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basicallyki's review against another edition
1.0
what was the point? that’s what i asked myself after every potential plot point was never discussed again. the sleep walking, the obsession from three separate characters, the “is the husband a creep”, the “is the child a psycho” and everything else that was mentioned once and never again.
the twist was decent but the reaction to it and what came of it ruined it. jeremy and lowen are terrible people throughout the entire book and not once was a rooting for them individually or as a couple. every single character needs therapy and i fully believe the the author does too. her exploitation of trauma is weird, the anti choice throughout the book is excessive and impossible to ignore.
honestly i could rant forever and i’ve missed a lot of points i wanted to make in this review but i’m sure there are better ones out there that can explain it more thoroughly than i can because i want to put my phone down and forget everything about this awful experience.
over all if felt like a waste of my time. i’ve read one other book by her and after reading them both i won’t be picking up another.
Graphic: Car accident, Death of parent, Sexual content, Infidelity, Mental illness, Murder, Abortion, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Grief, Pregnancy, and Misogyny
Moderate: Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Fatphobia, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, and Miscarriage
Minor: Vomit
ayla_smith's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Abortion, and Child death
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Eating disorder
allidone's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Murder, Suicide attempt, Child death, Sexual content, and Child abuse
Moderate: Infidelity, Fatphobia, Emotional abuse, Body shaming, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Violence, Grief, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, and Eating disorder
eliya's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Murder, Toxic relationship, Child death, Infidelity, Sexual content, Child abuse, and Death
Moderate: Fatphobia, Emotional abuse, Body shaming, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, Grief, Cursing, Eating disorder, and Violence
Minor: Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Cancer, Vomit, and Suicidal thoughts
alliebee333's review against another edition
There’s a whole page dedicated to a description of Verity’s mother and her “expanding waist line“ and a description of disordered eating/workout behaviors to avoid Verity experiencing the same fate, so reader beware. These are terrible characters, all written terribly.
Graphic: Abortion, Blood, Car accident, Confinement, Eating disorder, Medical trauma, Child abuse, Pregnancy, Fatphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Child death, Grief, Infidelity, Murder, and Physical abuse
hcrawfo3's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Medical content, Abortion, Eating disorder, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Grief, Gaslighting, Body horror, Child death, and Cursing
Moderate: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Gore, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting
lisa_m's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
I do know, that I'm very sensitive and that books, that are as graphic as this, probably just aren't for me. Also I absolutely hate cheating in books. This book would have been so much better if there hadn't been a romance in there. I do understand though how it made the experience in the house more intense for the protagonist and how it made the ending more intense.
I don't particularily like Lowen. She was terrified even when nothing has happened yet and I feel like it was kind of unrealistic that she chose to stay in that house after reading the manuscript. I would have read the whole thing in one sitting, grabbed all my stuff and then left.
I belive she even says that the only reason she didn't was because of Jeremy. I have to admit that I kind of liked him in the beginning. He was nice to her and even in the biography he seemed like a fun and genuine person. After the ending though it kind of feels like he orchestrated the whole thing.
The romance was just weird. I feel like it wasn't at all a problem for him to cheat on his wife. Like I guess he says he feels guilty but we get to see none of it. I felt like he was flirting with her ever since he met her. (He even kind of admits that when saying he felt a connection to Lowen that was stronger than the connection to his wife had ever been in the bathroom! Like that was 5 min. after they met and coincidentally right when he sees her in just her bra? - I don't actually think that is the reason, still.) Lowen also did not feel like someone still grieving the death of her mother. The romance just felt like it was so disconnected to the rest of the story and didn't make any sense in the context.
I did think it was quite interesting to read the autobiography though. I generally really like different POVs / that every other chapter showed the past. It was disturbing but it was still interesting to see her thoughts. It's unlike anything I've ever read for sure.
I have been spoiled for the plottwists in this book but I don't think it took away too much. I think I would have expected it anyways. Also the letter in the end was a truly great ending. I do not like Lowen and the way she acted throughout the book but especially the end was just weird.
Some of the book reminded me of a modern Jane Eyre. I mean he's rich and has a child to take care of, he hires her and she lives with him, there is his wife (locked up) in the 'attic'... I do not particularily like Mr. Rochester either so I guess my feelings towards the two books are similar. (Jane Eyre is better though)
I did read it all in one sitting though so I guess it couldn't have been that bad. I was completely captivated. I sometimes didn't want to continue and get it over with but sometimes I was genuinly intruiged. I have way more thought on this book than that but I don't really want to think about this book anymore. I don't think it's written badly and I liked the format. The story was alright and I don't like the 'romance'. I get why people like this book but if you're sensitive when reading about neglected children and abuse be careful when reading this. I would definitely tell anyone thinking about reading this to check out the trigger warnings first.
Graphic: Abandonment, Body shaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Ableism, Abortion, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Gore, Medical content, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Blood, Body horror, Cancer, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Vomit, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, and Fatphobia
bethy_joy's review
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Cultural appropriation, Panic attacks/disorders, and Car accident
mamawantsbooks'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
4.0
Graphic: Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Grief, Abortion, Blood, Body shaming, Pregnancy, Vomit, Body horror, Car accident, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Child death, Murder, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Miscarriage, and Violence
Minor: Animal death
vaguely_pink's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Abortion, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Grief, Infidelity, Murder, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Sexual content, Ableism, Vomit, Terminal illness, Car accident, Miscarriage, Blood, Confinement, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Cancer, Medical content, Alcohol, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Eating disorder, and Chronic illness