Reviews tagging 'Body shaming'

La femme de ménage by Freida McFadden

113 reviews

abicaro17's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Oh damm. Oh DAMM. OH DAMM. This is awesome. Millie is an ex-con looking for a new job after she was fired from her last job. Nina Winchester is looking for a housekeeper to help cook and clean but, also look after her daughter Cecelia occasionally. As Millie spends more and more time in the house she realizes that the perfect Winchesters aren't so perfect. This book is the perfect mix of slow burn and engaging. The plot unfolds at a nice pace but leaves a lot for the ending climax. My only real issue with this is a level of predictability. Not sure if its my Criminal Minds addiction or what but, The first few chapters of character description and background told me all I needed to know. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, Sexism, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Blood, Drug use, Infertility, Alcohol, Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Confinement, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Stalking, and Violence

sophieamreacher's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Read in one day. Good premise and kept me interested. Was unsure about how the book was split up. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Murder, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Deportation, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Violence, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Domestic abuse, Rape, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Infertility, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Alcohol, Child abuse, Classism, Gore, Grief, Vomit, Misogyny, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Kidnapping, Self harm, Racism, Medical content, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

siennakt30's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Violence, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Alcohol, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Drug use, Mental illness, Misogyny, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Death of parent, Torture, Confinement, and Murder

nataliealane's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

2.5

I really disliked this book/the characters but also couldn’t put it down???! Like I HAD to know what happened next. All the characters are extremely unlikeable and make very stupid stupid decisions that made me want to throw a book at their head. The main character possesses almost 0 survival instinct despite spending 10 years in prison. If you like Lifetime dramas/thrillers, you will like this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gore, Toxic relationship, Torture, Blood, and Confinement

Moderate: Body shaming, Physical abuse, Gaslighting, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, and Emotional abuse

teatunesandtales's review against another edition

challenging dark funny sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Emotional abuse, Murder, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Bullying, Torture, Violence, Domestic abuse, Body shaming, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Infidelity and Infertility

moonlovescheese's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Violence

Moderate: Mental illness and Body shaming

Minor: Infertility and Sexual assault

emilylott's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, Torture, Domestic abuse, and Death

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, and Confinement

Minor: Body shaming and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

milliethomsen's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Body shaming and Bullying

paperbacksandsnacks's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This book reminded me why I love thrillers and how incredible they can be when written well. And this was phenomenal. The hype truly is worth it. 

The writing style is addictive, and super atmospheric. Immediately when starting this book it felt tense and eerie and like anything could happen. Parts of this felt predictable and at first I was like “I don’t get the hype, why is everyone acting like this is something new” but thennn the twists began. And I realised the predictability is there to make you feel comfortable, to make the twists even more shocking and unexpected. It’s a book that’s written so cleverly. I truly could not have predicted how this story went, it was just twist after twist. That part 2 twist had me SHOOK. 

My one complaint is some of the comments about body size and image. I think it could potentially be triggering for some people. A woman who is mentioned to be a size 14 which is a very average and normal mid size body, who is being spoken about in certain critical ways I think is very outdated and not necessarily relevant to what the author was building here. For me this didn’t take away from the story or quality of the thriller itself, but it is something to note. 

I understand that Andrew obviously prefers a skinny woman so it was building up to that affair he had with Millie, but I think this could have been referenced without shaming a very common body type. The complimentary focus of a skinnier frame and a critical one of a very normal frame is dated and I think probably a little cruel. To discuss eating habits too is also potentially very triggering.

This whole story was unhinged from start to finish, and full of unexpected turns. I felt icky throughout and so tense, which for me is just the mark of an excellent psych thriller. The pacing was impeccable, the reveals excellently timed. The characters were so well thought out too. Just amazing, amazing writing. And with the way this book ended I anticipate I will be reading the sequel VERY soon. 

I wish all thrillers were this good. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Sexual content, Infidelity, Mental illness, Death, and Body shaming

bettymer91's review against another edition

adventurous 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Slavery, Body shaming, Gaslighting, and Mental illness

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Sexual content