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chaptersofchase 's review for:

The Last Housewife by Ashley Winstead
4.0
challenging dark sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated

The Last Housewife  || Sourcebooks Landmark {partner}

Genre: Thriller
Trope: Cult
Format: 🎧
Audiobook Narration: ☆☆☆☆
Pub Date: 8.16.2022
Star Rating: ☆☆☆☆ (due to content)


“If only it were always like this. If beauty was purely a power and not a target, a vulnerability that could draw the wolves and put you at their mercy.”

The Last Housewife has been on my reading list for a while, but I hesitated to start it because I knew the content was not something I gravitated towards. I finally decided to give it a go, and here are my thoughts.

From start to finish, the entire book is a pitch-black, terrifying, intense, unsettling, deeply disturbing, raw, and relevant look at one woman’s life and how it has mistreated her along the way. While some could say the book is unrealistic, I don’t believe that. And what’s shocking to me is that The Last Housewife is written by an author who has penned several romance novels - the contrast in topics is mind-blowing. 

I think the reason that The Last Housewife made me so uncomfortable is because of how closely it touched on the reality of the world we live in. There were themes surrounding misogyny, patriarchy, and religion, and all of these tie into those who are leaders in our community, state, and country. We see the men inside the pages of this book given platforms by the media, and so many of us barely bat an eye at their atrocious behavior. 

It made me very uneasy, and if I hadn’t listened to the audio, I’m not sure I would’ve finished the book, not because it’s terrible, but because of how real it felt and reading is my escape from life. 

The ending was realistic as plenty of women face the same future because they got tired of being a victim and watching the predictable outcome of their abuser. 

I highly recommend going into this book, understanding that it is dark. The triggers are listed at the beginning of the book. However, they are not mentioned at the beginning of the audiobook, so please DM me for more information if you choose the audio format. 

I need something light to read after this - what’s the last book that gave you the warm fuzzies?




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