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dark
mysterious
tense
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content, Toxic relationship
Minor: Child abuse
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I don't even know where to start talking about this book. I read it through my French Class Book Club, recommended by a fellow student. I hated the main character all the way through it up to the epilogue. She lacks communication skills, she is super emotionally dependent of her husband, she is mean, she has “Bentinho” vibes, and she is a bad mother (if you decide to have kids for whatever reason, own your responsibility and take good care of them, they didn’t ask to be born).
Despite all of that, the book really kept my interest through its writing, there’s a dark mysterious tone that makes you curious about what is going to happen, specially because the story is narrated through a week of the characters life, as the days pass you get more excited about the plot.
Despite all of that, the book really kept my interest through its writing, there’s a dark mysterious tone that makes you curious about what is going to happen, specially because the story is narrated through a week of the characters life, as the days pass you get more excited about the plot.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Infidelity
Moderate: Toxic relationship
Minor: Racism, Toxic friendship
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The read was good. Ariane is so complex to the point that she's interesting. Ngl, I want to meet this character. The fact that the wife's name is not even mentioned in her monologue gives off a vibe that she's not important to herself anymore, or she lost herself long ago in search of the attention of her husband. Interestingly, her husband's name too, is barely mentioned, which further proves that she's in fact, "in love with love". The biggest drawback is that, after reading for a certain time you grow weary of her inner whining.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Gaslighting
Moderate: Sexual content
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting
Minor: Pregnancy
The protagonist’s “struggles” with her husband were a genuine slog to get through. Though she is quite toxic, I don’t think that’s what turned me off to this book. I think it just lacked any entertainment value for me. That’s probably my fault for picking a darkly satirical book that parodies French romance novels. But hey, if you’re looking for novels with morally dubious women as their protagonists, this book may very well be for you: as much as her plot bored me, the protagonist has a fascinating mindset and way of interacting with the world.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Stalking
Minor: Emotional abuse
Genuinely sad and crappy marriage, a woman making herself miserable, stunted emotional development, intrusive thoughts, anxiety thought patterns, dismissiveness toward therapy
challenging
dark
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Stalking
Moderate: Gaslighting
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was here for the "Support women's wrongs", alas, this was not it. It's a toxic relationship on both sides. Also, for all her insistence that she loves her husband, she has no problem cheating. Also, that epilogue? No thank you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship
Moderate: Gaslighting
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Stalking
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I enjoyed the book, but I felt the ending was a bit contrived.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Toxic relationship
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
this novel tested just how far my “i support women’s wrongs” extends.
it was a strong descent into the madness of a truly obsessed and calculated woman and how she views her marriage, truly unlike anything i’ve ever read before. like a clementine, her taste for revenge was best described as sour, not seasonal, and was always neatly pre-packaged. and in the end, all i could say was they deserved one another.
(thank you for the recommendation Masego, it was definitely very “Gone Girl” meets “YOU” vibes x)
it was a strong descent into the madness of a truly obsessed and calculated woman and how she views her marriage, truly unlike anything i’ve ever read before. like a clementine, her taste for revenge was best described as sour, not seasonal, and was always neatly pre-packaged. and in the end, all i could say was they deserved one another.
(thank you for the recommendation Masego, it was definitely very “Gone Girl” meets “YOU” vibes x)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Classism