Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth

31 reviews

rrubin97's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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

4.0

Twisty read where the twist is partially easy to figure out but still surprises at the end!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Child death, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Infertility and Sexual assault

Minor: Drug abuse

kitty03's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad slow-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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic relationship

cait_reads_and_drinks's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

3.75

This was such a heartwarming and also deeply troubling story. I'm a sucker for unreliable narrators and this one did not disappoint.

The Good Sister is the story of Fern and Rose, who are fraternal twins. Fern works at the local library, dislikes crowds and loud noises, and is adamant about her routines. Rose for most of her life has taken on a sort of guardian role to Fern due to her sensory and social anxieties, and when Fern learns that Rose is unable to have a baby, she sees this as the perfect opportunity to repay her. Little does she know that her routines and life as she knows it will never be the same because of it.

The story is told from both Fern and Rose's perspectives, Rose's in the form of journal entries. I loved the dual perspectives and trying to determine which narrative was the truth. The storyline has a bit of a slow build but really takes off once it gets going.

Overall I really liked this one. It gave me major Eleanor Oliphant meets Gone Girl vibes and I would definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoyed either of those books.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship

Moderate: Sexual assault

Minor: Abortion

littlebookcastle_sam's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Infertility, Mental illness, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship

aimzthereader's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I liked this book even more than The Mother in Law , I think Sally Hepworth is going to be an auto read author for me. I guessed the mystery fairly early in but i still really enjoyed the book. Most of the characters are horrible but I don’t mind that. I really enjoyed unraveling the truths form the lies and I enjoy unreliable narrators  . I felt the pacing was really nice and there were many times that I got so tense and so angry at the characters or what was going on, which for me is a mark of a great book. 

You will not like this book if you don’t like unreliable narrators or need to have redeemable characters. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, and Mental illness

Moderate: Violence, Child death, Drug abuse, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Sexual harassment and Sexual content

reading_ladies_blog's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Infertility, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Child abuse, Child death, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Murder, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship

Unreliable narrator

opinionsofawolf'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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Infertility, Grief, Death of parent, Confinement, and Child death

Moderate: Murder, Violence, Pedophilia, Death of parent, and Child abuse

The ableism is specifically ableist against autistic people and people with a mental illness.

thebakerbookworm's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

It's hard to say too much about this book without venturing into spoiler territory, but I'm going to do my best. I loved this story, and I think a lot of it had to do with the audiobook! The narrator was so good and I wanted to always be listening to her Australian accent haha.

The characters were fantastic. I loved the growth and development in our main character, and the romantic relationship was just adorable. I wasn't expecting a cute romance in a thriller book, but it's definitely there. The relationship between Rose and Fern was compelling and is really the backbone of this story.

I will say that the plot was a bit predictable--I figured out pretty early on where it was going to go and it didn't surprise me--but that honestly did not take away from enjoyment of the story at all. I was laughing aloud at a lot of it and grinning ridiculously at other parts and crossing my fingers that a certain character would get the happy ending they so clearly deserved.

All in all, I highly recommend this audio! Thank you so much to Libro.fm, Macmillan Audio, and the author for my ALC.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Sexual assault

danadoesbooks's review against another edition

dark 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? Yes

3.0

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, NetGalley, and the author for the gifted copy of this book.  All opinions in this review are my own.

Fern and Rose are as close as twin sisters can be.  They have dinner together multiple times a week and Rose always rescues Fern.  It all started that one night at the river.  Rose protected her sister then and she knows she has to keep an eye on Fern now because she's dangerous.  When Rose learns that she can't get pregnant, Fern decides that she will get pregnant instead. This will be a way to pay Rose back for all she has done.

I loved The Mother-In-Law by the same author when I read it a few years ago so I was excited to read The Good Sister.  Honestly, between the child abuse and the ableism, I was ready to DNF this book at 20%.  

I am actually really glad I didn't.  While parts of The Good Sister are incredibly difficult to read, the romance that blooms between Fern and Wally is so sweet.  While this is a thriller, I found myself reading more for the romance than finding out what was actually happening!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, and Toxic relationship

kaitlin_sharpe's review against another edition

dark emotional fast-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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Toxic relationship

Minor: Abortion, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Infertility, and Sexual violence