Reviews tagging 'Blood'

The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey

99 reviews

val_theburrowofstories's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

3.5

More than 500 books in my TBR and I bet not even 15 are thriller, but this was one of the few exceptions and I found it available in Libby and felt like giving it a try!

I’m glad to report that it did not disappoint. It was a 3.5 ⭐ for me!

I can see why people could find this boring but I was so intrigued and I understood the character so much that I finished this so quickly, it was entertaining for me.

The husband deserved soooooo much worse than what he got 💀

At least the women ended up thriving and living in peace away from him so I was happy with that ending.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Death, Blood, Pregnancy, and Murder

- Abortion:

Evelyn

had an abortion years ago and is briefly mentioned how she went to a clinic and had to recover physically after, not much mentally because she was sure of her decision.

- Pregnancy: We find out about this very early on but

Martine

is pregnant.

- Blood: Because of the murder, and

Martine

bleeds a during pregnancy.

- Death / Murder: There’s someone killed in the beginning, and then we discover there’s way more bodies on that backyard.

eachz's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

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

3.25

I really struggled on and off with finishing this book but ultimately I landed on the side of liking it. A lot of the things that bothered me or seemed confusing early on made a bit more sense when all the pieces started to click together in the end. It was hard at times to get through the first ~half but I think the author ultimately did a good job of exploring the themes they were aiming to explore.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Death, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Medical content

Moderate: Blood, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, and Murder

christene_littlelibrary's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Blood, Infidelity, Murder, Death, and Pregnancy

socialpsysteph's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Sarah Gailey has become an insta-buy author for me. I love her writing style and find her stories intriguing with the perfect touch of weirdness. When I saw this sitting on the shelf at The Book Rack, I knew I had to get it; A scientist who perfects cloning technology only to have her husband have an affair with a more obedient clone of herself? Yes, please! Basically, every character was disliked but it didn't matter, it was like a trainwreck that I couldn't look away from. There were some deeper themes here around domestic violence, abuse, and grooming, so be aware of that. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Murder

Moderate: Blood

Minor: Pregnancy

c100's review against another edition

emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Pregnancy and Blood

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Death, Infidelity, Blood, Medical content, Domestic abuse, and Gore

Moderate: Sexism, Pregnancy, Violence, Misogyny, and Child abuse

Minor: Alcohol, Infertility, Abortion, Vomit, and Car accident

elya_moss93's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Blood, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Medical content, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Abortion, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Child abuse

Minor: Misogyny and Emotional abuse

puffinthedog's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

Speaking as someone who is still unlearning the things I was taught throughout childhood and multiple abusive relationships- The Echo Wife was a heartbreaking novel of how childhood abuse and interpersonal violence strip people of their will and leaves them unsure who is making the choices for them, even in their own heads. If you don’t have a history of psychological abuse, perhaps it can be read as a book questioning the ethics of cloning, and with that framework I can’t tell you how good a story this is if that’s what you’re looking for. I have no idea how plausible the science is that backs the plot. But as someone who identified with Martine this story made me see things in myself that I knew were there and made me look directly at them in broad daylight in a way that, maybe for the first time, allowed me to really feel sad for myself and angry at my own Nathans (and Evelyns). 

I don’t know if this book is a masterpiece in general or just a masterpiece for me, in this moment I’m in. I’m too deep in my own experience that resonates too loudly for me to comment on writing or storyline. I think both of those things were enjoyable and interesting, but the overall experience of this book is the emotion and the characters. I can see this falling flat for someone who just wants a fun sci-fi romp and not a look at how parenting, society, and intimate partner violence shapes people and makes us question how much free will we have and if it’s possible to break the programming in a world that wants us pleasant, submissive, and unquestioning. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Death, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Blood, Child abuse, Medical content, Pregnancy, Slavery, Infidelity, and Violence

Minor: Abortion and Suicide

becksusername's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Blood, Death, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Murder

turrean's review against another edition

dark sad slow-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

3.5

The book was a clever and chilling reflection on how people are shaped and socialized, especially women. I kept getting caught up in questions about the plausibility of the plot, before realizing that the improbability of the narrative wasn’t the point: the moral dilemma was the point. And, I suppose, the horrifying inevitability of the conclusion. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Death, Infidelity, and Domestic abuse