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A review by thejoellachapter
All I Want by Darcey Bell
4.0
A Simple Favor is one of my favorite books (and movie adaptations), so I was so excited when I saw this at Target. The premise is fantastic and so spooky - a run down house with a shady history in a remote area? Yes, please.
For most of the book, I was hooked. I loved the ominous atmosphere, and the house itself was a compelling character. Discovering more and more about the houses history was fascinating, and I loved the back and forth between Emma in the present, and Emma reading about the past. I also love an unreliable narrator, and Emma is for sure that. This book could basically be used as a definition of what gaslighting looks like, and although gaslighting sucks irl, reading about it is fun.
I do have some issues though. The first, which may be trivial, is that I kept questioning Emma’s doctors and her internal mental response to pregnancy. Maybe I’m wrong, but I feel like passing out and hallucinating are not typical pregnancy symptoms, but everyone seemed to just brush it off? Second, I didn’t like the different perspectives towards the end, as I don’t think it fit in with the final chapter. However, the final chapter was interesting, and was definitely a twist that I did not see coming at all (although I was then instantly confused about how the different POV’s were even possible).
All in all, I enjoyed it, but I definitely wouldn’t consider it as high up on my list as A Simple Favor. Like A Simple Favor, though, I do think it would make an excellent adaptation to the screen, and I would love to see it!
For most of the book, I was hooked. I loved the ominous atmosphere, and the house itself was a compelling character. Discovering more and more about the houses history was fascinating, and I loved the back and forth between Emma in the present, and Emma reading about the past. I also love an unreliable narrator, and Emma is for sure that. This book could basically be used as a definition of what gaslighting looks like, and although gaslighting sucks irl, reading about it is fun.
I do have some issues though. The first, which may be trivial, is that I kept questioning Emma’s doctors and her internal mental response to pregnancy. Maybe I’m wrong, but I feel like passing out and hallucinating are not typical pregnancy symptoms, but everyone seemed to just brush it off? Second, I didn’t like the different perspectives towards the end, as I don’t think it fit in with the final chapter. However, the final chapter was interesting, and was definitely a twist that I did not see coming at all (although I was then instantly confused about how the different POV’s were even possible).
All in all, I enjoyed it, but I definitely wouldn’t consider it as high up on my list as A Simple Favor. Like A Simple Favor, though, I do think it would make an excellent adaptation to the screen, and I would love to see it!