crimsonash606's review against another edition

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

4.0

This story is a tangled web that slowly unravels with time, leaving you hanging on small details as you're desperate for the answers.

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aleilvandrea's review against another edition

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

3.25


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salamipizza's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional lighthearted reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0


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meeklovestoread's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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

3.5

This book wasn't bad, not at all, however, the premise just isn't original. I recall myself thinking that this book resemble "The Last Mrs. Parrish" by Liv Constantine (I rated it 4 stars) a few times. They're not exactly the same per se; the writing styles and the way the story is told are different, however, they still possess similar tropes. Although I did like the storytelling of "The Last Mrs. Parrish" better. I think reading "The Last Mrs. Parrish" made me anticipate most of the twists so I didn't find many of them surprising. There was a twist that I didn't anticipate, however, I felt like that twist was unnecessary and was just there for shock value.
If anyone is curious, the twist I'm referring to is Emma being the daughter of the professor that Vanessa was victim to in college and her marrying Richard to hurt Vanessa.  I thought Emma's thought process was so stupid. Like, girl, you're really going to blame a college student for your father's infidelity?!🤦🏾‍♀️
Also, I think what lowered my rating for this book was that I felt like some loose threads weren't explained enough.
Like Richard's sister, Maureen, we never really get any explanation of her character and her motives. We're left to infer that she doesn't want Richard to get married and sabotages all the women that Richard courts, but we don't know anything further than that. I always got bad vibes from her and I was right considering we found out that she was the one that canceled the photographer for Vanessa's and Richard's wedding, but we're not told why. Lokwey, I know this is out of pocket, but I thought she "abused" Richard. I thought their relationship was odd. 

And what happened to the dog (Duke)? We never know and I know that's such a minuscule thing, but I was tearing up reading that chapter about him. Things about dogs always just get me.🤧

Also, I think it would've been nice if we got a little look into Richard's previous wife, (Kate, I think that was her name). I just found it interesting that both Richard's previous wives were following their "replacement". And I know I keep mentioning "The Last Mrs. Parrish", (it just did this trope so much better than this book in my opinion), but just like in  "The Last Mrs. Parrish" where the motives of the abuser were a bit more clear, I wish we found out what Richard's motive were when doing what he did. I know he's obviously the villain of this story but that doesn't mean he should be a flat character.
Overall, it was an okay book if you enjoy this trope and other books like it.
Also this is very inconsequential, but I don't think the people around Vanessa tried enough to warn her about Richard. They would make sly comments about how he was "too good to be true" but then wouldn't elaborate any further. Like yeah, of course, I'm going to think you're attacking my husband/boyfriend/fiance if you don't give me adequate reasons as to why you think he's off.

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samdalefox's review against another edition

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

3.5

I read this as an audiobook. I find these types of thrillers do well in this format and I enjoyed listening to it. The book is a confident portrayal of a dysfunctional relationship (see the content warnings section for specifics as these could be considered as spoilers but are important to highlight), and the twists were enjoyable even if I did guess one or two - though not all!.

I think two quotes perfectly sum up the sentiments resting behind the story:

Richard: "I thought you could save me from myself". Vanessa to Emma: "A part of you already knows what he's like, who he is."

Take home message: believe women. Have solidarity with women. Work towards dismantling the patirachy and rehabilitating men who have never learned to love or respect themeselves or others.


One further note:
the Duke the dog going missing storyline hit me hard. I was devastated.
.

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rachelfayreads's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-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


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mags88's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

Twist and turns!
Loved how it came together! 

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jkar7's review against another edition

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dark sad slow-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

3.5

The twists in the book weren't exactly unpredictable... there were a couple I didnt see coming. The plot was interesting, the way it intertwined, but I felt like the story could have focused more on fleshing out the side characters than what type of wines they drank. 

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marisa_n's review against another edition

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

3.5

Lots of twists & turns. Some were more enjoyable than others. 

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nostoat's review against another edition

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dark tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.0

I liked it, but I saw nearly all of the twists coming (downsides of having very good red flag detectors). The very last twist was solid though, did NOT see it coming. There's nothing stand-out about this book but it kept my interest and was a good read. 

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