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ellelainey's review against another edition
slow-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
0.25
DNF'd at page 48.
This was boring, predictable and uninteresting. I honestly can't fathom how this is billed as "compelling" and "visceral". The characters were all one-dimensional, unrealistic and acted completely over the top and in ways that made no sense. It feels like it was trying to be The Silent Patient [book:The Silent Patient|40097951] but it failed to be that interesting.
Right from the start, I got nothing from Rose. She had no personality, and viewed everything through a clinical and impersonal lens. The arrogance of self-diagnosing people with various imagined symptoms was an unnecessary reminder that she was training to be a doctor, because...actually, it was mentioned nearly every page. Rose likes to think she knows everything, but she's such a snob that "nursing" would kill her if she failed her Drs exams... Um, do you hear yourself? Nurses are the backbone to every hospital. They do FAR more than most doctors, with less than half the credit.
Theo wasn't much better. While Rose had this ridiculous, convoluted backstory to reveal, Theo was a bland, struggling author, such a stereotype that he had to write his stories with a copy of Truman Capote's 'In Cold Blood' right next to him. *insert eye roll* The eventual relationship between Rose and Theo - which I didn't read long enough to read, but knew was inevitable and proved by skipping to the end - was pointless, made him shallow, and was a huge disappointment. Why can a man reporter not investigate a female prisoner without falling head-over-ass in love with her?
The POV swaps *really* weren't necessary. The Prologue is told in 3rd person, present tense. Rose is told in 1st person. Then Theo is told in 3rd person, present tense. Why?
The flashbacks of Rose meeting Daniel for the first time were...I just don't get it. It's not interesting, it's not important, and it really isn't needed.
Worse, this is where we get some really odd phrasings and conversations. "My gut inverted" - Lady, you need to see a doctor if that's happening. Honestly, I found most of her interactions with Daniel to be weird, but they were all So convenient! Half their conversations make no sense.
Worse, she met this guy, had ONE conversation with him and was *instantly* fascinated and agrees to go to dinner with him after work. She tells no one where she's going, gets into his car and THEN!! thinks about how she could be driven to a secluded place, kidnapped and raped?! Are you for real? Then, at dinner with this man she's just TAKEN TO HER HOUSE, she doesn't want to drink too much, because - kidnap, torture and rape.
When Theo finally meets her - and I say finally, because despite being the crux of the plot and the entire point of the blurb, it doesn't happen until around 30 pages in - he says "hearing it from her lips, the cast comes alive, names on paper become real." Well, I really wish I could say the same, but this book couldn't live up to even that quote.
Sorry, but Rose is just SO pretentious and bland, with zero personality, that I couldn't stomach reading any more.
This was boring, predictable and uninteresting. I honestly can't fathom how this is billed as "compelling" and "visceral". The characters were all one-dimensional, unrealistic and acted completely over the top and in ways that made no sense. It feels like it was trying to be The Silent Patient [book:The Silent Patient|40097951] but it failed to be that interesting.
Right from the start, I got nothing from Rose. She had no personality, and viewed everything through a clinical and impersonal lens. The arrogance of self-diagnosing people with various imagined symptoms was an unnecessary reminder that she was training to be a doctor, because...actually, it was mentioned nearly every page. Rose likes to think she knows everything, but she's such a snob that "nursing" would kill her if she failed her Drs exams... Um, do you hear yourself? Nurses are the backbone to every hospital. They do FAR more than most doctors, with less than half the credit.
Theo wasn't much better. While Rose had this ridiculous, convoluted backstory to reveal, Theo was a bland, struggling author, such a stereotype that he had to write his stories with a copy of Truman Capote's 'In Cold Blood' right next to him. *insert eye roll* The eventual relationship between Rose and Theo - which I didn't read long enough to read, but knew was inevitable and proved by skipping to the end - was pointless, made him shallow, and was a huge disappointment. Why can a man reporter not investigate a female prisoner without falling head-over-ass in love with her?
The POV swaps *really* weren't necessary. The Prologue is told in 3rd person, present tense. Rose is told in 1st person. Then Theo is told in 3rd person, present tense. Why?
The flashbacks of Rose meeting Daniel for the first time were...I just don't get it. It's not interesting, it's not important, and it really isn't needed.
Worse, this is where we get some really odd phrasings and conversations. "My gut inverted" - Lady, you need to see a doctor if that's happening. Honestly, I found most of her interactions with Daniel to be weird, but they were all So convenient! Half their conversations make no sense.
Worse, she met this guy, had ONE conversation with him and was *instantly* fascinated and agrees to go to dinner with him after work. She tells no one where she's going, gets into his car and THEN!! thinks about how she could be driven to a secluded place, kidnapped and raped?! Are you for real? Then, at dinner with this man she's just TAKEN TO HER HOUSE, she doesn't want to drink too much, because - kidnap, torture and rape.
When Theo finally meets her - and I say finally, because despite being the crux of the plot and the entire point of the blurb, it doesn't happen until around 30 pages in - he says "hearing it from her lips, the cast comes alive, names on paper become real." Well, I really wish I could say the same, but this book couldn't live up to even that quote.
Sorry, but Rose is just SO pretentious and bland, with zero personality, that I couldn't stomach reading any more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
Minor: Death, Grief, Cancer, Confinement, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Infertility, Mental illness, Murder, and Toxic relationship
michelles_book_nook's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
⚠️ TW: murder, suicide, drug use, racism, homophobia, misogyny, stillbirth, pregnancy/postnatal complications, infertility ⚠️ This book is so complex that your brain will be flooded. This book follows Rose Marlowe who is a nurse, loving wife and a self confessed merciless killer, but as she tells her story to former journalist and true crime writer, Theo, he poses the question as to if she is a heartless killer or an innocent victim. This one was a bit hit and miss for me. I enjoyed it but there were also quite a lot of bits I didn't. Personally I loved that it was set in our local area so a lot of the locations were familiar even if they aren't explicitly named. I also really liked that it made you consider a lot of moral and psychological dilemmas while maintaining a compelling storyline which included some Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome representation which is a condition I have myself. However, the things I didn't like were little things in some ways like the misogyny in the medical field when it comes to women, a snide remark that was made regarding the nursing profession and how it was somewhat inferior to medicine like it was some sort of consolation prize and isn't a worthy career and a gendered quote regarding one of the characters bookcases, how "quite a few I wouldn't have envisaged on a bloke's shelf" which made me question why we're gendering books 🤷🏼♀️ and mainly that there were just so many characters to keep track of! Overall, it is a compelling read and even though I guessed the majority of twists it still made me want to continue reading and I can see why others have really enjoyed so please don't be put off by my review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Suicide, Drug use, Drug abuse, Racism, Homophobia, Misogyny, Pregnancy, and Infertility
lia_r18's review
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Cancer, Gaslighting, and Infertility
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