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booksandbujos's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This was a solid, standard thriller. The middle dragged a little at times, but the ending felt like a decently-paced climax. The reveal felt a little out of nowhere. I also don’t know if we really got closure on the sort of main mystery/ initial incident of the death of her mother. Was it actually natural? Was it supposed to be something more like the other deaths? Not entirely sure.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Infidelity, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Minor: Car accident and War
giasbookhaven's review against another edition
The pacing of this book is slow and the repetitive memory recall: Bones snap. Steel crunches. The sick thud of a skull slamming against the dashboard. Screams. A child cries that echos in nearly every chapter is no longer acting as an intriguing hook for the readers but an annoying directionless loop. I do not agree with Annie's mother's choice of words for her granddaughter but I do a agree with her observation that Tabby is spoiled and too American. Her sense of entitlement is normal for a teenager buy she lacks discipline and respect for her parents and authority. IF it was the goal of the author to make the daughter annoying, she succeed.
Annie's character is dealing with a secret trauma, on top of the loss of her mother and the psychological abuse she embedded within Annie throughout her life. Annie--from her Americanize version of her name Anh to her desires to be seen more than a first generation Vietnamese woman and a daughter of an odd, Vietnamese immigrant who made a name for herself at the hands of rich older white women who allowed her to take her art and make it a living. Or as a woman who married off well--both with her husbands looks, his money and status. Whether subconsciously or consciously, Annie is trying to hold on to this identity she has created for herself as a creative, a wife, and a mother.
In the same breath, readers are left to wonder if Annie's guilt over her mother's death is because she died at Annie's hands or if it has anything to do with something else entirely. I mean, I feel like I could go on and this is just 50+ pages into this book.
Annie feels shame for her:
Mother's compulsive hoarding
Her mother's strict views
Not having the same mother daughter relationship as her close friend
Over not wanting to take care of her mother
Over not being able to have a close relationship with her own daughter
I am sure the list goes on.
Annie's character is dealing with a secret trauma, on top of the loss of her mother and the psychological abuse she embedded within Annie throughout her life. Annie--from her Americanize version of her name Anh to her desires to be seen more than a first generation Vietnamese woman and a daughter of an odd, Vietnamese immigrant who made a name for herself at the hands of rich older white women who allowed her to take her art and make it a living. Or as a woman who married off well--both with her husbands looks, his money and status. Whether subconsciously or consciously, Annie is trying to hold on to this identity she has created for herself as a creative, a wife, and a mother.
In the same breath, readers are left to wonder if Annie's guilt over her mother's death is because she died at Annie's hands or if it has anything to do with something else entirely. I mean, I feel like I could go on and this is just 50+ pages into this book.
Annie feels shame for her:
Mother's compulsive hoarding
Her mother's strict views
Not having the same mother daughter relationship as her close friend
Over not wanting to take care of her mother
Over not being able to have a close relationship with her own daughter
I am sure the list goes on.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Death of parent
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Toxic relationship, and Car accident
rachelle_reads's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
4.25
First, the good: The author’s portrayal of OCD and the way she addressed refugee trauma and intergenerational trauma were well done. That’s what sucked me in. I couldn’t always tell what was real and what was a dream or false memory, and that works well is a psychological thriller.
This was going to be a 5 star book for me until the last 50 pages or so. Everything wrapped up too neatly.Three murders closed, with what evidence? And her relationship with her teenage daughter so quickly fixed? Please. I wish the author had taken time to finish all the storylines better, rather than using dialogue to explain it all away.
One other complaint has to do with the role of the psychiatrist. I appreciated how the author used this character to help us understand Annie’s OCD. But the psychiatrist did a lot of things that are quite unrealistic.You would never take on a client who was the spouse of a former roommate/boyfriend. I think I would have enjoyed the story more if Dr. Patel and the husband were conspiring together, but she was just a run-of-the-mill unethical therapist.
Overall, I enjoyed this book, and I look forward to reading more from this author as she hones her thriller writing skills.
This was going to be a 5 star book for me until the last 50 pages or so. Everything wrapped up too neatly.
One other complaint has to do with the role of the psychiatrist. I appreciated how the author used this character to help us understand Annie’s OCD. But the psychiatrist did a lot of things that are quite unrealistic.
Overall, I enjoyed this book, and I look forward to reading more from this author as she hones her thriller writing skills.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Violence, and Death of parent
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
thissagreads's review against another edition
Incredibly slow with a hint of thriller, but it enough to keep me interested or invested.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent
smagzisreading's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Murder
Moderate: Ableism, Body horror, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Grief, Car accident, and Death of parent
siobhanward's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I think this book was another victim of me having read too many thrillers. I saw the ending coming about halfway through and kept waiting for something else to pop up and surprise me but nothing did. Annie was a solid character and I wish there had been more about her and her mother, since that was the most interesting part of the book. Otherwise, this felt like a very standard run of the mill thriller with an unreliable protagonist meant to keep readers guessing, but without something to really shock you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Death of parent, and Murder
magyklyxdelish's review
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, and Car accident
Moderate: Animal death, Infidelity, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting
Minor: Racism, Sexual assault, Police brutality, War, and Classism
allena_inwonderland's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
4 stars 🌟 this book was so wild. You have an unreliable narrator, and a lot of mother daughter relationship toxic themes throughout the book.
There's representation for OCD and a very specific type, I can't remember the name rn. However Annie the FMC is triggered back into her old OCD habits after her mother dies.
There's multiple flashbacks to events Annie has memories of and they always end with You Know What You Did. So the whole time I'm reading this I'm thinking about what the hell did she do?! Haha.
I started feeling like wow this woman is really mentally unstable to the point she can't remember what even happened.
The ending threw me for a loop! I seriously didn't see it coming and that made this book so good. It's got a lot of triggers especially for immigrant parental relationship with their kid. There was some stuff that Annie went through with her mom that sadly I've seen so often in my own family with how women are perceived and should act especially in Asian culture. Please keep that in mind when going into this book.
There's representation for OCD and a very specific type, I can't remember the name rn. However Annie the FMC is triggered back into her old OCD habits after her mother dies.
There's multiple flashbacks to events Annie has memories of and they always end with You Know What You Did. So the whole time I'm reading this I'm thinking about what the hell did she do?! Haha.
I started feeling like wow this woman is really mentally unstable to the point she can't remember what even happened.
The ending threw me for a loop! I seriously didn't see it coming and that made this book so good. It's got a lot of triggers especially for immigrant parental relationship with their kid. There was some stuff that Annie went through with her mom that sadly I've seen so often in my own family with how women are perceived and should act especially in Asian culture. Please keep that in mind when going into this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Death of parent
menastarr's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Body horror, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Blood
Minor: Suicide
ripxreads's review
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Gaslighting
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, and Death of parent