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onlyadream223's review against another edition
4.0
The Push by Clare McGowan is going to be one of those books you either love or hate. There is no gray area.
This book did a lot of things right, it kept you guessing, it raised doubts on all the characters and oftentimes kept you switching alliances.
The author did a fantastic job tying up all of the loose ends. All of the characters secrets were revealed at the climax... well done.
My only complaint about this story is that it was very dense in themes. The story in it of itself felt negative. All of the characters with their secrets just lived in a giant cloud of doom. There was a lot of topics and situations in one story... it was a lot to take in.
That being said, the author did not skimp on the details. Once the story got going, this reader got hooked.
Highly recommend.
This book did a lot of things right, it kept you guessing, it raised doubts on all the characters and oftentimes kept you switching alliances.
The author did a fantastic job tying up all of the loose ends. All of the characters secrets were revealed at the climax... well done.
My only complaint about this story is that it was very dense in themes. The story in it of itself felt negative. All of the characters with their secrets just lived in a giant cloud of doom. There was a lot of topics and situations in one story... it was a lot to take in.
That being said, the author did not skimp on the details. Once the story got going, this reader got hooked.
Highly recommend.
readtowander's review against another edition
3.0
Six couples join a baby group to learn about what to expect and get together for a party once their newborns enter the world. Unfortunately, something goes terribly wrong at the party and DS Alison and her partner are left wondering if it was an accidental fall or if it was a murder.
Told in many different points of views from past to present, this domestic thriller is easy to read and keeps your attention. I did find it a little confusing with all the different people to follow along and really didn't find many characters likeable. Maybe because I'm not a mother, I didn't find it relatable, but I did enjoy the drama filled environment McGowan presented. I liked the suspense of not knowing who was involved in the accident, and liked how it ended, even if it was a little predictable.
Thank you Netgalley and Amazon Publishing UK for my e-arc in exchange for my honest review.
Told in many different points of views from past to present, this domestic thriller is easy to read and keeps your attention. I did find it a little confusing with all the different people to follow along and really didn't find many characters likeable. Maybe because I'm not a mother, I didn't find it relatable, but I did enjoy the drama filled environment McGowan presented. I liked the suspense of not knowing who was involved in the accident, and liked how it ended, even if it was a little predictable.
Thank you Netgalley and Amazon Publishing UK for my e-arc in exchange for my honest review.
weewaw2020's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed the style of this story as well as the writing and mysteries, of which there were many and I didn’t pre-guess them all which was fun! I look forward to reading more by this author now :)
jrrrck's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
thanks to netgalley & amazon publishing uk for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The Push has a solid, if run of the mill, central psychological thriller set up. It features six different couples from the same prenatal group and the detective who is investigating a death that happens at one of the group gatherings. A theme throughout is pregnancy, motherhood, and partnership. There were moments where I felt like the writing inched towards something interesting, but the overall structure really fell flat. There were way too many POVs and timeline switches which meant the book overall felt muddled. There were several instances where the author was clearly obscuring information that otherwise naturally would be revealed (especially given the POV) in the interest of having an abundances of secrets and twists. There also was pretty much no character to connect with or like, which while it's fun to think about couples & mothers being flawed, it loses some degree of veracity when literally no one is liked.
The Push has a solid, if run of the mill, central psychological thriller set up. It features six different couples from the same prenatal group and the detective who is investigating a death that happens at one of the group gatherings. A theme throughout is pregnancy, motherhood, and partnership. There were moments where I felt like the writing inched towards something interesting, but the overall structure really fell flat. There were way too many POVs and timeline switches which meant the book overall felt muddled. There were several instances where the author was clearly obscuring information that otherwise naturally would be revealed (especially given the POV) in the interest of having an abundances of secrets and twists. There also was pretty much no character to connect with or like, which while it's fun to think about couples & mothers being flawed, it loses some degree of veracity when literally no one is liked.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility
melissadelongcox's review against another edition
1.0
*Thanks to Amazon Publishing UK + NetGalley for the ARC!*
The premise is there for this book! The setup takes a minute, because there are so many voices and there's a lot of jumping around in time, but the reveal of who's actually died is delayed a fair bit and that alongside the plot setup hooks you.
And that's it for me on the positive list for this book. It took me nearly a week to read (which is a LONG TIME for me), and I considered DNFing it several times. So many uncomfortable things are happening throughout the book - lots of moments of sexism, racism, ageism.
The premise is there for this book! The setup takes a minute, because there are so many voices and there's a lot of jumping around in time, but the reveal of who's actually died is delayed a fair bit and that alongside the plot setup hooks you.
And that's it for me on the positive list for this book. It took me nearly a week to read (which is a LONG TIME for me), and I considered DNFing it several times. So many uncomfortable things are happening throughout the book - lots of moments of sexism, racism, ageism.
kgnade's review against another edition
3.0
I received an advanced reader copy of The Push from Amazon Publishing UK via NetGalley, in return for my honest opinion.
The Push by Claire McGowan is a story about relationships and boundaries. Six couples meet in a prenatal class…Monica and Ed appear to be the wealthy, power couple…Cathy and Hazel used a sperm donor…Jax, is fourteen years older than her boyfriend, Aaron, and appears to be struggling the most with pregnancy and becoming a parent…Anita and Jeremy are adopting a baby from overseas…Kelly and Ryan are very young and dealing with Ryan’s anger…Aisha and Rahul got married very quickly, so they could start a family, but are basically strangers…Nina, the class facilitator is opinionated and not the kindest.
Shortly after the babies are born, Monica hosts a party for all the couples and Nina. Everyone has had different pregnancies, birth, and parenting experiences, no one is too keen on attending the party. At the party, someone falls off a balcony to their death, everyone’s a suspect and everyone is hiding something.
This was an easy, but slow moving whodunnit story with an interesting storyline. The Push is available now.
#clairemcgowan #thepush #netgalley #arcs #advancedreadercopy #mystery #msyterybooks #readin2020 #amazonpublishinguk #whatthebook #bookreviews #readersofinstagram #bookaholic
For more of my reviews visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/WhattheBook/ or http://whatthebook-reviews.tumblr.com/ or follow me on Instagram @whatthebook__.
The Push by Claire McGowan is a story about relationships and boundaries. Six couples meet in a prenatal class…Monica and Ed appear to be the wealthy, power couple…Cathy and Hazel used a sperm donor…Jax, is fourteen years older than her boyfriend, Aaron, and appears to be struggling the most with pregnancy and becoming a parent…Anita and Jeremy are adopting a baby from overseas…Kelly and Ryan are very young and dealing with Ryan’s anger…Aisha and Rahul got married very quickly, so they could start a family, but are basically strangers…Nina, the class facilitator is opinionated and not the kindest.
Shortly after the babies are born, Monica hosts a party for all the couples and Nina. Everyone has had different pregnancies, birth, and parenting experiences, no one is too keen on attending the party. At the party, someone falls off a balcony to their death, everyone’s a suspect and everyone is hiding something.
This was an easy, but slow moving whodunnit story with an interesting storyline. The Push is available now.
#clairemcgowan #thepush #netgalley #arcs #advancedreadercopy #mystery #msyterybooks #readin2020 #amazonpublishinguk #whatthebook #bookreviews #readersofinstagram #bookaholic
For more of my reviews visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/WhattheBook/ or http://whatthebook-reviews.tumblr.com/ or follow me on Instagram @whatthebook__.
elaine_rae_reader's review
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.25
jenniferlyoung's review against another edition
4.0
Very well written, and twisty. Kept me guessing about the actual crime until the end.
joo13's review against another edition
3.0
This was an ok mystery. 6 couples meet at an ante-natal group and after their babies are born, someone gets pushed off a balcony at a party. The story is told in multiple time-lines, before, during and after the incident and the reader is left to work out whodunnit.
elizmiller06's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting characters great plot line however it had a slow start it was a good book when the story started to pick up and pull me in