Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson

5 reviews

hellokatya's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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

2.75

i really wanted to like this book more than i did, but it was such a chore to get through.
the writing is immaculate; watson’s ability to put emotions into words is truly incredible, but it just took a lot to push through the entirety.

from the very moment it was revealed she was attacked, not hit by a car, i knew immediately that’s who she was staying with, and that the man with the scar was her actual husband. granted - i dont always think it’s a bad thing to have a well crafted story with good hints, it just felt very obvious.

it was extremely difficult to get past the constant descriptions of her waking up confused - could’ve been spared more times.
overall, if you’re interested in a slower burn and wanting to have a lighter read, this book would be perfect; i however won’t be recommending this to anyone

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, Grief, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Infidelity, Physical abuse, Vomit, Death, Rape, Body horror, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Car accident

navayiota's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

0.25

Τι απαίσιο βιβλίο. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Grief, Abandonment, Chronic illness, Gaslighting, Medical content, Miscarriage, Rape, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Sexual content

Moderate: Alcohol and Car accident

angelakay's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Grief

novi's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I read this in one sitting. It's so fast paced and I kept wanting to know what actually happened because right from the first page until the end, the suspense is always there. As we read more, we know that we can't trust any character in this book, not even the narrator (it uses first person pov from the main character). This book scared me a lot of the times and I didn't see the twist coming, even though it's not something very extra ordinary. But it's still good. I was scared that the ending of this book will haunt me, but thank god it didn't lol so this is not that disturbing. Even though if it did, it means it's really really good. But I still like it nevertheless.

Half of this book, we're reading the main character's journal, but it's not written in journal style, more in the novel style. Which is a bit weird since she has to write it in secret and she basically didn't have a lot of time to barely write before she sleeps and forget everything all over again, yet she wrote in novel style. I am used to writing journal entries for hours and I don't think I can do that lol. I understand why the author decides to do this, though, because if we readers read a journal version of it, we wouldn't grasp the entire situation

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child death, Confinement, Death of parent, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Violence, Toxic relationship, Torture, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Stalking, Rape, and Infidelity

Minor: Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, and Pregnancy

angelicathebookworm's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Christine is a complex, developed and easily relatable character with a mind that can be explored by any reader with ease. Watson creates and sustains a creepy atmosphere and good, fast pacing throughout and keeps the reader guessing before making any big reveals. What I also loved about this novel is that even if you do start to anticipate the ending, as I did once I started nearing the end, it really doesn’t affect your enjoyment of the novel or take away from the thrilling events that you will definitely experience at the very end. I think my favourite thing about this novel is the fact that Watson made me reflect on the way my own memory works, my own past experiences, and evoked a sense of gratefulness in me all while keeping me on the edge of my seat.

If I was to nitpick the book I’d say my only real criticism is that it’s not very realistic especially when you take into account that some of the diary entries are so long for certain days which wouldn’t be that possible due to time constraints. Not to mention the fact that Christine’s medical condition, a mixture of various different types of amnesia, is definitely more fictional than factual, and of course, questions of realism will flood your thoughts things start becoming revealed. Also, the novel builds suspense well but the ending then just gets revealed and devolves so fast you have to be careful not to miss it entirely. This type of narrative structure and style kind of irritates me as it tends to make me feel like I’ve missed the payoff I deserve after all the continuous building of anticipation.

 For more reviews like this one, check out https://angelicacastilloking.wordpress.com/ 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Confinement, Medical trauma, Violence, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Medical content, and Physical abuse