Reviews with content warning for Drug use - The Family Upstairs

Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell

91 reviews

michelles_book_nook's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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? It's complicated

5.0

⚠️ TW: domestic violence, rape, homophobia, drug abuse, murder, child abuse, miscarriage, mentions of infertility ⚠️ Wow how did I leave this rollercoaster ride of a book on my tbr for so long?! This book follows Libby, an adopted young woman, who one day discovers she has inherited a large house in Chelsea from her birth parents but from that day forward her life becomes a whirlwind as she discovers the truth about the house she now owns and the people that once lived inside it. All she knew before this was that as a baby she was found in the house well fed and cared for by the police and social services however in the kitchen below were three decomposing bodies and a hastily scrawled note in what appeared to be a cult like suicide pact but what she doesn't know is the shocking goings on that happened there. This book is so complex and will have you hooked until the very last page. It's quite slow at the beginning but trust me it is worth it and you will be grateful for the slow drip feed of information as it really picks up the pace fast. I absolutely loved the various pov's between characters and timelines and how in parts it really made you question each and every character and their reliability. Also, it is jam packed with twists and turns and even though I guessed one or two it will still leave you reeling and just when you think all of the twists and turns are over it hits you with more. And that ending 😱 I think it's safe to say I need the sequal immediately 🙈 Overall, I highly recommend reading this book and it's definitely up there with one of my favourite books so this year.

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frantically's review

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

5.0

i love reading about fucked up rich people

Content Warnings

alywise's review against another edition

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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

4.0

Content Warnings

chuffman's review against another edition

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dark mysterious 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? No

4.0

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wrensreadingroom's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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megmccreery's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

4.0

When Libby turns 25, she knows she gets an inheritance from her birth parents, but what she doesn't know is that it includes a multimillion-dollar house. Even though the house is worth millions, it comes with a haunting past-- a family cut off from the world in a commune-type fashion. Children are abused and neglected, adults are manipulated, and nobody can get leave. Not until three bodies are found by the police 25 years ago, along with a ten month-old baby. Nobody knows what happened in the house, but Libby is determined to find out where she came from.

I think this was the first Lisa Jewell book where I was genuinely creeped out and figure out what was happening (may be good or bad). I was SUPER confused at the beginning with the three switching POVs and verb tenses. It was even harder when the narrators were being so elusive about things. Throughout the book there were a lot of names flying around, and I found it a little hard to keep track of everything.

I'm not really sure why Lucy's POV was included; I don't think it really added anything. There was nothing about her past that was even relevant to the rest of the plot.

So there really was just added domestic abuse for no reason.

I really was creeped out by Henry's character; you can definitely tell from the beginning that he's got some things going on in his head that just are not right. One note I want to make is why are there two acid trips talked about in here? By like a 13 and a 16 year old. I get that it made Phineas more open to conversations with Henry which changed their relationship, but it definitely could have been done with a different, not-as-scary drug.

I really hate a teenage pregnancy trope. It just doesn't do anything for me; it makes me angry.

I really DON'T understand why Libby/Serenity wants to still have contact with this psychotic family. Like Clemency, cool, that's cool. Her mom has two other kids with two different dads and has been a literal fugitive for 20+ years. Her uncle is a literal psychopath who drugged her and her boyfriend, took their phones, and put trackers on them! Did they ever figure out their phones were bugged? Are they still bugged?! She should have moved on because they just seem messy, and she could have avoided it.

Overall, this was just like an episode of Worst Roommate Ever. It was a very solid thriller. I wish Lucy's POV would have been cut out and replaced with more details on the living situation of the house and have more of the minor characters be more involved.

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