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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
N/A
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This started off as a sad drama but turned into a complex, twisty domestic suspense. It was really good, it kept me interested throughout. Recommended for fans of morally grey, twisty domestic thrillers and character dramas.
Energy: Resentful. Angsty. Sketchy.
🐕 Howls: I almost DNFed after the prologue because it seemed like it was trying a bit too hard to be tragic and emotional, but thankfully that style didn’t carry through. Some dialogue was a little stiff in later chapters, but nothing that pulled me out completely.
🐩 Tail Wags: The steady momentum of the pacing and suspense. The well-timed cliffhangers and reveals. How it explores the quieter, uncomfortable truths around IVF, family building, and the assumptions that parenthood will be fulfilling. The twists made sense and the misleads were subtle. The multiple POVs and interwoven storylines.
Scene: 🇺🇸 Nashville, Tennessee, USA
Perspectives (multiple): (1) A married interior designer determined to have a baby having been repeatedly unsuccessful. (2) Their spouse who shares the desire for a child. (3) A 16-year-old born through sperm donation. (4) The teen’s mother who chose to be a single parent after a difficult childhood. (5) The murderer.
Timeline: Linear. 2020s with flashbacks to late 1990s and early 2000s.
Narrative: Overhearing thoughts, being told a story. Knowing more than the characters but still theorizing (third person omniscient).
Fuel: The connections between seemingly unrelated characters. Serial murder mystery and investigation. Domestic dramas and family suspense. The character backstories and what will happen to them.
Cred: Plausible to realistic
Mood Reading Match-Up:
Discord. Channel Four. Waterfall edge counters. White lillies. Scotch. Coffee. Gene pool.
- Breezy, immersive, vivid writing style
- Brooding, sympathetic, sweet, unhinged, and unlikeable characters
- Twisty psychological domestic suspense
- Interwoven plots and multiple POVs
- Close calls and confessions
- Biology, reproduction, purpose, parenting, and fertility dilemmas
- Serial killer investigations
- Nature vs. nurture debates, and “what would you do?” moral quandaries
- Momentary love triangle
- Unraveling in the face of anger, jealousy, suspicion, and desperation
Content Heads-Up: Abortion. Accidental death. Car crash (injuries). Domestic violence (mention). Cancer (brief; oncology ward). Confinement, kidnapping. Home invasion, thefts. Infertility (on page, descriptive; grief, treatments, experience). Infidelity. Intracervical insemination (on page; descriptive). Miscarriage (on page). Psychological disorder (child). Psychopathy. Sexual assault (cornered, unwanted advances). Schizoaffective disorder. Stalking, obsession (secretly). Violence against women.
Rep: American. Cis. Lesbian. Hetero. Pale, black, and white skin tones.
📚 Format: Kindle
My musings 💖 powered by puppy snuggles 🐶
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility, Miscarriage
Moderate: Confinement, Infidelity, Violence, Kidnapping, Stalking, Abortion, Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Cancer, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Car accident
Spoiler!!
The way she let him keep getting blamed for chapel hill the entire time. Nice twist!!
The way she let him keep getting blamed for chapel hill the entire time. Nice twist!!
The guy donated sperm… over 20 kids. One was a killer. Excellent!
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Kept waffling between 3 and 4 stars, probably closer to a 3.5 only because it was entirely predictable
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced