Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

The Housemaid's Secret by Freida McFadden

61 reviews

ghi's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Blood, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Murder, Stalking, Violence, Eating disorder, Grief, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Physical abuse, Vomit, Gaslighting, and Mental illness

jessthemess8112's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Murder, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Stalking

Minor: Alcohol, Blood, Infertility, Suicidal thoughts, and Death of parent

aags's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, and Infidelity

samantha914's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Eating disorder, Gun violence, Death, and Physical abuse

Minor: Stalking and Suicidal thoughts

k8lynn's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

5.0

binged this in a day!

i just didn't like how the structure mirrored the first book. i wish she would have made it more diverse!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Stalking, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Violence, Rape, Grief, Infidelity, Misogyny, Drug abuse, Blood, Death, and Toxic relationship

drybay's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Murder, Blood, Infidelity, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Panic attacks/disorders, Eating disorder, Chronic illness, Gun violence, and Fatphobia

Minor: Suicide

annie_brewer's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Murder, and Stalking

Moderate: Blood and Gun violence

taylorp98's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Blood, Violence, and Gun violence

kfquarium's review against another edition

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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity and Murder

Moderate: Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Body shaming, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Alcohol, Blood, Stalking, Excrement, and Vomit

sharlapeggy's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Gripped. Start to finish. I loved the Housemaid but somehow, this was better. You didn’t really need to have read the housemaid to read this - apart from knowing Millie’s backstory. But both books are 5*. I genuinely didn’t see either twist coming!!!! Amazing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Stalking, Death, Mental illness, Murder, Infertility, Gun violence, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Gore, Domestic abuse, Suicide, Vomit, Kidnapping, Self harm, and Blood