Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

The Maid by Nita Prose

56 reviews

davidrb's review against another edition

emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

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

2.0

I just didn't like it. Sorry about that.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Domestic abuse, and Infidelity

marissab's review against another edition

I read approximately the first 65 pages and then skimmed the last 25 pages because it was getting boring; everything took too long to happen. There were so many flashbacks and so much exposition. The setup was intriguing and I wanted to get invested in the plot, but the protagonist just kept ruminating on the past and taking me right back out of it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, and Bullying

Moderate: Cancer, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Toxic relationship, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Gaslighting, Infidelity, and Grief

paulasnotsosecretdiary's review against another edition

emotional 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? It's complicated

2.0

The Maid contains a compelling closed-door murder mystery and a twist at the end. The central character demonstrates the characteristics of someone on the autism spectrum, yet nowhere is this explicitly acknowledged in the book. While the author uses these traits to further the plot, there is inauthenticity here and a heavy reliance on stereotypes. What is left is more of a caricature than a character. Readers looking for books depicting characters with autism by authors who are neurodivergent should try Helen Hoang's books. She is one of many neurodivergent authors who use their own experiences navigating the world as a starting point for some of their central characters and can offer readers a more authentic portrayal of someone with autism..

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Toxic relationship, Grief, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Ableism, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Trafficking, and Cancer

thelibraryofanna's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Emotional abuse

sib_reads's review against another edition

lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Terminal illness, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Drug use, Death, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Trafficking, Death of parent, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Bullying

Minor: Gun violence and Misogyny

now_booking's review against another edition

dark emotional lighthearted mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

I’m not entirely sure what I expected going into this- based on buzz and blurb, I’d imagined some sort of Eleanor Oliphant cozy mystery and in some ways, this is that-ish. But I think to call Molly an Eleanor isn’t quite right or fair to either character. Molly is sort of her own sort of socially awkward, neurodivergent character- I’d say she’s kind of Pollyanna meets Keiko (from Convenience Store Woman) meets Mary Poppins all at once with a sprinkling of her own uniqueness. Many times in the first third of this book, I was gasping because it was like unleashing an innocent babe out into the world to be taken advantage of, but Molly had grit and personality and ultimately she was a delight.

The premise is that Molly, a maid at a luxury boutique hotel, has always struggled with social cues and making friends. After losing her grandmother and being betrayed by a loser boyfriend, she is determined to keep her head down and make enough to pay her rent, but she can’t resist the seduction of the possibility of new friends at her hotel job. Unfortunately, this leads her into danger and suddenly, in trying to help her friends, she comes under suspicion of murder.

I really enjoyed this novel. It’s kind of a cosy mystery but it’s also about friendship and found family and responsibility and grief and dealing with terminal illness and loss. I felt emotionally-engaged in the story even though Molly as a character had obviously been trained to control her emotions and suppress her feelings out of politeness. I enjoyed Molly’s voice and observations as a character and I would say this was gently humorous. I think that while this was great and enjoyable and I even liked the twist at the end, there was sometimes a bit of detachment I felt from Molly that sometimes made this feel a little unbelievable or very dramatic in the way of movies from the 50s and 60s. I suppose this could be an intentional choice as Molly’s habits and language and behaviour WERE inspired by that period thanks to her grandmother. I loved the supporting characters and was curious about Mr Preston and his daughter and his relationship with Molly’s grandma. In all this was a really enjoyable read and I recommend checking it out if you’re looking for a gentle but really engaging read with light humor and Cody mystery vibes.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Ballantine Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Grief, Cancer, Death, and Torture

Moderate: Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Drug abuse, Addiction, and Classism

Minor: Sexism and Racism

monnibo's review against another edition

emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated

2.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Bullying, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Ableism, and Death

oceanwriter's review against another edition

lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

For the most part, a cute mystery. Molly was sweet, although her long-winded politeness wore thin by the end. I enjoyed her character growth, nonetheless. Giselle’s character was intriguing as well. There were some moments that put a damper on the story for me, such as later bits with Gran. That felt unnecessary and almost out of character from what we’re led to believe. Still, I enjoyed it more than I didn’t. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Bullying, and Suicide

Moderate: Drug abuse, Abandonment, and Emotional abuse

calcifire's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying

Moderate: Death, Grief, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Drug use, and Gaslighting

Minor: Alcohol

writtenbydnicole's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Death

Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Medical trauma, Toxic friendship, Medical content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Vomit

Minor: Cursing