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theoceanrose's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility and Miscarriage
Moderate: Gun violence, Violence, Kidnapping, Stalking, and Car accident
clairebonney's review
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage, Child death, Murder, Stalking, Abortion, Infertility, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Car accident, Pregnancy, and Rape
yvo_about_books's review against another edition
2.0
Finished reading: February 6th 2023
"Infertility is fascinating to those who seek to break its back. The doctors and the therapists who get rich at the expense of those desperate to procreate. Oh, they care. But they're still rolling in it."
*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and MIRA in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***
WARNING: Guess what? It's unpopular opinion time again!
I've read and enjoyed one of J.T. Ellison's books in the past, and I've been meaning to try more of her work. I always love a good thriller with a DNA angle, and the blurb of It's One Of Us sounded absolutely fascinating with main character Park being a sperm donor years ago and one of his children now being a suspect in a murder investigation. Talk about a premise that hooks you immediately! Sadly, the actual story didn't live up to expectations for me, and I ended up struggling considerably with it.
Like I said before, It's One Of Us has such a fascinating premise and the DNA angle was probably the highlight of the story for me. This along with the murder investigation itself and references to other cases in the past... Unfortunately, this doesn't seem the main focus of the story though, and instead It's One Of Us mostly reads like a domestic thriller. Nothing wrong with that, but not my favorite subgenre and not something I expected. What I also didn't expect was for the whole infertility/miscarriage element to be so in-your-face and extremely present during the whole plot. I can imagine how triggering this can be for people, and the very first chapter literally starts with a miscarriage scene. The constant repetition and references to infertility was just too present and it kind of had the opposite effect on me... Instead of feeling for the main characters, I just started to resent them.
As for the characters in general... I really couldn't stand most of them. I felt like they lacked fleshing out, and especially Olivia and Park were extremely unlikeable. This was made even worse when the story started to unfold and some of their secrets and behavior were revealed... And then I'm not even talking about the especially awkward and disgusting love triangle and cheating element. I don't want to give away spoilers, but seriously, what was Olivia thinking making those choices?!?! It's One Of Us uses a multiple POV structure, and this way we also get perspectives including the detectives, one of the donor children, her mother and the murderer himself. Scarlet was probably the only character that was likeable, but even her character didn't feel rounded enough for me.
I also struggled with the writing style itself. The prologue was plain torture for me, and while things did improve later on, the often short, stunted sentences bothered me. I also wasn't a fan of the POV names (the wife, the husband, the murderer, the daughter etc); what's wrong with simply putting the actual names of the characters? I'm not sure why, but that really annoyed me. The plot twists themselves weren't really all that successful for me either. Sure, there were some things I didn't see coming, but the twists didn't feel realistic and quite over the top especially towards the ending.
All in all It's One Of Us unfortunately turned out to be a total dud for me. Between the constant focus on infertility instead of the murder investigation and DNA angle, the unlikeable characters, love triangle and over the top final part, this story just wasn't for me... I do know I seem to be in the minority though, and a lot of people seem to enjoy this story better.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility and Miscarriage
Moderate: Infidelity, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Murder, and Stalking
Minor: Abortion and Car accident
justacatandabook's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I know that I can always count on J.T. Ellison for a suspenseful tale! IT'S ONE OF US did not disappoint. Olivia Bender's life is ruled by fertility treatments. She and her husband, Park, have gone through multiple rounds of IUI/IVF, but even when Olivia gets pregnant, she cannot seem to keep the babies. She feels like a complete failure and is convinced she's letting Park down by depriving him of what he wants most. Then the police show up at their door with some shocking news: DNA in a murder investigation has been traced back to Park... well, Park's son. Ummm, what? Reluctantly, Park reveals he donated sperm years ago. We soon learn that the clinic was lax in its policies, and no one is exactly sure how many children Park has. Olivia feels betrayed and devastated--and as the secrets continue to be revealed, they must face that fact that one of Park's "children" is out there doing unspeakable things.
Oh boy, this is a juicy one! First, you have to go in and read IT'S ONE OF US with a little bit of a suspension of disbelief, or at least, willingness to go on a wild ride. Not to say the things that happen, couldn't, it's just that, wow, things get a bit crazy!
That's not to say that this book doesn't have some real moments. It does. Because J.T. Ellison writes about infertility and miscarriage (and here's pointing out a big trigger warning for both of those elements) with amazing honesty. She shows the toll it takes on Olivia and how hard it can be on a marriage. You need to read her author's note to understand how she write about this so realistically (and then want to send her about a million hugs like I did). As someone who spent nearly five years trying to have children, this book hit me hard in the feels. Olivia made some crazy choices, but wow, her thoughts about trying to be a mom, how hard it was to see others as parents, and oh my goodness, her insight into losing her babies--that was all so well-done and real. Amazing writing, truly, and it all really added to and fit into the story.
US also delves into sperm donors and how everything can go awry, which is sometimes a touchy subject for me. I am never a huge fan when authors take this route, as it really makes the general public seem to think this is the case for all kids who come into the world this way. However, the scenario in this book is so insane and over-the-top that hopefully people will read it like that.
As for the characters other than Olivia... oh boy! Park is a piece of work, folks. The murder case being investigated is a local woman, who drowned. Park just happens to have a history of being around missing or drowned women. He seems to be a compulsive liar! (But is he a murderer??!!) He has a twin (fraternal) brother whose presence adds a whole bunch of a drama. (There's so much drama here--but in a good way!)
Luckily we hear from other characters too, but I won't go into much detail as I don't want to give away any spoilers. But all the POVs are interesting and give a broad range of insight into what is going down. Because oh yeah, it's going down! There is a tangled web being woven here, folks. Get ready.
Overall, this is a dark and twisty thriller that offers all sorts of insight into family and biological ties, as well as marriage, motherhood, and infertility. It gets a little wild at the end, but it's a fun ride. 4 stars.
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and Harlequin Publishing/MIRA in return for an unbiased review.
Oh boy, this is a juicy one! First, you have to go in and read IT'S ONE OF US with a little bit of a suspension of disbelief, or at least, willingness to go on a wild ride. Not to say the things that happen, couldn't, it's just that, wow, things get a bit crazy!
That's not to say that this book doesn't have some real moments. It does. Because J.T. Ellison writes about infertility and miscarriage (and here's pointing out a big trigger warning for both of those elements) with amazing honesty. She shows the toll it takes on Olivia and how hard it can be on a marriage. You need to read her author's note to understand how she write about this so realistically (and then want to send her about a million hugs like I did). As someone who spent nearly five years trying to have children, this book hit me hard in the feels. Olivia made some crazy choices, but wow, her thoughts about trying to be a mom, how hard it was to see others as parents, and oh my goodness, her insight into losing her babies--that was all so well-done and real. Amazing writing, truly, and it all really added to and fit into the story.
US also delves into sperm donors and how everything can go awry, which is sometimes a touchy subject for me. I am never a huge fan when authors take this route, as it really makes the general public seem to think this is the case for all kids who come into the world this way. However, the scenario in this book is so insane and over-the-top that hopefully people will read it like that.
As for the characters other than Olivia... oh boy! Park is a piece of work, folks. The murder case being investigated is a local woman, who drowned. Park just happens to have a history of being around missing or drowned women. He seems to be a compulsive liar! (But is he a murderer??!!) He has a twin (fraternal) brother whose presence adds a whole bunch of a drama. (There's so much drama here--but in a good way!)
Luckily we hear from other characters too, but I won't go into much detail as I don't want to give away any spoilers. But all the POVs are interesting and give a broad range of insight into what is going down. Because oh yeah, it's going down! There is a tangled web being woven here, folks. Get ready.
Overall, this is a dark and twisty thriller that offers all sorts of insight into family and biological ties, as well as marriage, motherhood, and infertility. It gets a little wild at the end, but it's a fun ride. 4 stars.
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and Harlequin Publishing/MIRA in return for an unbiased review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage and Infertility
Moderate: Mental illness, Stalking, and Murder
Minor: Car accident
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