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crazybooklady89's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Murder, Pedophilia, Alcoholism, Gaslighting, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Death, Emotional abuse, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Confinement, Sexual assault, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic, Animal death, Rape, and Suicide
lizziewirtz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Moderate: Child abuse, Murder, and Sexual assault
camillagrace's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Pedophilia, Murder, Grief, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Domestic abuse, Cursing, Death of parent, Drug use, and Sexual assault
bethanyf22's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Moderate: Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Drug use, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Murder, and Domestic abuse
snigd_ha's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Sexual assault, Child death, Pedophilia, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse
karalyndawn's review against another edition
- 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
Warnings: Murder, Grooming, Child Abuse, Sexual Abuse, Pedophilia
Graphic: Murder, Gaslighting, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, and Sexual assault
sophiesometimesreads's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
I was invested enough in this story for the majority of the book (perhaps around 80%) to keep going to find out what happened but the ending fell kind of flat for me. There wasn't enough of a concrete conclusion for me, particularly on some of the more intense issues that were put out there. I did do some reading of peoples' opinions and interpretations afterwards and found a few good points about hints as to who may be lying and who may be telling the truth which I didn't pick up along the way and did intrigue me. I've also seen that the author has outlined who was telling the truth but I don't count this as the book should stand on its own legs and that should be put in the book explicitly if that's what we are supposed to know as an audience.
Though the relationship was originally portrayed to be bad, by the end I was left feeling like the husband wasn't supposed to be seen as a groomer and pedophile just because he was apparently a good father, which didn't sit well with me. I don't think it was the authors intention to say he should be completely redeemed but I think there should've been something in the ending that stated that even though the FMC may not be wholly good, she's still a victim as adults should never pursue relationships with minors and are ALWAYS the one at fault in said relationships. I think this topic should've been handled with a little more care and this is where it drops another part star for me.
Overall, it was gripping and a quick read but there were a few questionable moments throughout that I thought needed to be tied up better.
Graphic: Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, and Murder
emkrob's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Child abuse
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Kidnapping, Death, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Death, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Violence, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Sexual content, Torture, Death of parent, and Confinement
illiteratewench's review against another edition
4.5
The only reason this isn't a 5 star is that I'm sure sure some of the themes hold up under lots of critical thought and analysis. It was for sure a 5 star experience, I stayed up to finish it and didn't want to put it down. It's twisty and turny and you're never sure whether or not Josie and her story should be trusted at face value or not.
The things I don't think hold up with deeper thought are
Josie's husband Walter is 27 years older than her. They have been together since she was 15 and he was 42. He was a contractor doing electrical work on her family estate, as well as dating her mother. He was already cheating on his wife and two sons with Josie's mother, eventually leaving them for Josie.
Josie twists many things about Walter but these are facts that, to me, are irredeemable. The fact that Jewell tries to pull a "but he's actually a really good guy!" on us with a man who cheated on his wife, then cheated on both his wife and mistress with the mistress's underage daughter who he marries and has another 2 kids with, is insane. Especially when the mistress, Pat, claims that Josie (again, her 15 year old daughter) was a sociopath who seduced Walter to steal him from her. I'm sorry but a grown man cannot be seduced by a child unless he is a p*do. End of story.
So yeah, that leaves me really conflicted with how to rate this. But again, the experience was just so fun and juicy at the time. My rating might be inflated because I don't really read thriller, so maybe one day I'll look back critically and bump this down, but at the moment I still really enjoyed the book and the experience, but I would hesitate to recommend it for this reason.
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Murder, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Incest, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Sexual content, Rape, and Stalking
Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Infidelity, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Vomit and Bullying
tthatguyty's review against another edition
- 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
2.5
Graphic: Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Toxic friendship, Stalking, Sexual assault, Incest, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Murder, Kidnapping, Domestic abuse, and Death