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dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Torture, Kidnapping
Moderate: Rape
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
It’s a decent book but I knew what had happened at about 40% in and the rest was just finding out the details and character development.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Pregnancy
Moderate: Child death, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Rape
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Plot was all over the place, in a bad way. Poorly thought out. 30% of the chapters could have been excluded. Do these authors get paid per page or character count? How can we switch to a POV of a character who is dead, but is being written as if she’s confessing all of her sins from the future? It was very confusing and unjustified. The ending made absolutely no sense whatsoever. What was the reason for Floyd to have confessed his wrongdoings in a letter to Laurel, then take a train to another town just to kill hisself? Surely, he could have just killed hisself without fleeing to another town. Especially since it’s not like he committed suicide in a different city to prevent Poppy from finding out, because she ends up knowing shortly after the fact. For Noelle to have been so “obsessed” with not only Ellie, but also Floyd and wanting a child with him, it felt very forced to have her kidnap Ellie, hold her hostage, rape and impregnate her with SOMEONE ELSE’S sperm, not even Floyd’s 🤦🏽♀️ just to let Ellie die, and not take care of her child. Noelle was written to be this psychopath who is strange, quirky and really obsessive, but it all felt incredibly underdeveloped. As if the author did no research and thought that having Noelle do these weird/quirky things was going to be enough to get that idea across to the readers. It wasn’t. Prime example would be the hamsters. Everything felt forced to me. The relationships, the character’s flaws, the timelines, the interactions, the abuse/neglect, literally everything. This book really solidified the fact that I hate reading books that have children in them. Poppy is nine-years-old but is written having much too mature vocabulary and conversational skills, and made entirely too aware. The backstories were extremely flat as were the characters. The connection between SJ and Laurel was for what purpose? Other than for SJ to be the one to “egg” Laurel on to continue looking into the disappearance of Noelle by telling Laurel she saw Noelle’s stomach completely flat when Noelle was allegedly very pregnant. Poppy’s “cousins” and “grandma” storyline’s were unnecessary. The last nail in the coffin for me to officially “one star” this book was Hannah and Theo. Why make Hannah and Theo (Ellie’s boyfriend) become a couple and get married? As if the whole situation isn’t strange enough. Having Ellie get kidnapped, raped and impregnated by Noelle her math tutor, Noelle do all of these terrible things to Ellie just to secure her relationship with Floyd. Floyd date Ellie’s mother Laurel, while also raising Ellie’s daughter as his own despite knowing it’s not his child and how she was conceived. Then just when you think this is complicated enough, why not have the boy Ellie was dating when she died get married to her sister. What?!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Then She Was Gone 🍃
Genre: Mystery
Trope: Missing Child
Format: 🎧
Pub Date: 4.17.2018
Star Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆
Genre: Mystery
Trope: Missing Child
Format: 🎧
Pub Date: 4.17.2018
Star Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆
"If she could rewind the timeline, untwist it and roll it back the other way like a ball of wool, she'd see the knots in the yarn, the warning signs. Looking at it backward, it was obvious all along."
Then She Was Gone was raw, emotional, and unsettling storytelling at its finest, and I believe this may be my favorite from Lisa Jewell. It's been a few weeks since I finished reading this one, and I still think about the story; it has stuck with me more than I anticipated.
When I finished the last page, I had to sit there for a moment and think about what I'd read and how utterly heartbreaking it all was. I felt like I had the whole story figured out and knew the direction LJ was leading me, but I was so very wrong.
It's hard for me to describe my feelings without giving everything away, but I'll leave you with this — one character in this book deserved so much more from their precious life.
😔 A story that will stick with you long after you're finished
😰 Raw and unsettling
👥 Multiple perspectives
😬 Edge of your seat reading
✨ New favorite from Lisa Jewell
❌- there is some reasonably disturbing content in this book. If you have questions, please DM me.
Read Then She Was Gone if you enjoyed reading Verity from Colleen Hoover or Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier.
______
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Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Kidnapping
dark
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Rape, Murder
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is the first novel I read by Lisa Jewell and it did not disappoint! I was captivated from the very beginning. I was running scenarios and trying to answer WHO, WHAT, WHERE & WHEN. I rated it a shy of 5 stars just because it started to get predictable in the middle. I do love the POVs of the characters. However, I’m curious to know the POVs of the others’, like the father, the sister, the brother and the boyfriend.. But overall, I enjoyed reading it. A page-turner for me!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol
Moderate: Rape
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Bit predictable and I realised what was happening as the story went on. I hoped I’d be wrong and there would be a big twist but I was disappointed. However I did enjoy this and it did keep me wondering what was happening!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infertility, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment
Minor: Car accident
dark
mysterious
tense
This book was so so good! I don't even know where to begin!! Lisa Jewell did such an amazing job building the story and characters. I don't want to imagine what it would be like to lose a loved one and being left behind with no closure. Lauren's grief is heartbreaking. I found Poppy super annoying in the beginning but as you progress in the story you understand why she is the way she is. I guessed what actually happened to Ellie after I was about 1/3 into the story and it felt so rewarding to keep an eye out for some sweet little hints here and there. I'm also very happy with the ending and in my opinion it's the perfect ending for the story. All in all it was a beautiful and yet sad story I couldn't put down.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Miscarriage, Rape, Kidnapping, Stalking