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tezariah's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Car accident, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Grief, Infidelity, Murder, Physical abuse, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Drug use
auntstacey's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Physical abuse and Domestic abuse
chaidoo's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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
4.75
From the very first page, I knew this book would be one of the best reads of this year. And it is! I rate books based on how much fun I had reading, and the reason I haven't made this 5 stars is because while reading, I had a sudden reading slump. One of the reasons for this slump is because of the progression of how Eva got to where she is. At first, I thought it was unnecessary, but as I moved forward in the story, I realized it had a very important purpose. And Eva's development really made me fall in love with her. (I'm a sucker for characters with development.)
Let me just say Julie Clark writes side characters SO GOOD. I loved them as much as I loved the main characters. They have layers and layers of personality. I never thought book characters felt real to me, but ever since I read this, I finally thought otherwise! While reading, I loved and grieved and feared with the characters. They felt so real and so relatable, and I love everything about them—all their flaws and not. This books sheds a light to all those who suffered the same things, and having a dive into what life is like for them is very informative, and the fact they continue to fight despite everything is so inspiring.
There were so many times where I wanted to cry (especially the ending!), but I couldn't because I was always reading this in public LMAO.
With all of that out in the way, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU READ THIS BOOK. If you're wondering whether you should or if it's good: it definitely is! Don't postpone this and read it already! A world of adventure and bravery awaits you.
Let me just say Julie Clark writes side characters SO GOOD. I loved them as much as I loved the main characters. They have layers and layers of personality. I never thought book characters felt real to me, but ever since I read this, I finally thought otherwise! While reading, I loved and grieved and feared with the characters. They felt so real and so relatable, and I love everything about them—all their flaws and not. This books sheds a light to all those who suffered the same things, and having a dive into what life is like for them is very informative, and the fact they continue to fight despite everything is so inspiring.
There were so many times where I wanted to cry (especially the ending!), but I couldn't because I was always reading this in public LMAO.
With all of that out in the way, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU READ THIS BOOK. If you're wondering whether you should or if it's good: it definitely is! Don't postpone this and read it already! A world of adventure and bravery awaits you.
Content Warnings
Minor: Violence, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Infidelity, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship
egurss's review against another edition
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Physical abuse
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Drug use, and Violence
tspice24's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
- 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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, and Emotional abuse
brenna2themax's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-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? No
4.25
First up, general trigger warnings for the book: discussion of intimate partner violence, drug use, addiction, growing up in foster care, parent abandonment, discussion of possible femicide
I really enjoyed this book. Good twists, I liked the characters (especially Liz and Kelly). I really love reading thrillers, but I hate it when they have gratuitous sexual violence from the male.perspective. graphic, dehumanizing, used as a cheap tool to excite the reader. No thanks. As a woman and a Survivor, I just don't want to read that shit. But I do enjoy reading stories about domestic violence and male violence toward women from a woman's perspective. Not dwelling on the gory, graphic details because we get it, most of us have (or still are) loved through it somehow.
Julie Clark walks this line well, explaining the danger, but also understanding that the reader isn't an idiot and likely has their own trauma and has some knowledge on the subject.
Some of what I say next gives away some general themes in the book.
-----‐-------
-------------
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More specific trigger warning, because I don't want to give to much away but want you to be prepared: domestic violence situation in which we read about a husband working up to an explosion (walking on eggshells stage), but doesn't physically strike her. There are scenes of men forcefully grabbing women's arms and shoulders. There is discussion of being hit by a male partner, but we don't see this happening. There is discussion of a man killing a female partner, but again, we don't read through the scene or get any concrete details.
While the book does explore women's experience of violence from men, and not just from male partners, from malecops/Agents, boyfriends, friends, spouses, fathers, coworkers, and powerful men in male run institutions, it also explores how we as women can play both the role of accomplice and victim to the violence we recognize, and how a lot of us end up being accomplice because we don't know how to help and don't have the resources to help. Women turning to each other in spaces away from men are where our strength lies. If we lay the ground work, and strengthen these connections yo each other with our truth, we can form enough of a network to take down powerful men.
I love these kinds of thrillers and really wish they had their own genre, because I am fucking sick to death of the thrillers that dehumanize women, graphically describe violence women endure, and then feed us some bullshit story about how we just have to find the "right" man to help us out. Fuck that noise. I want a realistic thriller from a woman's perspective. This is one of those books.
I really enjoyed this book. Good twists, I liked the characters (especially Liz and Kelly). I really love reading thrillers, but I hate it when they have gratuitous sexual violence from the male.perspective. graphic, dehumanizing, used as a cheap tool to excite the reader. No thanks. As a woman and a Survivor, I just don't want to read that shit. But I do enjoy reading stories about domestic violence and male violence toward women from a woman's perspective. Not dwelling on the gory, graphic details because we get it, most of us have (or still are) loved through it somehow.
Julie Clark walks this line well, explaining the danger, but also understanding that the reader isn't an idiot and likely has their own trauma and has some knowledge on the subject.
Some of what I say next gives away some general themes in the book.
-----‐-------
-------------
-------------
More specific trigger warning, because I don't want to give to much away but want you to be prepared: domestic violence situation in which we read about a husband working up to an explosion (walking on eggshells stage), but
While the book does explore women's experience of violence from men, and not just from male partners, from male
I love these kinds of thrillers and really wish they had their own genre, because I am fucking sick to death of the thrillers that dehumanize women, graphically describe violence women endure, and then feed us some bullshit story about how we just have to find the "right" man to help us out. Fuck that noise. I want a realistic thriller from a woman's perspective. This is one of those books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexism, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Addiction, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Grief, Stalking, Drug use, Confinement, and Physical abuse
Minor: Car accident, Death, Bullying, Child death, Outing, and Murder
ari_0504's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Physical abuse
kelseyr713's review against another edition
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? It's complicated
2.0
I wish this was a better rating, as I really liked the premise, but I couldn’t find myself getting close to the characters as I like to in thrillers. It also felt a little detached/removed.
I did like that Claire’s chapters were first person and Eva’s chapters were third person; something different.
I did like that Claire’s chapters were first person and Eva’s chapters were third person; something different.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Drug use, and Drug abuse
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
stacyo48's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse
mamanlovesbooks's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Physical abuse and Drug use