Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins

7 reviews

savreads28's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Medical content, Cursing, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Death, Murder, Toxic friendship, Gore, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Domestic abuse, Grief, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, and Violence

yarisbooksandbevs's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I went back and forth with my feeling on this book and ultimately I think I liked it. I did read Jane Eyre a long time ago and I remember enjoying so I do come in with that background (I could see how some people who have not read Jane Eyre might not enjoy this. They are parallels with this having a modern twist). I always thought Bertha was done dirty in the original so I was excited for this read. That being said this book was not what I expected but it wasn’t bad.

I have to admit I did find Jane to be quite annoying from the beginning. She was complaining a lot and it was rough (I did remember that in the original). She got better as the book went on and you start to root for her some. She’s smart, brave, and tenacious and just had a string of horrible things happen to her which kind of explain how she is currently. I like the parallels between Bea and Jane.

I was a bit bummed at first that Bea was actually the villain I wanted justice for Bertha but I’m not mad with the way it ended. I like that Jane and Bertha got better in this novel than the original and it did feel like the right ending.

This definitely wasn’t a bad read just not what I was expecting. For the most part I enjoyed it and I loved the way Hawkins modernized the world and characters of Jane Eyre. It fit.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Blood, Addiction, Alcohol, Murder, Child abuse, Classism, Death, Infidelity, Confinement, Cursing, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Drug abuse

Minor: Bullying, Sexual content, and Suicide

3readingcircus's review against another edition

medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement

Moderate: Death of parent and Classism

Minor: Sexual harassment, Child abuse, and Addiction

ameliaflint's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? It's complicated

5.0

This was amazing!! It really gripped me right from the start. I fell in love with the characters and kept turning page after page. I adored this retelling and Jane’s ending. I have no critiques! (except I found one grammatical mistake.) Overall a great thriller that will keep you guessing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Physical abuse

Moderate: Alcohol, Addiction, and Alcoholism

Minor: Fire/Fire injury

booksbytheglass's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

3.25

I KNEW IT I KNEW IT I KNEW IT 

the thriller queen reigns supreme folks!!! but honestly, I saw this one coming from part 2 lol - never trust anyone in these kind of domestic thrillers. 

all jane wants is to forget about her past, start over in a new town, oh and a rich new boyfriend wouldn’t hurt. luckily, she’s found all of that and more in eddie rochester, a widower on the street jane walks dogs and definitely not falling for her too fast 🥴 jane is swept up in everything and fails to realize what she’s gotten herself into until it’s too late. 

DUN DUN DUN

I loved how the book was broken up into sections with differing POVs - it reminded me a lot of the wife between us, but didn’t hit the mark as much as that one did for me. obviously with the title, you know that eddie’s wife is probably upstairs LOL so I kept thinking what the next plot twist was going to be. and I guessed every single one, oops. 

maybe I’ve just exhausted my possibilities of thrillers that will shock me. but I am reading verity this month so …. I’m ready to be disappointed again hahaha. 

all in all, I did really enjoy flipping through this one. super quick and easy thriller to burn through. 

rating: 3.5 stars
wine pairing: chile sauvignon blanc

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement

Minor: Alcoholism and Addiction

caseythereader's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

 - I almost never read thrillers, especially the subgenre of Wife this and Wife that thrillers. But I made an exception for THE WIFE UPSTAIRS because it's a retelling of one of my favorite classic novels - JANE EYRE.
- And am I glad I did! I tore through it in less than a day. THE WIFE UPSTAIRS is pure book candy - rich people behaving badly, a young woman escaping a dark past, murder most foul, etc.
- You definitely don't need to have read JANE EYRE to enjoy this book, but if you have, you'll spot some delightful callbacks in the names and details. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Violence

stayathomereader's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

A retelling of Jane Eyre (with a healthy dose of Gone Girl),  some of the recycling of characters or lines were amusing. A quick read with most of the commitment to the story stemming from a desire to see just how much aligns with the classic novel.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Forced institutionalization, and Murder