalgayze's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
A part of me wants to say that I now at least have an understanding of the CoHo craze, but this is her only thriller, and I truly cannot imagine reading a book by her that was just the romantic parts of this one.
I fully intended to give this book 1.5-stars because I am absolutely sick of the trope of painting PPD as some kind of villainous trait in women, but I think that, while the narrator is still disgustingly judgmental of the kind of psychological trauma pregnancy and childbirth can put a woman through, Hoover herself seems (maybe?) to have mostly redeemed her own complicity in the trope with the book's ending. (Although I am largely as confused as the narrator as to whether this is actually the case or not)
Speaking of the ending, talk about rushed. I felt like, throughout the book, the order of escalation was out of whack, there were largely spurts of tension in amongst the drudgery of straight white horniness as opposed to well built and sustained suspense, and that the culminating scene was over largely before I even realized it had begun.
tl;dr: Not good writing, but I tore through it in two days, so maybe there's something to be said for the Hoover phenomenon.
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Abortion, and Murder
Moderate: Cancer, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
nath_py's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Child death, Sexual content, Blood, Car accident, Murder, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Vomit, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Minor: Miscarriage
joann3's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Abortion
Minor: Alcohol
chaotically_katie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
One of the best pieces of writing advice is to trust your audience. And while I appreciate the spoon-feeding to a certain extent, there comes a point where it’s a bit excessive.
Overall, I recommend reading it. Just not at the top of your reading list.
Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
holliesatchell's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
honeybunchesofoats06's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
chloe927lou's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
ydina's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Death, Blood, Car accident, and Murder
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Alcohol
anielabooks's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Abortion, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Gaslighting
Moderate: Ableism, Cursing, Infidelity, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Confinement, Miscarriage, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Alcohol
literallysam's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
After being disappointed a couple times I try not to read such hyped books with any expectations. But this book, I think, is DEFINITELY well deserving of all the hype it has gathered. If you're a beginner of thrillers then you should really go for it, but if you are a more traditional thriller reader then you may not appreciate it much. I personally haven't ready many thrillers, so I found it really captivating.
The author is know for her heartbreaking romance and this is not the kind of book that she usually writes. It gave superrr creepy vibes.. and I really liked it. It's captivating, brainstorming and well-written. Some scenes were so so spooky and frightening, I got goosebumps. The book has a perfect balance between romance, thrill and suspense. Though there's just an awful a lot of smut in the name of romance but I think it added the element of obsession into the book which was essential for Verity.
There were also some elements which gave me mixed feelings for the book. Like, Jeremy's character felt way too stiff & shallow in the entire book and Lowen on the other hand felt so inconsistent as a protagonist. But nonetheless, I really reallyy enjoyed it- It's like I love this book most the way but not all the way. Despite all the cons, Verity is a true page turner. I was completely hooked and just couldn't put it down. Pages upon pages of this book had me gasping with utter shock and surprise.
Best part of the book was the end- THE ENDING WAS THE ESSENCE FOR ME!! Like, just when I thought that the book could not get any more twisted, it did. It just blew my mind- whew..
⚠️It's really dark and edgy, pls look into Trigger warnings before reading.⚠️
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Abortion and Alcohol
Minor: Adult/minor relationship