Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

Good Bad Girl by Alice Feeney

4 reviews

avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition

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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.
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kris386's review against another edition

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emotional sad medium-paced

3.0

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oceanwriter's review against another edition

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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!
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diannasbooks's review against another edition

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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. 
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