A review by ellieb_reads
Madwoman by Chelsea Bieker

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.0

There was so much potential here, and the first several pages had my expectations quite high. But this waffled between pretty good and very unpleasant from chapter to chapter. First, this is not a thriller. The “twists” are all incredibly obvious, and the pacing of the book saves all the action for the last 30 pages, which feels rushed and downright outrageous. Throughout the present tense timeline, the main character makes absolutely bananas decisions that seem wildly unrealistic—even for someone in the middle of a meltdown. And the continued theme of name-dropping luxury health products was just so over the top. I think it was intended to be a parody (??), but it felt like meaningless filler that I found either boring or eye roll-inducing. The flashback chapters were excellent, and Bieker’s prose about trauma and abuse were really powerful: “The way violence shrinks women, makes us feel lucky for things that aren’t lucky.” Gorgeous! Heartbreaking! Poignant! There was some brilliant writing and an interesting concept here, but it was sandwiched between so much outlandish and frustrating stuff that I came away feeling mostly disappointed.