Reviews tagging 'Torture'

None of This is True by Lisa Jewell

41 reviews

youmns's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-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

3.75

Significantly better than I thought it would be at first. Horrifying as a train wreck, equally difficult to look away.

I didn't think I'd enjoy this listen. Boy, was I wrong. The fully-voiced interjections add a lot to the story, adding a layer to the experience. This sort of thing isn't in my wheelhouse - trauma porn, beach read, that sort of thing - but, wow, was it well-written.

Josie starts out totally sympathetic, a pitiful woman who lost so much of her life trapped in an early marriage to a much older man. The more you hear about her life, the less sympathetic she is. Alix starts out the golden goddess, like so many influencers out there, putting out a certain image on her socials, but her life is shown to be just as normal as (or more dramatic than) the average person. None of the principal characters is who they appear to be. The title is pretty spot-on.

Just a note:

They're not actually birthday twins. Alix makes a comment about how they met in a pub on the eve of their birthday, meaning her own was on Sunday while it's established right away that Josie's is on Saturday.

Surprised nobody thought to check, frankly.

I don't think I'll seek out anything else by Lisa Jewell, but I wouldn't necessarily turn my nose up if a friend recommended it. What a ride.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Murder, Domestic abuse, Stalking, Kidnapping, Death, Gaslighting, Mental illness, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Incest, Torture, Cursing, Bullying, and Toxic friendship

emkrob's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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

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Content Warnings

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

dizpig's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Violence, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, and Death

Moderate: Bullying, Addiction, Alcohol, Confinement, Blood, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Murder, Mental illness, Cursing, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Animal death, Pandemic/Epidemic, Pedophilia, Infidelity, Bullying, Lesbophobia, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Torture, Stalking, Medical trauma, and Infertility

nanirump's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gaslighting, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Child death, Death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Addiction, Child abuse, Drug use, Murder, Torture, and Toxic relationship

kaylahcc's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping and Pedophilia

Moderate: Torture, Alcoholism, and Murder

Minor: Drug use

mpswans1's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Omfg I have not experienced that level of psychological thriller in such a long time. Although o thought I knew how it would end, every twist made me think I had no idea. I stopped in my tracks multiple times to say “oh my god wtf”. Full of ambiguous truths, complicated (or are they?) and motivations.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Mental illness, Grief, Gaslighting, Pedophilia, Violence, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Sexual assault, Rape, Infidelity, Emotional abuse, Murder, Kidnapping, Toxic friendship, Sexual violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Eating disorder, Misogyny, Stalking, and Domestic abuse

mdavis26's review against another edition

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Alcohol, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Stalking, Eating disorder, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Death, Pandemic/Epidemic, Kidnapping, Blood, Torture, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Violence

beckybeth's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.0

Wow. Hard to put down, even though not much truly happens in the first half. A really cool format, having some chapters be described as the documentary script. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Addiction, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Alcoholism, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Toxic friendship, Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Incest

Moderate: Cursing, Infidelity, Death, Torture, Mental illness, Pandemic/Epidemic, Child death, Alcohol, and Blood

stefbrignac's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-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? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Stalking, Torture, Violence, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, and Kidnapping

aliciavalenski's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Pedophilia, Toxic friendship, Mental illness, Stalking, Torture, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death of parent, Abandonment, Ableism, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Physical abuse