Reviews tagging 'Grief'

One of the Girls by Lucy Clarke

21 reviews

reading_ani's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Lucy Clarke…. She’s quickly becoming one of my fav thriller authors. Just.. wow! I admit she’s excellent in creating red herrings! And though I guessed one mystery right very quickly, I missed so many others and was audibly gasping and talking to the book towards the end! It’s such a fantastic read and I highly recommend it! Also, always remember the third and most important rule: what happens at the hen party, stays there! 🤐🤐

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Lesbophobia, Death, Grief, Bullying, Violence, and Infidelity

Minor: Death, Suicide attempt, Murder, Rape, and Toxic relationship

foldingthepage_kayleigh's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Toxic friendship, Grief, Death, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Alcohol, Murder, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail

dorsetreader's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Rape, Alcohol, Body shaming, Racism, Bullying, Suicide attempt, Murder, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Death, Grief, and Suicidal thoughts

ccassidy98's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Rape

Moderate: Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship

froggybooks's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Rape, Grief, Sexual assault, Alcohol, and Body shaming

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Eating disorder, Blood, Bullying, Stalking, and Drug use

Minor: Lesbophobia

bookswithgeorgia's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Infidelity, Murder, Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, Outing, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence

gofortori's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Well-crafted. If I needed to choose one word to describe One of the Girls, that's the one I'd use.    The quality of the writing is what pushed me over the edge for a 5-star rating. Dark and atmospheric, with a deeply developed cast of complicated female protagonists with haunting, emotional backstories that all collide in a beautifully exotic location, I would have been hooked on this story even if the writing was mediocre. This book is billed as a psychological thriller, which it is, but it's also a deep exploration into female friendships, the power of being both strong and vulnerable, and the haunting cycles we find ourselves in until we break the circle by being honest with ourselves and those we love. 

That ENDING! I actually gasped, and also cried. And the last line – chef's kiss. I also appreciate the representation of neurodivergence, PTSD and mental illness, postpartum body change, queer selfhood and relationships, etc. 

Each of the six women has a detailed character history and feel as textured as real people. The author clearly put a lot of work into getting to know her own characters, and it shows. I want to give each one a big hug. 

I loved the constant presence of the sea and the terrace throughout the tale, always looming, just like the secrets each woman brings to the hen weekend. But only as events unfold do we realize their significance. 

The cyclical nature of the story focuses on righting past wrongs instead of letting them happen over and over again.

Lexi's struggle with her parents' marriage and father's distance, Eleanor and Sam's right marriage that didn't happen ending up preventing Lexi's and Ed's marriage that shouldn't, past Robyn with past Bella setting the stage for current Robyn and current Fen, Eleanor finally getting her peace from saving the person who was responsible for her loss, past Ana and current Ana taking back her power, Eleanor saving bride-to-be Lexi the way she should have been saved as a bride-to-be, Luca's past easing Wren's future, and so on.

All the shame the women focus inward for so long, it all leads back to the presence of male entitlement and existing in a world dominated by male choice. The themes dealt with femininity and womanhood and selfhood and self-denial and finding the inner courage to break your pattern by saving someone else and finding your own worth in the process.

Lucy Clarke has a lovely style that makes this story a pleasure to read, engaging as a thriller, and deeply satisfying as a feminist exploration.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Rape, and Self harm

Minor: Biphobia, Bullying, and Emotional abuse

jackie_recommends's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Rape, Sexual harassment, Bullying, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Medical trauma, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Grief, Sexual assault, and Toxic friendship

kfquarium'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
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Sexual assault, and Alcohol

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Bullying, Medical content, Rape, Sexual content, Murder, Pregnancy, and Alcoholism

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

liseyp's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Thank you to the author, publishers Harper Collins and NetGalley UK for access to this as an advance reader’s ebook. This is an honest and voluntary review.

 

To be honest I was a little bit worried before I started this book. There’s a trope of secrets from the past leading to death and drama during a weekend reunion of old friends (normally women) in an isolated location, that I’ve read a lot of versions of, most of them disappointing. This book certainly leans heavily on that premise. Old friends and new, plus her future sister-in-law join bride-to-be Lexi on a hen weekend in a cliff top villa on a beautiful Greek island.

 

There’s the charismatic, but acerbic best friend, the one with the drinking problem, the new mother feeling guilty for leaving her baby for the first time, the incomer who may have more of a history with the group than they think, the one who doesn’t feel they fit in and the one who can’t let go of how they were as teens. All of these characters are ones I’ve seen before in very similar circumstances.

 

But, Lucy Clarke manages to takes this very familiar premise and create an engaging thriller that manages to surprise and hit home emotionally. One of the things which really sets it apart from the pack is the well-roundedness of the characters. Yes, there’s the hurt feelings and snippy comments that are often a feature of people whose lives have grown apart trying to pretend they’re still the same friends they were as teens, but if a character lashes out we understand why. That’s much better than many of the books of this type I’ve read where the popular and charismatic yet uncaringly cruel character remains so fundamentally unlikeable throughout that it seems impossible any of the others would ever want to spend time on her company let alone go on a weekend break together.

 

A really enjoyable, fast-paced thriller.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Grief, and Rape