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thebiglittlelibrary 's review for:
The Housemaid
by Freida McFadden
1.5 ⭐️ Did we all read the same book? How does this have such a high rating?
WHAT TO EXPECT:
✨ psychological thriller
✨ mystery
✨ plot twists
✨ TW: infidelity, domestic abuse, torture, toxic relationship, murder, death (this is not a complete list, so be sure to research the trigger warnings before)
My Thoughts:
What a fucking waste of my time. I am annoyed I read this book and cannot believe it came so highly recommended. There's so much I can say but I'll keep this review short since I don't want to spend more time thinking about this book than I have to.
I hardly ever read thrillers yet I was able to predict everything. I honestly wish I DNF'd but I decided to keep going for the big plot twists that I was told would completely surprise me; but alas, they did not. The author basically tells you what's going to happen next by making the narrator have internal dialogue that panders to the reader. Here are a few examples.
1. The FMC, Millie, enters the room she will be living in and goes, "There was something about that room that was very scary." Oooooo, I bet something terrible happened there. *I say this sarcastically*
2. Millie meets the gardener and she notices, "There's something in his expression that sends a chill down my spine. And then he shakes his head, almost imperceptibly. Almost like he's trying to warn me." And then he tells her it's dangerous and she should leave. Huh, I wonder why the gardener would tell a random woman she's in danger living in this rich suburban home as the maid. What could possibly go wrong?
3. Millie meets the husband and immediately notices how hot he is. "It's hard not to notice that he is several levels more attractive than his wife." And throughout the story she constantly comments on how handsome he is. I wonder what's going to happen between the super hot maid and her super hot employer. . .
4. Millie's bedroom door locks from the outside and she notices there are scratches on the door, "Like somebody was scraping at the door. Trying to get out." Cue the Cardi-B viral sound "That's suspicious. That's weird." We all know she's getting locked in that room at some point.
There's a lot more but again, I don't want to spend more time on this book so, moving on to my next point.
The writing was juvenile. Along with the author's penchant for pandering to the reader, the book was just so average written. It felt like someone in high school wrote it. Simple writing. Basic characters. Unrealistic development.
Millie was an unbearable FMC. She's a recently released convict and has had a hard time keeping a job. She's desperate, which is why she overlooks all the red flags about this new job as a maid. But for fuck's sake, it's like she has zero self preservation. I absolutely hated her and the choices she made throughout the story. The only redeeming thing about her was how she handles everything at the end.
But that ending has me laughing because of the sheer stupidity of it all. You're telling me Millie has been a dud for the entire book but somehow she comes out on top at the end? I don't believe it but whatever.
Overall, this book was a miss and I do not recommend it. I should be giving this 1 stars because I legit didn’t like anything about it. But it was readable and even if predictable, there was a cohesive plot. . . so I’ll give it 1.5 stars.
WHAT TO EXPECT:
✨ psychological thriller
✨ mystery
✨ plot twists
✨ TW: infidelity, domestic abuse, torture, toxic relationship, murder, death (this is not a complete list, so be sure to research the trigger warnings before)
My Thoughts:
What a fucking waste of my time. I am annoyed I read this book and cannot believe it came so highly recommended. There's so much I can say but I'll keep this review short since I don't want to spend more time thinking about this book than I have to.
I hardly ever read thrillers yet I was able to predict everything. I honestly wish I DNF'd but I decided to keep going for the big plot twists that I was told would completely surprise me; but alas, they did not. The author basically tells you what's going to happen next by making the narrator have internal dialogue that panders to the reader. Here are a few examples.
1. The FMC, Millie, enters the room she will be living in and goes, "There was something about that room that was very scary." Oooooo, I bet something terrible happened there. *I say this sarcastically*
2. Millie meets the gardener and she notices, "There's something in his expression that sends a chill down my spine. And then he shakes his head, almost imperceptibly. Almost like he's trying to warn me." And then he tells her it's dangerous and she should leave. Huh, I wonder why the gardener would tell a random woman she's in danger living in this rich suburban home as the maid. What could possibly go wrong?
3. Millie meets the husband and immediately notices how hot he is. "It's hard not to notice that he is several levels more attractive than his wife." And throughout the story she constantly comments on how handsome he is. I wonder what's going to happen between the super hot maid and her super hot employer. . .
4. Millie's bedroom door locks from the outside and she notices there are scratches on the door, "Like somebody was scraping at the door. Trying to get out." Cue the Cardi-B viral sound "That's suspicious. That's weird." We all know she's getting locked in that room at some point.
There's a lot more but again, I don't want to spend more time on this book so, moving on to my next point.
The writing was juvenile. Along with the author's penchant for pandering to the reader, the book was just so average written. It felt like someone in high school wrote it. Simple writing. Basic characters. Unrealistic development.
Millie was an unbearable FMC. She's a recently released convict and has had a hard time keeping a job. She's desperate, which is why she overlooks all the red flags about this new job as a maid. But for fuck's sake, it's like she has zero self preservation. I absolutely hated her and the choices she made throughout the story. The only redeeming thing about her was how she handles everything at the end.
But that ending has me laughing because of the sheer stupidity of it all. You're telling me Millie has been a dud for the entire book but somehow she comes out on top at the end? I don't believe it but whatever.
Overall, this book was a miss and I do not recommend it. I should be giving this 1 stars because I legit didn’t like anything about it. But it was readable and even if predictable, there was a cohesive plot. . . so I’ll give it 1.5 stars.