Reviews with content warning for Toxic friendship - The Chateau

Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

dev921's review

Go to review page

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

Content Warnings

beckyremillard's review

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Content Warnings

arthur_pendrgn's review

Go to review page

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.)

Content Warnings

katefrost's review

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense medium-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

2.0

Reading this book about a group of what I can only think to describe as grown up frenemies with trust issues, in this, the year of the Barbie movie, felt bananas. Though it absolutely passes the Bechdel test, the relationships between these women are full of judgement and. back biting, when they’re bothering to communicate at all. Each of the four main characters seem to harbor the belief that each is an island unto herself and no one could possibly understand her (so why bother using words to talk to your oldest and dearest friends).

I feel so frustrated with the predictably pat ending to this frustrating set of interactions. I will say it made me deeply grateful for my own group of friends, because murder mysteries aside, I cannot imagine any of us being so consistently shitty toward one another.

The unnecessarily mind boggling secrecy around even the most banal topics throughout this book was a deeply frustrating experience. I wanted to shake each of these women for their theatrics and make them use their words. I finished reading it through sheer stubbornness on my part.

It’s done now and I’m relieved that I can stop thinking about these self absorbed jerks. Two stars for its vibes and pacing, but no thank you please to any more of these characters.

Content Warnings

foldingthepage_kayleigh's review against another edition

Go to review page

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.

Content Warnings