Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell

103 reviews

dark mysterious tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This was a twisting, turning story with unreliable narrators all the way through. Just when you think you're truly getting to the truth of it, another thing pops up to make you doubt something. And the title of the book itself has you going in from the get-go in sleuth mode trying to figure out what's real and what isn't. That this is set against the backdrop of true crime podcasts and Netflix documentaries, both of which are genres known for their biased reporting and clever editing, only makes it more interesting. What's real? What isn't? Is Josie nuts, or is Alix? Is everyone nuts? What's up with their husbands? 

Anyway, I finished it and I still have no idea what's the real, honest-to-god truth, and I'm both cranky and not that Lisa Jewell clearly meant it to do that to me. Hah. 

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challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced
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

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adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Excellent audiobook. I am picky with what books I enjoy in audio format, and this one certainly enhanced the experience. Full cast and production.
The story itself is gripping and dark. Great for fans of mystery and thriller. 

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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dark funny sad 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

This was a really interesting read. Took me a while to get into it, but once I understood what the book was about I couldn’t help but find it fascinating. 

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Loveable characters: Complicated

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Solid 3.25 ⭐️ 

Giving this a rating based on it being somewhat of an entertaining read. But this was not really a thriller, I didn’t even feel suspense reading this. Definitely a overly hyped book from Tik-Toc. 

I get what the author was trying to do with the twists and the end, it just didn’t hit hard enough for me. 

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dark emotional medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Amazing book. Finished in 2 days and just could not put it down!
Believe it or not Josie reminded me a lot of a person my partner knew first year of uni, whom was completely insane and a compulsive liar and it was just crazy seeing the similarities. 
Jojo def shows signs either BPD or just a sociopath, and is a big danger (clearly) to those around her, displaying violent outburst, no remorse, obsession, and no empathy whatsoever. 
Starting with Walter and her relationship, the age gap is INSANE and was a MAJOR red flag. In any shape or form Walter was a groomer, however
once we learn from Pat that Jojo actively went after Walter (knowing not only was he married but also dating her mom) - this showing her as a person (like you’re one of those that ALSO steals people men😭)

She is a perfect example of an unreliable narrator and we don’t begin to see the full picture till after her family begins to speak out.
I legit cried when Nathan died, I was hoping he wouldn’t and was holding out hope that the marriage would be fixed, but again Jojo’s obsession got in the way of that. I was honestly surprised that she didn’t try stealing HIM away from his family. But after hearing her daughter explain how Walter had to sneak to speak to his kids in America it was just adding on to the long list of red flags for Jo the Roxy plot twist was to be expected, she seems to be worse then her parents/grandparents. I think a spin off book on her would be interesttinnng
I loved the writing style and I will absolutely be reading more from this author. Great little murder mystery.



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katerina_l's review

4.0
adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Wow. The creep and ick factors were so high in this book that I need to start another book right away to cleanse my brain’s palate. How else will I sleep tonight?

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