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soulofkhal 's review for:
One of the Good Guys
by Araminta Hall
dark
emotional
mysterious
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:
N/A
Before I start let me just say that if you are interested in picking up this book, I highly HIGHLY recommend choosing the audionook because the p -roduction is simply superb. The narrators all did a great job at selling the emotions that the characters are feeling (especially Mel's VA) plus because there's various use of mixed media in the book, it really makes the book feel more alive.
Now on to the review of the content of the book
I think the strongest point of this book was the exploration of psyche of both the abuser and the victim of said abuse. It was really easy to get into the emotional state of each characters as you slowly piece together the true nature of their fate. The book manages to capture the effect of gaslighting extremely well and it brings a level of discomfort that was necessary to put ourselves in the shoe of the victim. I almost wish that this book was written like a literary fiction that focus more on the psychological aspect of the relationship than it is as a thriller. I also appreciate that the book isn't hiding behind mental illness in regards to the abuser's motivation which is a refreshing take when it comes to domestic thriller who often demonises mental illness. Another strong point of the book is how it manages to accurately capture the way media talks about abuse, misogyny, and rape culture especially in regards to social media, though I could also see how this makes the book felt redundant to what we already see in our day to day lives.
Unfortunately, I think the plot twist of the book makes little to no sense to me. I'm still trying to understand the point of the twist because it doesn't seem to serve any purpose to the characters at all and it felt juvenile with its planning as well. The twist also contradicts one of the points that they bring out during the book (though to be fair this point was only brought out in one sentence so maybe they didn't actually care that much about the point) because you can't help but think that this twist could surely only be done because these characters were privileged white people. It also feels self-servient to only one of the planner of the twist because they intentionally or unintentionally fucks the testimony of another character. What makes it worse is that I think the book is trying to lump you in with all the other misogynistic incels if you don't agree with the twist which is stupid to say the least. I mean can a girlguy not get a nuance over here?
Edit: Decided on 1.5 star. The more I think about this book, the more frustated I am with the resolution that the author is taking. I don't think it's clear what the author is even trying to say with this book and I wish she could've just focuses on the gaslighting and the not-so-subtle abuse that abusers often inflict on their victim instead of tackling 50 different topics at once.
Also the fact that the book basically forces you to take a hard stance on either side is extremely condenscending
Now on to the review of the content of the book
I think the strongest point of this book was the exploration of psyche of both the abuser and the victim of said abuse. It was really easy to get into the emotional state of each characters as you slowly piece together the true nature of their fate. The book manages to capture the effect of gaslighting extremely well and it brings a level of discomfort that was necessary to put ourselves in the shoe of the victim. I almost wish that this book was written like a literary fiction that focus more on the psychological aspect of the relationship than it is as a thriller. I also appreciate that the book isn't hiding behind mental illness in regards to the abuser's motivation which is a refreshing take when it comes to domestic thriller who often demonises mental illness. Another strong point of the book is how it manages to accurately capture the way media talks about abuse, misogyny, and rape culture especially in regards to social media, though I could also see how this makes the book felt redundant to what we already see in our day to day lives.
Unfortunately, I think the plot twist of the book makes little to no sense to me. I'm still trying to understand the point of the twist because it doesn't seem to serve any purpose to the characters at all and it felt juvenile with its planning as well. The twist also contradicts one of the points that they bring out during the book (though to be fair this point was only brought out in one sentence so maybe they didn't actually care that much about the point) because you can't help but think that this twist could surely only be done because these characters were privileged white people. It also feels self-servient to only one of the planner of the twist because they intentionally or unintentionally fucks the testimony of another character. What makes it worse is that I think the book is trying to lump you in with all the other misogynistic incels if you don't agree with the twist which is stupid to say the least. I mean can a girlguy not get a nuance over here?
Edit: Decided on 1.5 star. The more I think about this book, the more frustated I am with the resolution that the author is taking. I don't think it's clear what the author is even trying to say with this book and I wish she could've just focuses on the gaslighting and the not-so-subtle abuse that abusers often inflict on their victim instead of tackling 50 different topics at once.
Also the fact that the book basically forces you to take a hard stance on either side is extremely condenscending
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault