Reviews with content warning for Alcoholism - The Wife Upstairs

It’s been a while since I read Reckless Girls, but I remember enjoying that book much more than I did this one. It’s a page-turner, but not really a twisty thriller. And the romance/not-romance didn’t really do much for me. Still, it was a fun quick read. I couldn’t put it down mainly because I wanted to watch this dumpster fire play out till the end.

And I still haven’t read anything by the Brontës. Guess I need to get on that.

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rachel_stout'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? No

3.5

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dev921'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? It's complicated

2.0

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analea_lucille's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective 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

4.75

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yarisbooksandbevs's review against another edition

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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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bookedbymadeline's review against another edition

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dark mysterious fast-paced

4.5

The pacing was great with many twists! It’s a great retelling of Jane Eyre, I haven’t read the whole novel (although I am this month), but I know the gist of the story and still recognized similarities! However it’s not completely the same which made it better in my opinion.

I really enjoyed the switching POVs! This was a quick, easy read. I wasn’t completely satisfied with the ending and felt there were a couple of plot holes but overall an entertaining domestic/gothic thriller!

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bookishchaos's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

This was pretty good, it had a slow beginning but picked up after you switched povs. I didn't guess the plot twist and I was entertained the whole time.

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