Reviews with content warning for Incest - A Madness So Discreet

Reviews tagging 'Incest'

A Madness So Discreet by Mindy McGinnis

12 reviews

kaleighmadden's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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arsmi24's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny mysterious sad slow-paced

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

4.0

This book has such an intriguing storyline. It has very sad moments and funny ones. Although the theme is heavy, it doesn't drag you into the dark. The characters are endearing and you want to defend them against their abuse. The ending is incredibly satisfying as well.

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booksofautumn's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad medium-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

2.0

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maryoliverenjoyer's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark hopeful medium-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? No

4.0

Hottest edgy morally ambiguous doctor since Julian Devorak (The Arcana) or Hatori Sohma (Fruits Basket). What a trope! Also I loved this book. Never seen one that goes from so incredibly dark to “yeah there’s murder and it’s still sad but this shit is heartwarming as hell too actually”

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allycat21's review against another edition

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challenging dark inspiring mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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writethruchaos's review against another edition

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dark informative mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.0

I wanted to like this one more but it wasn't too notable to me. The book dives into how "insanity" was treated in the olden times. The pacing was slow and, despite many horrible acts in this book, it wasn't very thrilling. Aside from losing her baby towards the beginning of the book, Grace is a static character that doesn't have an arc. She is taken in by Dr. Thornhill to basically be the Watson to his Sherlock and scan crime scenes for what he can't see but whenever she reports her findings, he's already made the same conclusions and mansplains to her what she missed. The first 10% of the book is scary and disturbing. Then all the tension just fizzles. This is a rape story (spoilers ahead) and I wanted Grace to finally find her voice and bring her abuser (her father) to justice... That doesn't happen. She kills the murderer Dr. Thornhill has been trailing, frames her father for the string of murders only one of which he was actually present for, has him tried for murder then makes it a rape case (dismissing the other murders she investigated), has her friend lie on the stand that she and not Grace (MC) was raped, gets mad when Dr. Thornhill refuses to lie to the court, and then does a "haha, Father, it was I that framed you for murder" reveal at the end before going back to the asylum (forever?). What bothered me the most was that a lawyer in the final scenes tries to discourage women by stating that most of the women testifying against the evil father were lying. Then Grace sends up her friend to in fact lie about being raped basically proving the lawyer's point. He doesn't know it but the readers do and it's frustrating because there is no definitive reason why Grace can't take the stand and tell her story.... Just sayin' lying on the stand didn't go well for Amber Heard. Arguably, Grace committing murder is the most interesting part of the book and could have contributed to her character arc significantly. The Dr just yells at her, gives her a slap on the wrist and they move on. BUT SHE KILLED SOMEONE. That affects a person's psyche and it wasn't examined enough. I just don't know what I'm supposed to learn from this. Don't confront your abusers or speak up because other people will speak for you? Take justice into your own hands? Lie in court? Her dad obviously needed to go to jail or be hanged he was an evil person. But the way the book went about it felt wrong... It seemed like she was given a pass because she had a traumatic experience. Her trauma was substantial, don't get me wrong. But there are no consequences for her actions moving forward and everyone seems to blame it on her trauma...
IDK. The whole story felt unfinished and didn't sit right with me.

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