Reviews with content warning for Domestic abuse - The Woman in Cabin 10

*This is my opinion; I encourage readers to read anything they want - Buddy read with Shana
Initial Reaction: I was mad after finishing this book.

Premise: Lo is a journalist who goes on a luxury cruise. One night, she imagines seeing a woman being thrown overboard. But everyone is aboard the ship; what is really going on?

Entertainment: It was difficult to enjoy this book. After reading a chapter, you feel frustrated, whether it was the protagonist being unlikeable for no reason or a plot point being out of left field and not moving the story forward. I was reading faster so I could move on to another book. I typically don't DNF buddy reads.

Characters: Lo is one of the dumbest protagonists I've ever read. If she's a journalist, I don't think she would make so many stupid choices, and I can't stand when a character makes dumb decisions just because. And do you think the protagonist grows in any way? Barely any growth. The other characters in the book don't offer much, and there are too many characters for no reason. I thought that was to add to the twist, but no. Now that I think about it, she barely interacts with the book's main antagonist.

Plot: I had the most problems with the plot. The beginning starts off interesting, and you think it will come back into the story in an impactful way; it does not. Without spoiling anything, you cannot tell me that the last stretch of the book was remotely realistic. It was sillier than any Scooby Doo episode I've watched. I would like to explain in detail the plot holes and ridiculousness this book offered, maybe in a spoiler-filled podcast episode or video. I think what was also unforgiving was starting up a good pace with tension and then writing plot that halts everything (event that occurs 2/3 into the book). I don't understand how you can essentially put the thriller on pause for 74 PAGES (I went back and counted).

Writing Style: I feel less crazy knowing that other readers don't vibe well with Ware's writing style. I wouldn't say it's bad, maybe because she's writing in the thriller genre, but the style in this book comes off clanky to me. There was repetitive text that didn't add importance, more so annoyed me reading repeatedly, "How could I be so stupid?" There was also filler information that could have been cut from the final draft.

Final Thoughts: Ruth Ware's books just aren't for me, but that doesn't mean they won't be for you. Readers were telling me this was their favorite Ruth Ware book, and if that's the case, it scares me for anything I haven't read. But this was my second read from her and most likely my last.

Content Warnings

katelynprice's review

Go to review page

adventurous mysterious tense

4.0

Excellent ending. I love Lo’s tenacity and the feminism. It was clear without feeling too heavy-handed. This is a solid book that makes me want to read more from Ruth Ware.

Content Warnings

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark tense slow-paced

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

3.0

I wanted to see what happened at the end of this one, but I had a hard time getting into it. It felt too long, but the beginning also felt too quick; the action started before I could get to know Lo as a character, so I never really developed sympathy or a connection to her. I also felt like she was kind of terrible at common sense and any sort of decision-making. Weird stuff going on? Better drink a whole bunch. Saw a weird thing? Better harass everyone about it until they're positive that you're unstable. Important object? Better just leave it lying around for housekeeping to throw out. She was almost too annoying to root for. Also what the living hell was that

whole assault scene

that was brushed off like nothing?? That was not okay! Knocking my rating down another quarter point for that.

Content Warnings

phantomgecko's review

Go to review page

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

3.0

On one hand, the mystery was interesting, the thrilling bits intense, and the structure was fun. Having mixed media from the future opening each section was a nice choice for suspense building.

On the other hand, although realistic, alcoholic characters are boring to read. Congrats, half your problems are directly your fault, and I don't feel sorry for you at all.

Content Warnings

babudarabu's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Content Warnings

bobbeym's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

This was my first book by Ruth Ware and it was a roller coaster of a ride. It's hard to say too much though without giving away major spoilers. The writing was well done, the characters well fleshed out and extremely realistic in their behaviors, IMO. The details and scenery were stunning -- I could absolutely imagine myself on the boat touring Scandinavia (just hopefully with less drama!). I loved the twists and was caught off guard at the end because I didn't see it coming. This is definitely an author to add to my Must Read list.

Content Warnings

sadgirlsidney's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful 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? It's complicated

5.0

I fucking loved this book.

The premise sounds benign and a bit boring but it sucked me in and had me absolutely enthralled. So much guessing, so much wondering, I loved every second of it. Lo is such a fun character to follow, she’s realistically flawed and a bit of a mess because of it but we love her anyway. There’s a decent sized cast of characters that were thankfully not just forgettable blank faces, which I find tends to be an issue with novels such as this. I overall really enjoyed it, the ending was a TOUCH rushed but overall it was fantastic.

Content Warnings

More...