Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Who Is Maud Dixon? by Alexandra Andrews

11 reviews

orlagal's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Alcohol, Classism, Medical content, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Grief, Blood, Body horror, Death, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Vomit

elmermel's review against another edition

dark medium-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

2.5

Oof this book wasn’t what I expected. I guess I didn’t realize how dark and  thoroughly unlikeable the characters would be. 

It wasn’t clear where things were heading in the middle of the book. I thought the major twists at the end that the other reviewers had promised would make it worth it but the first one wasn’t really that surprising and the second one  made me a little sick to my stomach to learn how ruthless she was.

I gave it 3 stars because it was still an interesting read that held my attention and the writing was solid.  

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Content Warnings

Minor: Murder and Toxic relationship

jasmine256's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Car accident, and Drug use

Moderate: Gun violence, Death, Toxic relationship, and Drug use

Minor: Alcohol

mfrisk's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-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

4.0

Some of the twists were a bit predictable, some ideas could have had a bit more backing to them, and the characters were purposely unlikeable but overall this was a great read with stunning layers to it and ultimately showing the reader how far people will go to achieve what they feel is owed to them.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Confinement, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

Moderate: Alcohol, Medical content, and Toxic relationship

erinblue's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Car accident

summerb's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

Moderate: Car accident, Cursing, Murder, Death, Gun violence, Sexual content, Stalking, Violence, Blood, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Alcohol, Drug abuse, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, Violence, Blood, Gun violence, Sexual content, Addiction, and Vomit

colleensreadingadventures's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-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

4.5

Wow..this book took me on quite ride! A wild, intriguing, no idea where you are headed kind of ride, over bumpy, curvy and dangerous roads without a seatbelt and all. And I loved every minute of it! 

Florence fled Florida after college to move to New York and one day become a writer. For now she is an assistant editor at a publishing house, that is until she gets herself fired. But Florence is fine with it because she knows she is destined for something bigger and better. And somehow she lands on her feet in an even better job as the assistant to the famous author Maud Dixon. Maud Dixon is Helen Wilcox’s pseudonym and only 3 people know who she really is. Helen herself, Greta her agent and now Florence. 

Helen can be difficult to work with, she’s brusque, demanding and very intimidating. But she is also a brilliant writer and pretty knowledgeable in life so Florence is more than happy to work with her. 

Several weeks on the job Helen decides she needs to do research for her next novel in Morocco and she’s taking Florence with her. Florence had never been out of the country and everything is new and exciting. After a night of heavy drinking and a bad car accident Florence wakes up in a hospital bed with the police interrogated her as Madame Wilcock because she was found with Helen’s passport and credit cards. Florence realizes Helen must have died in the crash when they went over the bridge and her body must not have been recovered and still in the water. She knows with utmost certainty that she has been given the gift of a new famous identity and she’s going to take it. But Helen’s life is not what Florence expected and she’s now in a life altering possibly endangering dilemma. 

The first part of the story was about laying the ground work and getting to know Florence and Helen, so it was a little slow but when the scenery changed to Morocco it picked up nicely. 

The characters were well formed and definitely unlikable but that was perfect for this story. 

In regards to Florence I had a hard time figuring out my feelings for her. I was in awe with her tenacity and how she was so sure she deserved the best in life but I was also horrified by how she went about getting what she wanted. She was a complex character for sure. 

It would have been a 5 star read for me had it not been for the ending. I didn’t think that it was wrapped up the way it should have been exactly and felt like it was a bit sloppy.

This really was an excellent book that kept me on my toes letting me see glimpses but not totally sure what was going to happen. 

I’m shocked this is a debut novel and can’t wait to see what else Alexandra Andrews comes out with. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Death, Gaslighting, Murder, Stalking, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Infidelity, and Violence

Minor: Alcohol

busy_izzi's review against another edition

tense medium-paced

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

1.0

Read this for book club — otherwise I would have DNF’d this early on. While it does pick up after its very slow start, with many highly telegraphed “twists,” it doesn’t get any better.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Car accident, Stalking, Violence, Toxic relationship, Gun violence, Gaslighting, Drug use, and Cursing

Moderate: Blood and Alcohol

Minor: Suicide and Suicidal thoughts

non-consensual drugging of others

echoingtales's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Car accident, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, and Death

bookscoffeehayley's review against another edition

challenging funny 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? It's complicated

3.75

This book is a wild ride. I don’t typically categorize books as ‘beach reads’ but I think this is the perfect beach read for people that like to read about murders and scheming on the beach!

Overall I enjoyed Who Is Maud Dixon but I can’t say I liked the characters. This was the first book I’ve read recently where there were characters I didn’t like yet it was fueling me to keep reading. I was so invested in finding out what was going in this book.

My biggest critique was the synopsis revealing a fairly big twist. This made me struggle with the pacing of this book. I was waiting for some big dramatic thing to happen and that really messed with the pacing for me.

If you’re looking for a fast-paced page-turner, definitely pick this one up! I think it was a great debut for Alexandra Andrews and I’m excited to see what she releases next!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Car accident, Murder, Stalking, and Toxic relationship