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daniellenelson's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Torture, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Bullying, Violence, Toxic friendship, Physical abuse, Infidelity, Death, Chronic illness, Body shaming, Gun violence, Death of parent, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Fatphobia, Abortion, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Classism, Terminal illness, Grief, and Gaslighting
kaylamarie11's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Body shaming, Rape, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Sexual violence, and Physical abuse
Minor: Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Abortion, Child abuse, Chronic illness, and Forced institutionalization
minimicropup's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Main POV:
- A married parent with the ‘perfect’ family. They are a wealthy philanthropist dedicated to cystic fibrosis awareness and funding. They seem open-minded, docile, spoiled, and naïve due to loneliness.
- A single adult in their 20s working in a real estate office while going for the long-con in a self-concocted scheme to infiltrate the philanthropist’s life, although we don’t know why. It could be revenge; it could be because they are completely unhinged.
- Set mostly in a wealthy suburb near Manhattan, NY
- On the ‘juicy’ soap opera side of over-the-top. Not a story you want to go in overthinking or looking for meaningful commentary or symbolism from.
- I don’t mind OTT, but the SLOW OTT is hard to pull off, so although it was an interesting plot in theory, it fell apart in execution for me. I think it could have benefitted from some cuts because the slowness wasn’t contributing to the story, it was stalling it out. We have the story delivered through overreliance on hold-backs (“If only they knew what I was about to do”), overly descriptive scenes about the clothing and appearances of everyone, and a lot of MC internal monologue that involves reminding the reader of a goal or thought we are already are familiar with because it was previously revealed to us…sometimes multiple times!
- There are some problematic tropes in this book, but I think that’s forgivable with OTT/soap opera type plots. It’s like angrily therapeutic. Someone plotting to steal your life and destroy you in the process? Wouldn’t it be nice to find out they self-destructed? Yes, we have women throwing themselves at a man’s feet, being toxic to other women, and using each other to further their own goals. However, this plot used severe physical, emotional, sexual, AND verbal abuse as a major revenge element. It felt icky. But, we also have stories glorifying female serial killers, so just go in to this one aware that it falls into that territory.
- Juicy, behind closed doors domestic thriller
- B****, I’m gonna steal your life trope
- Slow, scheming, long-con sociopathic mind
- Guilty-pleasure soap opera revenge plots
Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Sexism, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Ableism and Fatphobia
Minor: Abandonment and Death of parent
Sexual violence, rape, assault etc are on page, repetitive, and occur within a marriage. Ableism refers to reading difficulties in a childnisquah's review
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Classism, Misogyny, Rape, Infidelity, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Alcohol and Torture
Minor: Death of parent, Abortion, Blood, and Suicidal thoughts
nicolesbookreviews'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Eating disorder, Toxic friendship, Violence, Physical abuse, Confinement, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Infidelity, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Chronic illness and Sexual content
Minor: Death of parent, Dementia, Alcohol, Death, Cursing, Abortion, and Chronic illness
abbygcarter08's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Sexual violence, Child abuse, Abortion, Rape, Gun violence, Death of parent, Death, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse
danielle_is_reading's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Death, Rape, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Fatphobia, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Violence, Body shaming, Toxic friendship, Misogyny, Infidelity, Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, and Domestic abuse
mackennac's review
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Violence, Body shaming, Child abuse, Gun violence, Torture, and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Death of parent, Fatphobia, Pregnancy, Stalking, Infertility, Abortion, and Slavery
coco78337's review against another edition
- 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
2.75
Graphic: Body shaming, Toxic relationship, Rape, Misogyny, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Fatphobia, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Stalking, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault
Minor: Death of parent, Miscarriage, and Gun violence
lindsayvale's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Death of parent, Sexual violence, Alcohol, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual content, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Abortion