Reviews tagging 'Incest'

None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell

99 reviews

daffodilcherry's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

A psychological thriller following the link between two women, Alix and Josie, who meet when they realise they share their birthdays. Josie then asks Alix to make a podcast about her, unravelling her life. Interspersed in their tale are flashforwards to a true crime documentary made from their story. 

This story reads like a Netflix/BBC miniseries that gets crazy popular and that everyone's mum is obsessed with. The first 50% is amps up the tension between the two women, but ultimately it goes along very slowly. The second 50% is fast paced, desperate and dramatic. My one ultimate annoyance with this book is the title: None of This is True.

It ultimately spoils the fact that Josie is lying about the exact circumstances of her life.

if it had been named differently I think the revelations of the second half would have hit a lot stronger. However, the ending was so very satisfying (ending spoiler:)

especially the final twist of Josie's final chapter where she may not be as diabolical as we were lead to believe...

 

In terms of diversity, both Alix and Josie are white cis women, married to their husbands. Everyone appears to be ambiguously white and straight, except for, some of Nathan's friends and

Josie's daughter Roxy, who is a lesbian with her dark moments.

Erin is autistic with smooth food preferences and is the gamer queen of my heart. 

I very much enjoyed this as an audiobook, with two excellent main narrators and then a full cast making up the interviewees of the inserted documentary moments. My only gripe with it was that at times in the documentary aspects the interviewer's voice was very quiet, but otherwise it was good.

Wheelhouse: narrative parallels/foils, women protagonists over 45,

unreliable narrators,

spliced in revelations in the form of interviews.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Incest, Torture, Lesbophobia, and Gaslighting

The dog is uninjured and fine at the end. Josie's relationship with Walter:

allegedly started dating when she was 15 he was 42, describes grooming behaviour, alleges that he is physically, emotionally and fiscally abusive towards her.

spoiler for the twist of Josie and Walter:

this is then twisted when her children allege that she was manipulative and emotionally abusive towards the whole family, including Walter, and that she may have attacked him as he died.

Josie's relationship with her children:

Erin is autistic and while Josie is mostly supportive in terms of providing her with food she likes there is an underlying current of slight abelism when it comes to Josie's views on Erin. Josie ends up fighting Erin, restraining her in her house and abandoning her for dead while stealing her money. Roxy appears to have a more fraught relationship with Josie, with allegations of child abuse and that Josie allegedly sabotaged her relationship with Brook. There is a custom made child's chair with restraints which apparently Josie used on Roxy.

Josie's final plan:

she kidnaps Alix's husband and ends up killing him, apparently accidentally.

Roxy:

final final twist spoilers: Roxy might have been the one to have killed her then girlfriend Brook.

bo0ks_are_cool91's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

Best thriller I’ve read in a while! (I haven’t read any thrillers in a while) loved reading from both MCs perspectives, and the buildup was👏👏👏👏👏 lots of TWs though, so check those bedroom you read

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol

Minor: Bullying

bethghoul's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic

thevanessa's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

4.5/5⭐️



It was really good, but I wouldn’t recommend it, at least not without a full list of trigger warnings😅

The audiobook though 👏🏻so good👏🏻 one of the best audiobooks I’ve ever listened to! The voice actors gave it there all and really sold me the story, so much so that it felt real

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Medical content and Injury/Injury detail

allyjulian's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Not as predictable as most novels in this genre. Some themes seemed stretched a bit too far, but  I really enjoyed the pace, narration, and ending in particular. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Incest, and Violence

thetearex's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic

girrllie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

2.0

Like binge watching a show and getting to the end and saying, “What did I just read?” A waste of my life even though the writing is excellent. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting

mandareads222's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Stalking, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Addiction, Death, Emotional abuse, Incest, and Sexual assault

Minor: Animal death, Mental illness, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, and Pandemic/Epidemic

kamrynkoble's review against another edition

dark 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

4.0

This was a riveting, twisty thriller that kept me enthralled the entire time! The audiobook production is especially well done. It has a full cast, and mock recordings/podcast episodes that veer into graphic audio territory with the sound effects. I’d definitely recommend listening to this one. 

I already feel like I want to reread it, and I had that thought consistently as I progressed through the book. 

The ending was a bit unsatisfying/vague in a negative way. I was left with a little bit of “that’s it?” The “basic bitch” line was also not the serve Alix thought it was. My face was this: 🥴

There are several extremely dark themes (adult/minor relationship, pedophilia, murder, incest to name a few) but nothing is “on page” or spelled out, just discussed. 

I’d recommend this for new and old thriller fans.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Kidnapping, and Murder

Minor: Drug abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault

jakirby's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic