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A review by leithbookstagram
Black Widows by Cate Quinn
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Cate Quinn really kept me guessing throughout this book and I had many questions throughout that made me want to continue reading so I could find out the answer. Cate does a really good job making each wife sound suspicious and giving them all reasons for cracking and wanting Blake dead.
You go through a rollercoaster of who you think murdered Blake. It’s a real mystery as to what has happened.
We also follow the three sister wives as they piece together how the marriage between the four of them broke down. Blake pitted his wives against each other, always making them think the others were better. There is hostility between the wives, they’re not friends in any way and they can’t stand to be around each other. They would probably kill each other. Although the three sister wives do not like or trust each other at the beginning of the book, they become friends and allies by the end. It is really nice and heartwarming to see that these women have all stuck together and become like sisters to each other. Their relationships have come a long way.
Cate makes it easier to remember each character, their past and their relationships with Blake and the other wives by giving each character a particular ‘voice’ and their own language characteristics, like slang. This definitely made it easier to quickly remember who each wife was and who the chapter was reflecting.
We really see the good and bad qualities of Blake through the eyes of each wife, we really needed each wife’s opinion to create a clear picture of Blake because each wife’s memories of him are biased.
Overall, I don’t think this book lived up to the hype I’d seen, but it was still a good book. I found the first half of the book very monotonous, but I continued reading because I wanted to know what happened to Blake, and I’m glad I did because the second half of the book picked up and I enjoyed reading it much more. There’s definitely some twists throughout which adds to the suspense and keeps the reader on their toes – Cate is always coming up with another clue or lead. But, there were so many things said to the detectives and to the other wives that were suspicious or clues that were just ignored, which was a bit frustrating. Who murdered Blake is a complete shock, I had absolutely no clue it was that person!
Thank you to Cate Quinn, Orion Publishing Group and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read this book.
You go through a rollercoaster of who you think murdered Blake. It’s a real mystery as to what has happened.
We also follow the three sister wives as they piece together how the marriage between the four of them broke down. Blake pitted his wives against each other, always making them think the others were better. There is hostility between the wives, they’re not friends in any way and they can’t stand to be around each other. They would probably kill each other. Although the three sister wives do not like or trust each other at the beginning of the book, they become friends and allies by the end. It is really nice and heartwarming to see that these women have all stuck together and become like sisters to each other. Their relationships have come a long way.
Cate makes it easier to remember each character, their past and their relationships with Blake and the other wives by giving each character a particular ‘voice’ and their own language characteristics, like slang. This definitely made it easier to quickly remember who each wife was and who the chapter was reflecting.
We really see the good and bad qualities of Blake through the eyes of each wife, we really needed each wife’s opinion to create a clear picture of Blake because each wife’s memories of him are biased.
Overall, I don’t think this book lived up to the hype I’d seen, but it was still a good book. I found the first half of the book very monotonous, but I continued reading because I wanted to know what happened to Blake, and I’m glad I did because the second half of the book picked up and I enjoyed reading it much more. There’s definitely some twists throughout which adds to the suspense and keeps the reader on their toes – Cate is always coming up with another clue or lead. But, there were so many things said to the detectives and to the other wives that were suspicious or clues that were just ignored, which was a bit frustrating. Who murdered Blake is a complete shock, I had absolutely no clue it was that person!
Thank you to Cate Quinn, Orion Publishing Group and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read this book.