A review by gwenswoons
Ward D by Freida McFadden

adventurous dark funny tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I thought this worked well! My second Freida McFadden and I liked it more. It was definitely entertaining for a long car ride or two and had lots of twisty/twisted turns. I found some of it predictable, perhaps just from reading another of FM’s (Never Lie). For me, the specific unlikeability of the narrator, the leaps in timeframe, the specific type of creepy note on which to end, and the romantic storyline felt either a bit formulaic or very similar to the last one of hers that I read (…really, probably both), but I did feel like this one had a quicker and more engaging pace and less hemming and hawing somehow. For me these are serviceable and fun, nothing super special but reliably decent, which sometimes really hits the spot on a mind-numbing car ride, haha. I’ll probably read another at some point, though none of the details or stories will stick with me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail