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christygsp's review against another edition
2.0
This book felt scattered for 80% so it’s only fitting if my thoughts are just as scattered… here we go.
Confusing a reader to the point where they can’t pick up even a thread of what’s going on until the very last 20% of a book is not a good thing. Having mystery and intrigue is great, but making a reader so turned around that they can’t even grab hold of the larger plot was so disjointed that I wanted to quit so many times.
The overall story was clever and characters were unreliable and deeply flawed. It was an only okay book, with only okay characters, BUT with an amazing reveal sequence.
Nitpicks:
Truth is OBJECTIVE. Anything else is opinion, perspective and experience. I hate that people dilute the meaning of this very important word.
Faith and fear are OPPOSITES, not interwoven similarities.
The Sea and Sky both follow rules - the tide and atmosphere levels for example.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Kidnapping, Murder, and Death of parent
Minor: Child abuse and Toxic relationship
anne_reader's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Murder, Grief, Confinement, and Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Violence, Misogyny, and Mental illness
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Infertility, Pregnancy, and Sexual violence
jessn13's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse
eh1736's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping
Moderate: Child abuse
avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition
emotional
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? Yes
4.25
I really enjoyed this book, and while some parts were predictable others weren't. The characters were unlikable but in a way that made them enjoyable not ones you hate.
The narrators were good, but their voices were too similar and made it harder to keep track of whose POV you were in if you came back to the book in the middle of a chapter. Luckily the chapters were named for the character whose POV it was from.
Overall a good book, I just wish it had been a bit less predictable.
The narrators were good, but their voices were too similar and made it harder to keep track of whose POV you were in if you came back to the book in the middle of a chapter. Luckily the chapters were named for the character whose POV it was from.
Overall a good book, I just wish it had been a bit less predictable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Toxic relationship, Murder, Death, Kidnapping, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, and Death of parent
Minor: Mental illness, Abortion, and Animal cruelty
lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
As an avid reader of Alice Feeney's work, I was so excited to pick up this new title from her.
"Good Bad Girl" follows a cast of women who are all hiding something. Twenty years ago, a baby was kidnapped in a grocery store, and in the present day a woman is murdered in a nursing home. These two crimes are somehow connected and the entire cast of women are about to find out how their stories are meant to come together.
I was very invested in this story from the beginning. All of these characters are somewhat morally gray, and they made decisions that I was not entirely on board with, but that is what made them interesting. I really empathized with Patience because she has such a good heart and it is evident from the first page how much she is struggling. She is working so tirelessly to save up enough money to be able to start a new life, and my heart just went out to her. I was also sympathetic towards Edith in the beginning. She feels like her family just left her to die in the nursing home, and she wants nothing more to just go home and be with her dog around her own things.
Something many of these characters had in common was that they are mothers, which I think provides interesting discourse on what it means to be a mother. Edith, Clio, and Frankie are all mothers who have made sacrifices for their daughters, and they all have strained relationships with their own mothers. It is impossible to be the perfect mom, but they each have been a good bad mom.
Even though I anticipated some of the twists in the story, I was still entirely invested, and I did not anticipate everything that ultimately happened. Alice Feeney is great at creating amazing turns and character developments that I do not see coming.
I look forward to enjoying more from Alice Feeney in the future.
"Good Bad Girl" follows a cast of women who are all hiding something. Twenty years ago, a baby was kidnapped in a grocery store, and in the present day a woman is murdered in a nursing home. These two crimes are somehow connected and the entire cast of women are about to find out how their stories are meant to come together.
I was very invested in this story from the beginning. All of these characters are somewhat morally gray, and they made decisions that I was not entirely on board with, but that is what made them interesting. I really empathized with Patience because she has such a good heart and it is evident from the first page how much she is struggling. She is working so tirelessly to save up enough money to be able to start a new life, and my heart just went out to her. I was also sympathetic towards Edith in the beginning. She feels like her family just left her to die in the nursing home, and she wants nothing more to just go home and be with her dog around her own things.
Even though I anticipated some of the twists in the story, I was still entirely invested, and I did not anticipate everything that ultimately happened. Alice Feeney is great at creating amazing turns and character developments that I do not see coming.
I look forward to enjoying more from Alice Feeney in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Abandonment, Child death, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Grief, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment
Minor: Pregnancy
bekah1210's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-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? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, Kidnapping, and Death
Minor: Mental illness and Abortion
oceanwriter's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-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 look forward to Alice Feeney's books every year. After being blown away by Daisy Darker last year, I've spent most of 2023 counting the months until I could read Good Bad Girl. Though the book overall had a much different tone than what I've become accustomed to with this author, I still loved it.
A stolen baby, a runaway, a missing elderly woman, a murdered care home worker... there's an intricate series of events throughout the book that at a glance would seem unrelated but are very much connected. The POVs alternate between Edith, Patience, Clio, and Frankie with twists and turns following each of their steps.
At first, I was surprised by how differently the book read compared to Rock Paper Scissors and Daisy Darker. It didn't have the same urgency and sense of danger. I also found it much more predictable in the beginning, however, I was still caught by some twists by the end that made me react out loud as I was listening, causing me to scramble to backtrack to be sure I'd heard it correctly.
What I liked about this book was the relationships between the characters, particularly the complicated mother/daughter relationships. So much has been withheld between them causing strain and ambiguity. It took me a little while to differentiate Clio and Frankie, but I don't think that would have been as much of an issue had I been reading with my eyes rather than my ears. (Side note: The two narrators did a lovely job reading!)
Though not what I'd expected, I can't say I'm disappointed. Now the wait is on for the next Alice Feeney book!
A huge thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with a free audio ARC of the book!
A stolen baby, a runaway, a missing elderly woman, a murdered care home worker... there's an intricate series of events throughout the book that at a glance would seem unrelated but are very much connected. The POVs alternate between Edith, Patience, Clio, and Frankie with twists and turns following each of their steps.
At first, I was surprised by how differently the book read compared to Rock Paper Scissors and Daisy Darker. It didn't have the same urgency and sense of danger. I also found it much more predictable in the beginning, however, I was still caught by some twists by the end that made me react out loud as I was listening, causing me to scramble to backtrack to be sure I'd heard it correctly.
What I liked about this book was the relationships between the characters, particularly the complicated mother/daughter relationships. So much has been withheld between them causing strain and ambiguity. It took me a little while to differentiate Clio and Frankie, but I don't think that would have been as much of an issue had I been reading with my eyes rather than my ears. (Side note: The two narrators did a lovely job reading!)
Though not what I'd expected, I can't say I'm disappointed. Now the wait is on for the next Alice Feeney book!
A huge thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with a free audio ARC of the book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Child abuse, and Murder
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, and Confinement
Minor: Animal cruelty, Abortion, and Mental illness
diannasbooks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Oh boy this book was something! I had no idea what I was getting into it when I started. If you have a mother wound this book can be a bit triggering. I pushed through, and I’m so glad I did! It’s told in multiple POV’s but the author made it very easy to follow along. I really liked the chapter headings and they were different for each character. This book grasped me from the first page. I really enjoyed it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Kidnapping, Child abuse, Confinement, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Homophobia, Dementia, and Grief
Minor: Animal cruelty
voicenextdoor's review against another edition
mysterious
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
3.5 Solid thriller.
I feel like if you aren't super familiar with the genre this will absolutely keep you on your toes and for the seasoned reader you will enjoying working out the web of mystery.
Don't really want to go too deep into plot points, but I appreciated the exploration of the different relationships and the reasons that the characters make the choices they do.
Great audio narration from Katherine Press and Stephanie Racine.
***Thank you to Macmillan Audio for providing me with the Audiobook for free via NetGalley for an unbiased review.
I feel like if you aren't super familiar with the genre this will absolutely keep you on your toes and for the seasoned reader you will enjoying working out the web of mystery.
Don't really want to go too deep into plot points, but I appreciated the exploration of the different relationships and the reasons that the characters make the choices they do.
Great audio narration from Katherine Press and Stephanie Racine.
***Thank you to Macmillan Audio for providing me with the Audiobook for free via NetGalley for an unbiased review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Abortion
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