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vrtlz0's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
this is my opinion.
things i liked:
- christian and lily's relationship at the start of the book. don't get me wrong- i ALREADY got a bad feeling ab them bc reading lily's coldness and then sudden softness always seemed purposeful. we also never get to read lily's perspective, and christian almost ALWAYS assumes, "she doesn't know any better", despite him knowing that lily is like this certified genius. like. it's kind of cool though, because so often we seen in popular reads that a woman falls in love with a manipulative/villainous man, but seeing it flipped on its head is refreshing. it's also canon that lily is smarter than christian, so idk i just like seeing actually pretty well written evil women.
- the pace was great and matched the plot well.
things i hated:
- ok. this needs to be the top thing: lily being white and always being described as insanely gorgeous and then nina being non-white and not being described in nearly the same way, and having nina almost wish she was as pretty as lily. also a lot of "beautiful, milky, pale skin", "beautiful brown eyes", and "brown hair that pooled when she bent on the table" and then you google the author and it's almost as if mary kubica was trying to write about herself. mary kubica may be poc, but the emphasized eurocentric beauty was just kinda weird. it would've been different if we somehow got a description of nina in a similar fashion, but we never do. in fact, lily only envies nina's body, but not particularly her face. never liked the implications of that.
- it always felt like the plot was leaning into nina v.s. christian rather than nina v.s. her life, and it kinda sucked because it always felt like nina existed to serve the plot rather than being this fully fleshed out character. i know this novel was written by a woman, but nina felt more like a charicature of criticsm rather than a complex survivor of abuse (speaking from experience). moreover, i always felt like she was painted out to be this stupid, naive deer that couldn't fend herself at all, but it's also canon that she worked at a young age to help her mom, grew up poor, has known discrimination, etc. it just felt gross that she just largely ended up playing the "helpless, desperate rich woman" but "sHE hApPens tO Be PoC so DiVeRsITY is COoL!!" (i'm poc) and only broke through the ceiling when the man in her life died. it was predictable. we as the readers KNEW she was going to "wake up" and be depressed and probably be very bitter by the end, but it felt unrealistic. healing is hard, and hard to write, but the "badass resentment" nina had in the end felt like a cheap trick in order to avoid writing about the reality of survivors. "no mental health issues, no loss of money, no troubles in the world. now nina's just gonna travel the world with her mom- her NEW best friend- and forget about the past!", it was just too quick of a resolution. too triumphant for somebody who most certainly had a lifetime's worth of troubles to untangle. too romantic for such a dark and cruel ending with a character that's almost only known grief.
- lily and jake's affair felt unreal in a bad way. like, when the reveal happened and lily confessed about cheating, it was so frustrating to read. i never liked the reason as to WHY it happened, either. "he was lonely and i sympathized with him" aaa response, like-- WHY DID SHE KEEP THE BABY, TOO? if only we got some canon info that explained lily's psyche, but we never do. christian for some reason trusts her enough to let her be around their kid. like, christian is the father who stepped up but he better step on lily's face because WHY IS SHE FORGIVEN SO EASILY??? recovering as a couple after cheating is one thing. actively lying to your partner about cheating and ending your affair by murdering your side thing and then also lying to your best friend and everyone you know, and then keeping the baby from a practical r*pist and abuser while actively enduring the stress caused by your own psychomanipulation and letting it affect your baby, and then getting out of jail early??? lily is a GREAT VILLAIN, but she should not have had an easy ending, and christian deserved better than to still be half-in-love with her. also manipulative pregnancy is CRAZY--- it was an INSANE plot twist, but again--- i feel like the consequences of her actions should've been handled better. i do like the idea of lily and christian mending their relationship bc tbfr they've been through so much together, but over a longer period of time. i wish the end of the book was more somber, too. like why are they so happy bro they went through so much bullshit and now they have more bullshit đ WHY IS THE ENDING SO HAPPY I'M SOBBING, i feel like a poignant yet tragic ending would've been just fine tbh, even if it meant we never got to see lily and christian repair things.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Racism
queenie_booklove's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship
ceesilv's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
It was ok. I felt like a majority of the book could have been condensed â a lot of the same thing over and over again and characters taking so long hemming and hawing â but then conversely the ending was so quick. I was really hoping for a twist ending that would taken me by surprise⌠it really didnât.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Murder, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Blood
Minor: Cancer
jennie_white2008's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Violence, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
carolinelfetzer's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This was a nice, quick thriller that kept me engaged from start to finish. The onset and initial climax were exciting, but the ending left me unsatisfied, feeling inconsistent with what we knew about the characters. While the story revolves around the idea that you never truly know anyone, it felt like some choices, especially regarding Christian and Lily, didnât quite align with their development. The characters overall lacked depth, even the narrators, which made it hard to connect fully with the story. Nina stood out as the one truly blameless characterâmy poor sweet angel! On the flip side, the creepy coworkerâs attempts to "help" Nina only added discomfort rather than intrigue. Despite these gripes, the bookâs fast pace and suspenseful twists made it an enjoyable read while it lasted. Perfect for fans of quick, engaging thrillers who donât mind characters taking a backseat to plot.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Infertility, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Blood, Murder, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship
the_true_monroe's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I went from being at a solid 3 star rating up until over 80% through the audiobook when for a moment I truly believed I would be leaving a 1 star review. I ended up with such relief that a particularly unwanted outcome did not happen, that my rating shot back up. I also was excited that I was right about the main culprit, yet while I understand how many people say the twists were predictable, I questioned myself just enough to worry it was going to go in a direction I did not want as there were obvious red herons where some made 0 sense but others had relevance.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Cancer, Chronic illness, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Vomit, Medical content, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Sexual content and Alcohol
littlered22's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Just alright. Plot twists had me shocked but it wasn't something I had to finish quickly or was obsessing over
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, and Blood
Moderate: Infidelity and Miscarriage
Minor: Cursing, Vomit, Murder, and Toxic friendship
faithsbookreads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This book was fast-paced & really kept me trying to figure out what happened! The whole time I kept saying how everything Lily said made ZERO sense. honestly, I think this book couldâve definitely been a 5 star read if the author had just adjusted some details (the ending, getting more in-depth with Ninaâs mom, explaining deeper what happened on the day of Jakeâs death, etc..). The ending & the âbig revealâ felt a little lackluster which is why I only gave it 3.5 stars. It definitely had the potential for a 5 star though! (Nina deserved SO much better from EVERYONEđ)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
kelisabeth's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
haveyouseencass's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-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? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Gun violence, Infertility, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail