Reviews tagging 'Body shaming'

My Husband by Maud Ventura

2 reviews

binreads's review

dark tense slow-paced

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

3.0

I don't know how I'm supposed to go to sleep after that ending!!! I ran to my laptop to see everyone's reviews!

I'll be honest, 98% of the book is extremely slow, repetitive, and lacks any real substance, besides the fact that this woman is absolutely crazed by the obsession she has over her husband. That girl is COLD. Not just in her marriage, or with her 'friends', but I actually was taken aback by how she felt about her own damn kids.

I did NOT expect that twist in the epilogue. my jaw was DROPPED. It really does put the whole book into a different perspective.

THEY BOTH CRAZY. But i'm also like....he's making HER crazy??? I don't know if I should feel bad for her or just hate both of them. Like he really said that he 'marks his territory' when he has s*x with her after she goes off with someone else like......you nasty sir. Maybe she should toss you out the window...

 

Without the epilogue, I would've definitely rated this lower. Mostly because I didn't enjoy that it was all just her stream of thoughts and not a lot of dialogue or character interaction. I really had to force myself to push through it. I also wouldn't categorize it in thriller or horror, I'd say it's more just dark and psychological.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Mental illness

Moderate: Child abuse, Body shaming, and Panic attacks/disorders

rieriereads's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.5

𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨. 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘶𝘴𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮

ʙᴏᴏᴋꜱ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴍᴏʀᴀʟʟʏ ɢʀᴀʏ ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀꜱ ᴀʀᴇ ᴀʟᴡᴀʏꜱ ᴀ ᴘʟᴇᴀꜱᴜʀᴇ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ.
 
𝙼𝚢 𝙷𝚞𝚜𝚋𝚊𝚗𝚍 by Maud Ventura (translated by Emma Ramadan) is a fresh novel about a 40-year-old woman who is obsessed with her husband. She loves him, the idea of him, and would die without him.

Stunning looks, a beautiful house, two children, and 15 years of marriage with an ideal man are a dream for many. No matter how perfect life can get, sometimes our unnamed protagonist doubts whether her husband is truly in love with her, like she is madly in love with him.

So in order to spark their romance, she does things above and beyond for her husband. She plans every encounter she will have with him. And do things one may think are already beyond the line. 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙬𝙚 𝙙𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚, 𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙡𝙮 𝙬𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜?

I enjoyed the short novel. I loved how our main character was unreliable. I also really liked seeing her thoughts and how she processed everyday situations. She analyzes a certain encounter over and over again. She overthinks that she is on the verge of panicking, then reassures herself a little while later. I found it fascinating to know her thoughts, reassurances, and doubts.

Over the span of a week, I could see how the dynamics worked in their family. And many reviews say the ending was unexpected. For me, it was predictable, but it was still okay.

Overall, the book was okay. A read that is fast, analytical, pathetic, and, of course, obsessive. I'd only half-recommend this since I didn't love it. But still, it is a novel that many should try to read. Especially those who loved 𝙲𝚘𝚖𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚝 𝙼𝚎 𝚆𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝙰𝚙𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚜.

📚 | 44
⭐ | 3.5

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My Rating System

5 🌟 - Life changing, a new favorite read
4 ⭐ - I loved it
3 ⭐ - I liked it 
2 ⭐ - It was okay
1 ⭐ - I hated it but decided to  not dnf

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Sexual content, Gaslighting, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Sexism and Body shaming

Minor: Suicidal thoughts