Reviews with content warning for Domestic abuse - The Housemaid's Secret

I enjoyed this read! I definitely was not expecting the ending however, I feel like Enzo's character was kind of a throwaway. He didn't add any real value to the storyline and could've been written much better. I also wish we would've gotten more background on the main character. We get small snippets of her past but not enough to really paint a whole picture as to why she does things the way she does or how she got involved in the lifestyle.

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amberjackonski's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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bearybooky's review

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dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

The ending was gratifying and satisfying! Looking forward to #3!

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lindsaysofia_25's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

2.5

This was a solid 2.5/5, i.e. 5/10. It was fine, and I did read it in about 2.5 hours immediately after finishing the first novel in the series, The Housemaid, but it wasn't anything special. In fact, it was noticeably worse than The Housemaid. I think part of the issue is that the ending of The Housemaid gives away the direction that its sequel will go, so the twist of this novel had to be even more bizarre. I wrote about The Housemaid that I liked that the twist was plausible but not completely predictable, and that was missing from The Housemaid's Secret. Here, the twist was so ridiculous it made the book feel completely detached from reality, but it was somehow also predictable because the story felt like it was concluding only 100 pages in, so readers could just see from how many pages were left that clearly something like that must be the case. It just seemed like McFadden wrote herself into a corner. I also really liked the prologue in the first novel, and found myself flipping back to it to check my guesses at what the scene was describing, whereas here the scene in the prologue totally came out of left field. When the scene finally did happen, it was similar to the twist in that it was both predictable and implausible, which made it not satisfying at all.

The murderer in the scene that opens the entire book is a character we barely hear about at all, so readers know nothing about her and thus obviously don't really care about the scene. It doesn't help that the murder itself is just a final act of revenge rather than part of the central events of the novel.

While the writing wasn't great in either of the McFadden novels I've read, at least The Housemaid was a better book, plot-wise. This just completely fell flat. It was interesting enough to keep me reading, hoping the plot would make more sense as I progressed, but the kind of book where the more I think about it, the worse it seems in hindsight. Maybe giving it what amounts to a 50% is a little harsh, but it does reflect the coin toss feeling I got while reading, wondering if the next few pages would be an enjoyable easy read or endlessly irritating.

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drybay's review against another edition

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dark mysterious fast-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

2.5

The book kept me entertained, but I cannot really compliment it on its literary accomplishements. It was quite frustrating how Millies situation hadn't really changed from the first book, the writing style was a bit pretentious from time to time and I'm still a bit on the fence about the ending.

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andalucia's review against another edition

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tense fast-paced

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

2.0

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annie_brewer's review against another edition

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dark mysterious 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

2.25

Read via audiobook (Hatchette UK - Bookouture)

This was another easy and fun read from McFadden, yet felt very samey.
Millie has a few extra facets within her life - Enzo/Brock/Studying - but feels more flat than in the first novel. These character points are underdeveloped and serve no purpose to the story other than to demonstrate how her 'services' have made her personal life tricky.

I enjoyed reading Wendy's POV,

as an indulgence of reading about absurd self-absorbtion,

and learning about the dynamics of her relationship. Garrick was written well and was one of my favourite characters.

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meltackett's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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