Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'

Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell

331 reviews

dark slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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dark mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I have a lot of feelings about this book. I devoured it for one. It kept me hooked from the very beginning and reminded me of Lovely Bones. There really wasn’t a twist in my opinion-
it is pretty obvious who Poppy’s mother is even before the book spells it out for you. I think a real twist would have been Ellie living but maybe that is just me wanting her to have survived. 

I was also very disturbed by the way Laurel talked about her other daughter, Hanna. “Laurel had never accepted Hanna as a consolation prize”…

”Laurel is about to say, Oh, she was much prettier than Hanna”…

”Hanna. Her middle child. The difficult one. The tiring one. The one she wouldn’t want to be stranded on a desert island with. And a terrible thought shot through her, so fast she barely registered it. It should be you missing and Ellie eating beans on toast.“

 I mean what kind of mom thinks this way about her daughter? I understand she is grieving but it’s horrible. Extremely disturbing, IMO, and left unaddressed other than a half-ass voicemail apology.
 

It loses some serious points from me because I was disturbed by how Laurel talked and thought about her middle child and how the book never really addresses these thoughts. The ending was also very unsatisfying and lacked a feeling of justice. 

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fraggle1982's review

3.0
dark emotional sad fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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mummamyers's review

5.0
dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: N/A

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challenging dark sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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dark mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

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katounettetae's review

4.25
dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

Fun, quick read. I figured out the twist very early on…. But still wanted to keep reading, which is a testament to Jewell’s writing skills. Not my favourite book of hers, but still a great read.

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dark mysterious sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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canngrob's review

3.5
dark mysterious fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Lisa Jewel took me on a twisty, horrifying journey. The characters were complex and mysterious, everyone has secrets and the relationships feel so real and tender, especially the mother daughter relationship throughout. 
I knew pretty much the way the story would unravel from early on but that didn't lessen the shock, sadness or horror at how the life of Ellie Mack ended and the family struggling to come together again, but also the beauty of the moments when they finally did.
My favourite Lisa Jewel so far.

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