Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

None of This is True by Lisa Jewell

210 reviews

cassidya27's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Physical abuse

adventureandcalm's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Murder, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Kidnapping, Addiction, Pedophilia, and Death of parent

bethghoul's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Child death, Death, Alcoholism, Blood, Stalking, Child abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Pregnancy

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

thevanessa's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.5

4.5/5⭐️



It was really good, but I wouldn’t recommend it, at least not without a full list of trigger warnings😅

The audiobook though 👏🏻so good👏🏻 one of the best audiobooks I’ve ever listened to! The voice actors gave it there all and really sold me the story, so much so that it felt real

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Violence, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Grief, Incest, Pandemic/Epidemic, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Confinement, Alcohol, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Stalking, Torture, Gaslighting, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, and Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Medical content

lilybarna's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Incredible audio book! Finished in a day!! What a tale. I felt each twist and turn. I still need to process the ending/the whole thing!! I feel like I need more information and more of a resolution, but I get the insight that part of what we must grapple with is our insatiable relationship with true crime, and wanting to try things up with a bow. First LJ book but won’t be my last!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Mental illness

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Stalking, Adult/minor relationship, and Physical abuse

Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic and Confinement

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

amanda_reads89's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Death, Kidnapping, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Murder

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

bluz19's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-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

4.0

This book was a slow burn right up until the very end. It was incredible to hear the breakdown of Josie’s life and it did really felt like I was in the middle of a crime drama breakdown. When I first read the books summary, I could’ve never pieced together that this book would come out of it. The entire book was about questioning who you could trust and who was going to turn on who. It played with the emotions and with the mind. The character are unreliable, the back story is too wild to be true, I found myself yelling at the characters because I wanted them to be smarter. I feel like though the overall book felt slower, that there was a constant feeling that something bad was going to happen or be uncovered next. As more of the character lives unfurl, it is building into a very interesting climax. This book made me consider being more careful with who I let into my life. The book had this aspect of being a Netflix documentary, which I wasn’t th biggest fan of. But I love how the character told her story through this medium. There was so much charged energy in this book that I didn’t want to put it down. 

If you are a fa of crime dramas, psychological thrillers, a movie-like storytelling then you will most likely enjoy this book. It will keep you guessing right up until the end. This book was one of the wildest rides, I would definitely read it again.

TW: this book does include abuse, alcoholism, mental-instability, pedophilia, and death. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Physical abuse, and Chronic illness