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sleepylit's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Abortion, Body horror, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Violence, Gore, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Physical abuse
Minor: Vomit, Kidnapping, Terminal illness, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol
ashjhenn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
Graphic: Child abuse, Abortion, and Murder
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Alcohol, Drug use, and Vomit
mx_sunshine's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Graphic: Abortion, Child death, Death of parent, Infidelity, Mental illness, Blood, Child abuse, Grief, Pregnancy, Car accident, Death, Murder, and Sexual content
Minor: Drug use, Alcohol, Cancer, and Vomit
emilybelger's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
Moderate: Terminal illness, Addiction, Murder, Alcohol, Car accident, Child death, Death, Grief, Pregnancy, and Drug use
lauren717's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Child death, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Blood, Pregnancy, Grief, Abortion, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Murder, and Sexual content
Minor: Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Death, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Abortion, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Blood, Cancer, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Medical trauma, Murder, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Car accident, and Child abuse
girl_in_the_books's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Abortion, Death of parent, Alcohol, Body horror, Bullying, Car accident, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Alcoholism, Blood, Cancer, Child death, Dysphoria, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Miscarriage
criticalgayze's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
A part of me wants to say that I now at least have an understanding of the CoHo craze, but this is her only thriller, and I truly cannot imagine reading a book by her that was just the romantic parts of this one.
I fully intended to give this book 1.5-stars because I am absolutely sick of the trope of painting PPD as some kind of villainous trait in women, but I think that, while the narrator is still disgustingly judgmental of the kind of psychological trauma pregnancy and childbirth can put a woman through, Hoover herself seems (maybe?) to have mostly redeemed her own complicity in the trope with the book's ending. (Although I am largely as confused as the narrator as to whether this is actually the case or not)
Speaking of the ending, talk about rushed. I felt like, throughout the book, the order of escalation was out of whack, there were largely spurts of tension in amongst the drudgery of straight white horniness as opposed to well built and sustained suspense, and that the culminating scene was over largely before I even realized it had begun.
tl;dr: Not good writing, but I tore through it in two days, so maybe there's something to be said for the Hoover phenomenon.
Graphic: Abortion, Child death, Murder, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, and Sexual content
Moderate: Terminal illness, Blood, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Cancer, Confinement, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Drug abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Car accident, Death, Alcohol, and Death of parent
nath_py's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Blood, Sexual content, Child death, Murder, Pregnancy, and Car accident
Moderate: Alcohol, Vomit, and Death of parent
Minor: Miscarriage
joann3's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
Graphic: Death, Grief, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, and Child death
Moderate: Abortion
Minor: Alcohol
chaotically_katie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
One of the best pieces of writing advice is to trust your audience. And while I appreciate the spoon-feeding to a certain extent, there comes a point where it’s a bit excessive.
Overall, I recommend reading it. Just not at the top of your reading list.
Graphic: Abortion, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Ableism, Alcohol, Blood, Child death, Gaslighting, Grief, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Body shaming, Car accident, Violence, and Vomit