Reviews with content warning for Child abuse - The Family Upstairs

My book club gave this book a 3.1. This book felt like it wanted to be good but it could never really get over the hump of just alright. One of my members didn’t like the characters. This book has multiple narrators and one of them turns out to be an unreliable one which was not favored. The author went into detail about things that really didn’t matter and left the more important things flat and 2 dimensional.

***SPOILERS***
The book lost points when the author decided to write the gay character as the stereotypical gay villain with the heart broken trope. The book was called the family upstairs but it was more “family comes in and takes over a whole house super easily” the title didnt really do the book justice.

In all honesty, this book was a disappointment. The author set up great plot twists and opportunities for something to happen many times and it just fell flat. It felt like when a roller coaster goes up the hill clicking and then it just never really drops. The book could have also benefited from having less characters and having actual character development or get deeper with some characters as it leaves you wondering a lot. Overall, it was interesting while we were reading it but it is not a book that will stay with us, its not a book that we would think about really ever or we will talk about, it left little to no impression.

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bex2271's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.75

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hp62442's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious 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

4.5

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alymccaskill's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

I felt so many emotions while reading this one. It’s well written and the plot was carefully crafted. Quite the psychological thriller that leaves you asking so many questions. It engulfs you, for sure.

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ycboots's review against another edition

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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

4.0

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mynameisrebecca's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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annie_brewer's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.25

Not quite a thriller, more twisted family drama?

This one felt very confusing at the start with mulitple POV/timelines and so many characters, but once the dynamics within the families were explained a bit further it was possible to identify the characters and where they fitted into the story.

This was a very quick read, and I was continously seeking out how all the characters fitted into the main story, but the book felt unbalanced in that the past was much more interesting than the present storyline.

The 'cult/commune' style of the familes living situation was fascinatingly laid out and the perceptions of the kids during these events was so well written, which to the reader (and some characters) were obvious indications the slow indoctrination of the parents into submission.

Henry was a very interesting narrator. The oscilation between story-telling and correcting the others narratives was so well done via audiobook I got an intense understanding his true personality. I felt uncomfortable with how persistent he was to romance Phinn, but I would consider this behaviour due to his dysfunctional childhood, however some may have an issue with the gay character being presented as creepy and obsessive.

Other than Henry, Lucy returning to London to see The Baby felt like an unimportant story and Libby was a very unremarkable character that was too nice and trusting.

I didn't know there was a sequel until seeing another review, but I do really want to know what else could possibly be added into this family tragedy on top of an (unneccesary) drug trip, dispicable abuses, domineering control, and murder.

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