Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Housemaid by Freida McFadden

14 reviews

ghi's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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? N/A

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Murder, Bullying, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Blood, and Grief

k8lynn's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Infertility, Grief, Body shaming, Death, Torture, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Violence, Physical abuse, and Blood

maddie_0930's review

dark emotional mysterious 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Grief, Death, Murder, Blood, Torture, Cursing, Infertility, Infidelity, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Violence

kjm19's review

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I haven’t read a book like this in a very long time - probably since the Girl on the Train?

An incredibly fast-paced crime/thriller novel about a woman on parole who is hired to be a live-in family maid. You can see twists and turns coming for the most part, but you don’t know the specifics and that’s what keeps you on your toes. 

The change of POV at a critical point in the story didn’t leave me wanting more, in fact it answered some questions but also gave me a thirst for more answers. 

The plot centring on the injustices of the prison system and how poorly women in abusive relationships are treated by law enforcement and the ‘establishment’ made it more impactful for me. 

Other than the police chief person’s daughter being Andy’s ex (cliche, lazy, forced…), the ending (last chapter with Andy’s mum at the funeral and the epilogue with Millie being interviewed at a new place) chefs kiss. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Torture, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Sexism, Deportation, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Stalking, Blood, Body shaming, Suicide attempt, Violence, Alcohol, Body horror, Grief, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse

loudo's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Forced institutionalization, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Body horror, Body shaming, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Violence, Death of parent, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexism, Excrement, Gaslighting, Medical trauma, Death, Toxic relationship, Blood, Confinement, Cursing, Self harm, Suicide, Fatphobia, Gore, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Classism, Abandonment, Medical content, Murder, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Mental illness, Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infertility, Torture, and Vomit

Minor: Deportation, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

fink1129's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

I typically look at a list of trigger warnings and have no concerns. I went in blind and ooofff, I was uncomfy! Such an incredible book, twists and turns, I was on the edge of my seat from the start!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Murder, Child abuse, Death, Confinement, Toxic relationship, and Torture

Moderate: Toxic friendship and Child abuse

Minor: Infertility, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Bullying, Medical content, Blood, Cursing, Deportation, Gore, Grief, Vomit, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, and Stalking

yellowcape's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• 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

3.5

What more is there to say beyond it was my first read of the year (354 pages on my kindle) and I read it in less than 24hrs. I devoured it to be honest. 

This is like everything Verity wishes it was. Our protagonist actually had a personality (yay!) and the ENTIRE plot did not revolve around her destroying a marriage while being astronomically horny. 

I really enjoyed this book, it wasn’t the wildest ride in the sense of the twist wasn’t anything you couldn’t see coming, butttt it was paced really well, every little detail added up nicely and it was clearly thoroughly planned out before writing (something I can’t say I feel about Verity - which was verifiably the worst thing I’ve ever read and I’ve read some enjoyable trash). Everything was tied up nicely into a little bow and I’m looking forward to reading the sequel, which I think will be more on the trashy side but hey, it’s winter break it’s the perfect time for some trash. 

If you want a quick easy thriller, that will have you gasping audibly, but doesn’t require too much thought to follow to burn though, I’d thoroughly recommend :)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Murder, Torture, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Infidelity, and Violence

Moderate: Bullying, Mental illness, Gore, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Child abuse, and Self harm

Minor: Body shaming, Deportation, Injury/Injury detail, and Rape

violetvulptex's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Infidelity, Torture, Sexual content, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Infertility, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Physical abuse, Child abuse, Stalking, Grief, Forced institutionalization, Body shaming, Blood, Rape, Death of parent, Classism, and Sexual assault

lilla_j's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Torture, Death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Violence, Blood, Bullying, Grief, Infertility, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Body shaming, Death of parent, Deportation, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual assault, and Suicide

shadymist's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Honestly this is the best book I have read so far this year! So many twists and turns that make the reader keep going. I finished the book the same day I started it. That should tell you how much worthwhile this book was to read! Frieda Mcfadden is a truly gifted author.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Grief, Mental illness, and Torture

Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, and Rape

Minor: Body horror, Blood, Child abuse, Death of parent, and Death