Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - The Family Upstairs

Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell

19 reviews

amgarrido's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional 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

4.5

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our_bookish_reads's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

Not amazing, but not awful.
Told in multiple POV, altering timelines.

The story, as far as characters, got muddled and very confusing because there were so many in play during the parts in the past. I did not see the thing with Michael coming! I liked how it happened and that it did. I feel bad for the kids in the past and present and the hardships growing up, no kid should have to endure any of it.

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dsmith111's review against another edition

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hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This book is fantastic. My only down would be the amount of characters and how it isn’t easy to know who’s writing a certain chapter.

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liona91's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

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megmccreery's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

4.0

When Libby turns 25, she knows she gets an inheritance from her birth parents, but what she doesn't know is that it includes a multimillion-dollar house. Even though the house is worth millions, it comes with a haunting past-- a family cut off from the world in a commune-type fashion. Children are abused and neglected, adults are manipulated, and nobody can get leave. Not until three bodies are found by the police 25 years ago, along with a ten month-old baby. Nobody knows what happened in the house, but Libby is determined to find out where she came from.

I think this was the first Lisa Jewell book where I was genuinely creeped out and figure out what was happening (may be good or bad). I was SUPER confused at the beginning with the three switching POVs and verb tenses. It was even harder when the narrators were being so elusive about things. Throughout the book there were a lot of names flying around, and I found it a little hard to keep track of everything.

I'm not really sure why Lucy's POV was included; I don't think it really added anything. There was nothing about her past that was even relevant to the rest of the plot.

So there really was just added domestic abuse for no reason.

I really was creeped out by Henry's character; you can definitely tell from the beginning that he's got some things going on in his head that just are not right. One note I want to make is why are there two acid trips talked about in here? By like a 13 and a 16 year old. I get that it made Phineas more open to conversations with Henry which changed their relationship, but it definitely could have been done with a different, not-as-scary drug.

I really hate a teenage pregnancy trope. It just doesn't do anything for me; it makes me angry.

I really DON'T understand why Libby/Serenity wants to still have contact with this psychotic family. Like Clemency, cool, that's cool. Her mom has two other kids with two different dads and has been a literal fugitive for 20+ years. Her uncle is a literal psychopath who drugged her and her boyfriend, took their phones, and put trackers on them! Did they ever figure out their phones were bugged? Are they still bugged?! She should have moved on because they just seem messy, and she could have avoided it.

Overall, this was just like an episode of Worst Roommate Ever. It was a very solid thriller. I wish Lucy's POV would have been cut out and replaced with more details on the living situation of the house and have more of the minor characters be more involved.

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