Reviews tagging 'Infertility'

The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell

20 reviews

peeshpish's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

It was a slow start but once it picks up, it moves fast. The story flows well once the three POVs become more closely intertwined & the connections are more clear. There are many twists & turns along the way, & the story continues to develop until the very last sentence. Libby’s POV is an often needed relief from the heaviness of the other two, much less tense but still moves the story forward. Many characters felt flat or aligned with stereotypes that I’d expect more from a book written earlier than one written in 2019, but I still ended up reading most of the book in one sitting so I was definitely invested.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Murder, Grief, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Confinement, and Death

Moderate: Abandonment, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, and Misogyny

Minor: Suicide, Homophobia, Medical content, Sexual harassment, Pregnancy, Infertility, Medical trauma, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, Blood, and Pedophilia

Lucy’s chapters are heavy with

sexual assault & domestic violence. She is raped & murders her attacker. If it helps to know, she is not punished for killing him.

The chapters set in the past (labelled “Chelsea, [year]”) contain a lot lf

child abuse, domestic violence, & are where most of the content warnings come into play.

Libby’s chapters are generally safe for content, mostly vague details about the fate & story of the people who lived in the house she inherits.

amgarrido's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Abandonment, Death, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Bullying, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Drug use, and Confinement

Moderate: Suicide, Sexual content, Blood, Sexual assault, Infertility, and Infidelity

michelles_book_nook's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

⚠️ TW: domestic violence, rape, homophobia, drug abuse, murder, child abuse, miscarriage, mentions of infertility ⚠️ Wow how did I leave this rollercoaster ride of a book on my tbr for so long?! This book follows Libby, an adopted young woman, who one day discovers she has inherited a large house in Chelsea from her birth parents but from that day forward her life becomes a whirlwind as she discovers the truth about the house she now owns and the people that once lived inside it. All she knew before this was that as a baby she was found in the house well fed and cared for by the police and social services however in the kitchen below were three decomposing bodies and a hastily scrawled note in what appeared to be a cult like suicide pact but what she doesn't know is the shocking goings on that happened there. This book is so complex and will have you hooked until the very last page. It's quite slow at the beginning but trust me it is worth it and you will be grateful for the slow drip feed of information as it really picks up the pace fast. I absolutely loved the various pov's between characters and timelines and how in parts it really made you question each and every character and their reliability. Also, it is jam packed with twists and turns and even though I guessed one or two it will still leave you reeling and just when you think all of the twists and turns are over it hits you with more. And that ending 😱 I think it's safe to say I need the sequal immediately 🙈 Overall, I highly recommend reading this book and it's definitely up there with one of my favourite books so this year.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Rape, Homophobia, Drug use, Drug abuse, Murder, Child abuse, and Miscarriage

Minor: Infertility

galexy_brain's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I definitely enjoyed my time reading this book. I found some of the twists surprising ,

but for the most part, the outcomes were as expected. I enjoyed the tripartite narration where the three main "siblings'" stories/perspectives were told in short, alternating chapters, and the discovery that Henry turned out to be an unreliable narrator. Though the ending didn't come as a shock, I was satisfied with how each mystery was uncovered and the coziness of the family reunion. Henry's closing chapter certainly left some things to mull over after the book was done.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Death of parent, Death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, and Physical abuse

Minor: Homophobia, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Car accident, Chronic illness, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Murder, Pregnancy, Suicide, and Toxic friendship

andatherrin's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Rape, Stalking, Murder, and Suicide

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Toxic friendship, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy

Minor: Infertility and Abandonment

zara89's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Pedophilia, and Miscarriage

Moderate: Rape and Violence

Minor: Suicide, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, and Animal death

maekay's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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? Yes

2.0

I found this book really underwhelming and the ending really disappointing. I felt like the plot

had so much unnecessary abuse, of both the children and the women/disabled father

and the ending

was super rushed and tied everything up in neat bow, despite the fact two of the children committed willful murder and the other two apparently conveniently forgot about the baby

. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Violence

macaronsandmermaids's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death of parent, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Blood, Grief, and Infertility

amberinbookland's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Murder, Miscarriage, Infertility, Grief, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Death, Cursing, Confinement, Child abuse, Blood, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

bookish_sabrina's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Confinement

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Animal death, Violence, Infertility, and Infidelity