Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

The Chateau by Jaclyn Goldis

9 reviews

dev921's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Blood, Genocide, Gun violence, Murder, Violence, War, Pregnancy, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Abandonment, Cancer, Death, Hate crime, Infertility, Medical content, Outing, and Grief

arthur_pendrgn's review

slow-paced

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

2.25

Trauma as character development.  Way too much going on that clutters up the plot: cancer (2 characters), infidelity (2 of these), break ups, domestic abuse, multigenerational rape, Holocaust trauma, lesbianism (1 hidden), unhappy marriages (at least 4), a missing masterpiece, infertility issues, jealousy, sociopathy, betrayal, murders (2), assault, a custody fight, a potential romance, 2 side mysteries that don't matter, 2 children-as-plot-props, gun & knife violence, and an improbable rescue. That doesn't include the 4 narrators who, sadly, have indistinguishable voices.

Underneath all of that are the bones of a tried-but-true plot. If only the plot had been trimmed down so we could actually focus on a murdered grandmother with a lot of money at stake. Goldis left no time for the reader to connect with anyone. (Honestly, the murderous couple in the last chapter would have been enough rationale.)  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship and Infidelity

Moderate: Death, Gore, and Violence

Minor: Pedophilia, Incest, Cancer, Antisemitism, Blood, Terminal illness, Classism, Death of parent, Gun violence, and Rape

foldingthepage_kayleigh's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

I felt like the characters lacked depth and weren't fully fleshed out, leading to repetitive iterations of the same internal dialogue. This is especially an issue for a character-based book, as it’s harder to connect to the character, something this style of book is supposed to rely on. Also, the twists were all revealed in such mundane ways that it felt lacklustre.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Cancer, Toxic friendship, Blood, Body shaming, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Toxic relationship, War, Confinement, Genocide, Grief, Infertility, Infidelity, Medical content, and Murder

Minor: Pregnancy, Sexual violence, and Vomit

chris_reads's review against another edition

mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Gun violence, and Infidelity

Moderate: Murder, Cancer, and Fatphobia

Minor: Terminal illness, Eating disorder, Alcohol, Genocide, and Infertility

greatestheights's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Toxic friendship, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Infertility

arthur_ant18's review

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Infidelity, and Murder

Moderate: Blood

emmareeser's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Infidelity

Moderate: Infertility and Rape

kecresser's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

The setting for this book was super intriguing to me, and it was the second thriller I've read recently set in a palatial estate. I can honestly say that I didn't see the major twists coming and I didn't know who the killers was, all the way until the last chapter. It takes a bit to get the four women straight in the beginning of the book, and I wish we had a bit more time for each character to develop, but I do love a multi-perspective story that keeps you guessing on who the unreliable narrator actually is. It was a page turner that I read in a day, but nothing too spectacular. I enjoyed the reading experience, but nothing really stands out to me that I think will stick with me in the long run. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Violence, Infidelity, Cancer, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Terminal illness, Chronic illness, and Murder

Moderate: Classism, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Hate crime, Stalking, Infertility, Child death, Rape, Blood, Grief, Alcohol, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

Minor: Car accident

reading_under_covers's review against another edition

3.5

Out of the blue, Darcy and three of her friends receive an invite from her grandmother Seraphine to join her at her lavish chateau in Provence, France. When the women arrive, Seraphine informs them that she has brought them all there to tell them something very important. However, overnight Seraphine is brutally murdered, and the women must figure out whose secrets are the reason she’s dead.

THE CHATEAU by Jaclyn Goldis is a lavish drama full of secrets, survivors, and picturesque views.

This one alternates among 5+ POVs, each of which felt unique from one another, and was an immediate love for me! However, I feel like we could have learned more about each of the characters and their stories if there wasn’t such a large cast front and center.

My favorite part of this book was the Jewish representation (and the author’s tie-in at the end in her acknowledgments) and the whole storyline and secrets surrounding that, and the mentions of Van Gogh - I could have read an entire book focused on this aspect alone.

Aside from my loves in this one, I found the mystery to be occasionally muddled and the moving parts, while clever, to be confusing at times.

I’d be intrigued to see Jaclyn dive into this genre again!

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books/Emily Bestler Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Publication Date: May 23, 2023

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Infertility, Infidelity, Cancer, Death of parent, Rape, and Antisemitism