Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth

23 reviews

halfpotato_halfcheese's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted 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

3.5

A family drama novel, easy read and simple to follow. The female characters take turns narrating the story, with central themes focused on family, strength of conviction, in essence upper middle class life. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Violence, Gaslighting, and Toxic relationship

kimveach's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

My actual rating for this book is 3.5, but I rounded it to 4.  I enjoyed the characters and the story, but there were a ridiculous number of issues in this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dementia, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Vomit, Murder, Abortion, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Blood, Alcohol, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Gaslighting, Alcoholism, Death, Death of parent, Sexual assault, and Rape

abooklikeyou's review

emotional tense medium-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

4.5

“What happens in our childhood shapes us - our ability to relate to people, to manage our emotions, to control our impulses.”

That’s it. I’m officially obsessed with Sally Hepworth! 😍

She really has a way of making me empathize with her characters, and I think that is a huge draw for me with her books!

If you enjoy family drama, domestic suspense, character-driven stories, and phenomenal representation of under-represented individuals in society then you absolutely need to give Sally Hepworth a try. 👏

WHAT I LOVED // WHAT WAS MEMORABLE

🧁 Rachel’s love interest, Darcy, was perfect with his baking puns and his affection and understanding of her. I was like, are you kidding me? 🥹

🕯️I enjoyed seeing the development of why each character was the way that they were. Understanding Tully, seeing the trauma that influenced Rachel’s anxiety and coping mechanisms, and even being able to feel for The Younger Wife to an extent.

🍵 When Rachel goes to visit her mom, who has Alzheimer’s, in the nursing home only to find that she doesn’t even remember how to feed herself. That scene. 😭💔

I don’t know what it is, but Sally’s stories are unputdownable for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, and Dementia

Minor: Rape, Death of parent, Sexual assault, and Miscarriage

sarahmaemae's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Dementia, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Rape

beckyremillard's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective fast-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

3.5

Chapter 1: Someone is injured or killed at a wedding. 
Chapter 2, etc: goes back in time and we meet the characters who were in the back of the church where the incident occurred, including Rachel, Tully, their father, Stephen, his new bride, Heather, and his ex wife, Pam. 

The perspectives are primarily Rachel, Tully, and Pam, although the wedding scenes are mostly from the perspective of an unknown wedding guest. Most of the story is leading up to the wedding, but every once and a while we get a bit from the wedding. 

This book is well written but I wouldn’t call it a thriller. It’s pretty anti-climactic and there weren’t really any twists or surprises. I kept waiting for something unexpected to happen but it definitely didn’t. Not my favorite from this author. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Dementia, Gaslighting, Addiction, Death of parent, Murder, Domestic abuse, Rape, and Toxic relationship

quietcoastline's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Medical content, Domestic abuse, Dementia, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Gaslighting, Miscarriage, Murder, Violence, Death, Medical trauma, and Rape

Moderate: Alcoholism

Minor: Infertility, Pregnancy, and Excrement

allyssa_r's review

mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Alcohol, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Murder

kerrygetsliterary's review

dark mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dementia, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Alcohol, Blood, Cursing, Physical abuse, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Violence, Eating disorder, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Death, and Death of parent

brookerachel's review

mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I’ve seen so many mixed reviews on this. And while I agree that I’m over the unreliable female narrator, I enjoyed reading this. It was a quick, gripping read. Predictable and unrealistic (like they’ve all been lying to each other for years, and now are like “eh might as well tell the truth”) with overdone tropes, but I still enjoyed it while I was reading it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Rape, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Sexual harassment, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, and Dementia

placesweread's review against another edition

dark lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Death of parent, Murder, and Rape