A review by booksoversecondbreakfast
The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth

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

3.25

I feel so conflicted rating this book. I can't tell if it's a 4 or a 2, so I picked a 3.25.

I loved the main character, Fern, so much - especially her sweet relationship with
her love interest
and her wonderful character development. I'm not sure whether it's a spoiler to say so, but I especially loved
how she learned to request accommodations for herself
by the end of the story, because it was so stressful seeing (okay this next part definitely is a spoiler)
her sister manipulate her into thinking she was broken
. Fern's journey of empowerment was so heartwarming though, so thats the reason I can't rate this book too low and still overall liked it.

The main antagonist really made me so mad throughout the book. It all turned out to be so much more twisted than I had expected. This was the main reason I can't rate this book higher than a 3.25. It was just so painful seeing all that Fern was going through, and it just wasn't the book for me for that reason.

This book was such a page-turner, which was interesting because it was relatively slow and very character-heavy. I know it's categorized as a thriller, and I agree with that classification. Potential readers should just be away that this is specifically a slower domestic psychological thriller. I really enjoy this subgenre, so it was something I enjoyed, but I just wanted to give a heads up in case anyone thought this might be a Stephen King or Dan Brown kind of thriller.

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