Actual rating 3.5

This book was so good. I really enjoyed the main character's struggle to be a better mother and thought this book was very original. Would recommend for sure!

A five-star, white-knuckle, hair-pulling epic of a thriller! Once I got stuck in I just couldn’t put it down for the life of me, from the fast-paced writing to the intriguing mystery of each character I was hooked. This is one of those books that, when it all comes together in your head, you want to scream at how you couldn’t see it before. It truly encapsulated the manipulation and gaslighting of domestic violence and the ways in which terrible men can get away with outrageous things whilst appearing normal or even charming on the surface. An absolute must-read for anyone who does not think bad things happen behind closed doors.

0.5 star rounded yo

I don’t even know where to begin. Haven’t seen this mentioned so far, but I feel like this book needs trigger warnings for r*pe and dv!! It was gut wrenching to read some of sections where these happen.

As for the story, this is an actual line in the book - “a craven Anastasia to his cut-price Christian Grey”. I rolled my eyes to the back of my head. There is nothing redeeming about this story and my head hurts from all the whiplash, both story and writing, gave me.

This book made me really mad but I was invested from the start. I found the male characters deplorable and I wanted to shake the main female character pretty much all the way through the book but I was interested and I was engaged and that's what matters. I can enjoy books where I hate everyone but I can't enjoy books where I don't care what happens. Don't read this book if you are triggered by depictions of sexual assault as there's some nasty stuff in here.

Rating: 4 stars!

This book was an interesting one. I had read a number of reviews for it before reading it myself and the range of opinions was incredible – some absolutely hated it and others called it their favourite read of 2020! It has been talked about so much that I needed to see what all the controversy was about, and boy this book did not disappoint. Even now writing this review, I am not sure where I fall on the scale of hate to love, but I am going to try to order my thoughts as best as I can here!

The book kind of deals with two parallel storylines, both with links to the protagonist, Alison. It looks at Alison’s personal life, with a doting husband, adorable kid, and great job, as well as the client Alison is defending: a woman who says she is guilty of stabbing her husband to death. But in both stories, something is deeply amiss; Alison is drinking, neglecting her family, and having an affair with a pushy and arrogant man, whilst the case seems to have more to it than the surface shows. To add to that, someone knows Alison’s secrets, and wants to make sure she pays…

I found this book to be an interesting one. I hated pretty much every single character and I usually enjoy books which have characters I can understand/empathise/sympathise with and not a single person in this book fell into that category. I found Alison to be so frustrating, constantly flipping from repentance and determination to be a better wife and mother, to sneaking away to drink herself to a stupor and to be with the man she is having an affair with. As the book is written from her perspective, the constant changes and inability to decide and pull herself together were pretty annoying. The rest of the characters were not much better; the husband was so self-righteous, the man from the affair (Patrick) was a nasty piece of work as well; in fact I think the only decent character was the poor little daughter, caught in the middle of all of this.

The redeeming quality of this book was the plot. For the first half of the book I was just annoyed with the characters and the slow pace of the narration, but after halfway it really picked up and I was gripped. It is twisty and shocking, with the two stories intersecting and weaving in and out, creating an outcome I did not predict. It was certainly a shocking ending, one which I would never have even thought of as possible, which made it a little bit unlikely for me. Saying that, it was almost so shocking and unique that I don’t care how possible it actually was! One tip I have is definitely go back and read the prologue once you finish the book – it will all make sense then!

Overall, this book was a weird one for me. Hated the characters, loved the story – how is that possible?! The subject matter in the book is not for the faint hearted – it gets pretty sexually explicit and upsetting at times, so read it with an awareness of what you might find difficult to read. I would say give it a try if you are a fan of thrillers and see if it is for you, it is certainly a decisive one in the book community!

This domestic noir thriller had me gripped from start to finish!!

Fast paced, with a very surprising ending! Would definitely recommend for a read between ‘heavier’ books.