Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

None of This is True by Lisa Jewell

86 reviews

courtnetto's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

5.0

Whooooa! 
This book really did have me gripped and wanting to find out what happens next, which I love about a book anyway! 
This book revolves around Alix Summer and Josie Fair, after a chance encounter in a restaurant when Josie overhears that it is also Alix’s birthday… they then later discover that they are the same age, and were born in the exact same hospital which then causes Josie to spark an interest in Alix and her personal life.
However, Josie is married to a man who is over 20 years older than her while Alix is married to a man of their age and her kids are still of school age while Josie’s children are in their 20s and one of them has moved out. 
Alix has her own Podcast which Josie becomes interested in, thus adding to her interest of Alix’s personal life. Josie uses this as an opportunity to try slander her own mother, husband and her two daughters (Roxy and Erin). She claims that her husband is abusive to her and both their daughters, hence why their younger daughter moved out. She claims that Walter (her husband) is also abusing Erin on a night when she is asleep so that she doesn’t know - however, it’s later revealed by that he actually goes into her room to game with her as she’s a well known streamer on Glitch (I love that this is the books version of Twitch!) and her Dad adds to her persona as she is quiet but he is chatty and loud, so they end up becoming “Erased and Pops.”.
Josie is a very shady character and she just becomes weirder and weirder as the book progresses, stealing various items from the Summer’s household, such as a drawing Eliza did, Leon’s passport photos, a bracelet and even a necklace! However, as the book progresses we soon discover that she is behind more than just these thefts, as she may be behind murders!
I really despised the character of Josie by the time I got to the end of the book, she just seemed very manipulative and vindictive, Alix is proof of this as she is somehow manipulated into allowing Josie to stay at her house after she had supposedly been “abused” by her husband, Walter who has also hurt their daughter, Erin. Josie is also revealed to be behind the disappearance of Alix’s husband, Nathan, but tried to cover it by using her daughter Erin’s cards to pay for things, such as a hotel room. 
I loved the writing style of this book, it really had me hooked and I just wanted to keep reading and finding out what happened next, keeping me on the edge of my seat. I binged the last 100+ pages within an hour or two because it was so gripping! 
I think Lisa Jewell is going to be an auto-read author for me, well worth the 5 star review!⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Child abuse, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic and Infidelity

mhinch's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Blood, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Child death, Domestic abuse, Murder, Sexual assault, Incest, Toxic friendship, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Gaslighting, Gore, Toxic relationship, and Violence

spellbindingtomes's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Blood, Death, Grief, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Murder, Pedophilia, Mental illness, and Stalking

lizziaha's review against another edition

3.5

My only problem with this book is that it didn’t quite stick the landing. The alternating perspectives of the original timeline and the podcast worked really well, and pulled me in. Having the before and after perspective built tension and kept focus even during slower parts of the story. So for the climax of the story to be told largely off-page felt a little off. I also think (and a lot of thrillers fall into this trap) that the author valued plot twists over a completely coherent plot. Both were subtle—the twists and the inconsistencies—but they both detract from each other. I sort of wish that we’d been able to get a little more into Josie’s headspace as well, though that would’ve perhaps ruined some of the twists. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Violence

Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Blood, Infidelity, Confinement, and Domestic abuse

barefootsierra's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Torture, Child abuse, Infidelity, Alcohol, Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Abandonment, and Gaslighting

Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic

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

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

carlimact's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

 I picked up this book on a whim when I was grocery shopping.

So glad I did! I was gripped from chapter one and never let go. Even now I'm not sure if I actually knew what was going on half the time.

Would read again. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Death, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, and Alcoholism

Minor: Grief, Infidelity, Murder, and Gaslighting

yennn's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Josie and podcaster Alix, meet by chance celebrating their 45th birthday. Josie, feeling that destiny is at play, reaches back out to Alix and proposes a new podcast project about ‘her truth,’ which is dark and gets darker. As they continue to unravel Josie’s story, the line between observer and participant blurs, and the point of no return is crossed.

This was a very chilling and dark read - despite all the cues that told me to turn back, I couldn’t stop listening to the audiobook. The pacing was a little slow at the beginning, but it artfully traps you in the plot’s web before it reaches a fever pitch and culminates into a perfect ending. 

I loved almost everything about this, despite not being a strong reader of the genre. I loved the plot twists, which left me guessing and gasping until the end, and the disturbing themes were just tolerable. I am giving it 4 stars because I wasn’t utterly in love and was not a fan of the themes covered and how they were portrayed and resolved. However, I did recommend it to someone immediately after reading, so I'd give 4.5 stars if I was in the habit of doing that. 

Please check content warnings, as the content definitely may not be for everyone. Includes themes such as paedophilia, abuse and many more.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Murder, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Kidnapping, Gaslighting, and Infidelity

Minor: Death of parent and Eating disorder

coco78337's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Confinement, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Abandonment, Child abuse, Child death, Toxic friendship, Death of parent, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Murder, Pedophilia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and Violence

Minor: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Torture, Excrement, Pregnancy, Drug use, Kidnapping, and Pandemic/Epidemic