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daybreakreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I actually suspected the right person early on (ultimately for the wrong reason), but mostly dismissed it because of a very powerful red herring (even though I at one point suspected the red herring as being such). I would say the true ending would be very difficult if not impossible to guess the first time through; I almost want to re-read it again now that I know how it ends.
The audiobook was fascinating to listen to; they used a different voice actor for the alternate perspective.
Graphic: Mental illness, Blood, Murder, and Death
Minor: Infertility, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual violence, Animal death, Infidelity, Sexual harassment, Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Death of parent, and Forced institutionalization
miggyfool's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Murder, Abandonment, Body horror, Forced institutionalization, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Pedophilia, Torture, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Stalking, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Death, Incest, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Mental illness
stephanieheld's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Graphic: Murder and Death
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Death of parent and Sexual violence
theinstabookworm's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
THE GOOD: If you can suspend your disbelief I think this is a pretty good book, though I'll say I liked THE SILENT PATIENT more. I liked how it connected to THE SILENT PATIENT and would suggest reading this before that book because this takes place before it, although you can read that one first and it won't make too much of a difference. I liked the short chapters and that the story continued at the beginning of a new chapter rather than changing scenes. I put this off for quite a while after reading THE SILENT PATIENT because I was worried it would dive deeper into Greek mythology and I'm glad it didn't.
THE BAD: This was a slower burn. I also guessed the twist and wasn't thrilled with it.
Favourite quote: N/A
THE VERDICT: ★★★☆☆.5
Moderate: Cancer, Murder, Death of parent, Car accident, Suicide, Domestic abuse, Self harm, Sexual violence, Drug abuse, and Physical abuse
joperceptions's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
twist. The writing style was easy enough to follow for me. The only comment on that is, I feel as though the character development for supporting characters (important ones too) was just not as strong as it should have been at points. I found myself confused on who certain people were once I hit the end of the book, but that could easily just be a me issue. I’m not going back to check but I feel like it had some minor plot holes, or at least things that weren’t wrapped up in a way that was at all satisfying, nor helpful to answering any questions that the plot twist may have evoked. I feel like the reveal was dropped and somewhere it was forgotten that we’d still want to hear the aftermath (beyond the few pages of whatever we got). And also understand more about wtf that plot
Line was even about and elaborating on it more?? But we got none of that. It’s not a VERY BAD book, it’s actually a really good concept and I like the authors writing style in a general consensus, i just think this book could have been articulated a bit better and it would have been a really good read.
⚠️SPOILER AHEAD⚠️
Graphic: Blood, Death, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Medical content, Body horror, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Rape, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Incest, Grief, Medical trauma, Sexual violence, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Pedophilia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Violence
shonalikesreading's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Murder, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Sexual violence
marisa_n's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I loved the plot twist at the end, as I didn't suspect Zoey. I thought it was Henry or Fred for most of the book. That said, I was left feeling somewhat unsatisfied with the explanation, but was having trouble articulating why it didn't make sense. It wasn't until I started reading the negative reviews and all the plot holes that these astute readers were referring to that I realized the genius of this book:
all of the characters were unreliable narrators.
There was Mariana, who clearly had a blind spot when it came to recognizing the signs of toxic and/or dangerous people. From her brushing off the dangerous implications of a client stalking her. Her instance that her father was a good man, despite his neglecting her as a child. Her poor character judgment with her niece, despite others implying she was unlikeable. Her memories of Sebastian as a romantic, nurturing man, despite something nefarious happening behind the scenes. Her openness to pursuing something romantic with Fred in the end, despite his love bombing and over-stepping boundaries--which, as a therapist, she should have recognized as a red flag. Mariana clearly is a poor judge of character and has questionable judgment in general.
Then there was Sebastian, who supposedly wrote the journal entries throughout the book. His journal entries were dark, and very unlike how Mariana described him. They also left unanswered questions. Did he kill his mother, or did she just leave and never come back? It's unclear, but it's suggested that he killed her and then rewrote the memory as a dream.
Then there is Zoe, whose "motive" includes details that are clearly at odds with Mariana's recollection of events. How could Sebastian have gotten with Mariana just to get to Zoe if he didn't meet the child until well into the relationship? How could he be in love with Zoe from the moment he saw her if she was just a young child when they met? Sure, he could have been a pedophile, but pedophiles tend to have a preferred age range, and he didn't sexually abuse Zoe until she was 15. Lastly, Zoe claims Sebastian strangled Mariana's father, but Mariana said he died of a heart attack--and what medical professional would mix up the two causes of death? Not to mention the weirdness with the Maidens / Fosca viewing Zoe as one of them, despite her saying she'd only joined them one time. Basically, nothing she said could be taken at face value.
Therefore, this isn't so much of a "whodunit" so much as a web of unreliable narratives to untangle. It left me with so many questions. For starters, how much of Zoe's story about the affair (read: sexual abuse) and subsequent murder plot was real?
My interpretation was that Sebastian had a history of physical (maybe sexual?) abuse at the hands of his father. He likely murdered his mother as revenge for trying to abandon him. He grew up to be a dangerous man, repeating the cycle of abuse. Mariana was blinded by love and only saw what she wanted to see (a doting husband). Sebastian sexually abused Zoe, but it was probably opportunistic and did not start until she was older (13ish?). Zoe was a young girl who was groomed and abused by a father figure, and then created a narrative of forbidden love to make sense of the trauma. Sebastian fed into her delusions by swearing one day he would leave and/or kill Mariana so they could be together. When he died, Zoe wanted to kill Mariana, her mother figure, to get revenge for taking away Sebastian, but also for shattering her delusion of him. The Greek tragedy theme really plays in nicely here with reference to adult-minor relationships, abusive father figures, revenge, fate, sorrow, etc.
Graphic: Blood, Gore, Sexual violence, Violence, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Sexual assault, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Misogyny, Murder, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Death, Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, and Abandonment
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
wronglibrarycard's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Sexual violence, Blood, Gore, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Grief, Pedophilia, Stalking, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
tbell0211's review
- 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
2.5
Graphic: Incest, Stalking, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Mental illness, Infidelity, Grief, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Death, Child abuse, and Blood
ledichose's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
Graphic: Sexual violence, Pedophilia, and Violence