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cc_shelflove's review against another edition
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
2.0
According to Goodreads reviews I am definitely an outlier on this one. I did not like it! The author tricked me a few times during the first half of the book, which I thought was pretty cool. As the story continued, it hardly developed at all. The characters sucked and the ending was terrible. I’ve also read the book is a direct copy of King’s Misery. While I haven’t read it yet, I can easily guarantee King did it better. What a weird married couple. Two stars for the two twists at the beginning that I thought were really cool, but after that? Dullness.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Kidnapping, Abandonment, Alcohol, Confinement, and Suicide
deshanejt's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Death of parent, Dementia, Medical content, Suicide, Violence, Confinement, and Kidnapping
Minor: Self harm, Abandonment, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, and Panic attacks/disorders
butilikeit's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-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: Confinement, Kidnapping, and Mental illness
Moderate: Stalking
Minor: Death of parent
nerdybookqueen's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
This book was awful. I would've DNF'd it much earlier but I finished it because it was my book club book this month, and it only got worse.
Minor problem: it was boring, which is awful for a suspense novel. Every time I thought things would get interesting, they just went back to boring again.
I found the writing style very annoying to read. I hate the awkward switching between third and first person and I realize that it was meant to mislead as to who the one character was, but it made it very difficult and frustrating to read. Especially when it continued after the reveal of who the first person character was.
SPOILERS AHEAD:
What actually made me frustrated and dropped this to a one star was two things:
First, the big twist was the first person narrator, the villain, surprise, not a woman, a gay man! This book came out in 2020, are we not past villainizing gay folks? If your only LGBT character is the villain, and that's also your big twist, you're doing something wrong. I would've been more interested if it had been a woman, tbh, because I would've have been so frustrated with this BS. The homophobia trigger warning is for the author, not the book.
And the second part is that the ending is straight out of a different book. Referencing the book as the source for the character's decision to do those things doesn't excuse the fact you copied the plot. If anything the acknowledgement was more annoying.
Minor problem: it was boring, which is awful for a suspense novel. Every time I thought things would get interesting, they just went back to boring again.
I found the writing style very annoying to read. I hate the awkward switching between third and first person and I realize that it was meant to mislead as to who the one character was, but it made it very difficult and frustrating to read. Especially when it continued after the reveal of who the first person character was.
SPOILERS AHEAD:
What actually made me frustrated and dropped this to a one star was two things:
First, the big twist was the first person narrator, the villain, surprise, not a woman, a gay man! This book came out in 2020, are we not past villainizing gay folks? If your only LGBT character is the villain, and that's also your big twist, you're doing something wrong. I would've been more interested if it had been a woman, tbh, because I would've have been so frustrated with this BS. The homophobia trigger warning is for the author, not the book.
And the second part is that the ending is straight out of a different book. Referencing the book as the source for the character's decision to do those things doesn't excuse the fact you copied the plot. If anything the acknowledgement was more annoying.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Homophobia, and Stalking
Minor: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Infidelity, Death, Dementia, Death of parent, and Grief
mtnest's review
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Confinement, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, and Stalking
Moderate: Medical content, Grief, Suicide, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Pregnancy
nadia's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I don't think the audiobook is the one for this one! The narrators' voices didn't match the characters in my head, and it was doubly jarring when the perspective shifts and one narrator is doing the voice of another.
Then, I'm very anti spoilers so all I will say is don't read this book if you're currently watching The West Wing or plan to read Stephen King's Misery. I even skipped some parts to avoid further spoilers so don't know the extent reached re the latter reference. But that's me — I'm sure a bunch of people won't mind!
I also felt there were a lot of unnecessary sexist commentary lobbed in...
I also didn't really believe/get invested in the main relationship. The narrator choices probably played into this a lot.
Still, there were moments of intrigue and tension and I remained curious as to how it was all going to end!
Then, I'm very anti spoilers so all I will say is don't read this book if you're currently watching The West Wing or plan to read Stephen King's Misery. I even skipped some parts to avoid further spoilers so don't know the extent reached re the latter reference. But that's me — I'm sure a bunch of people won't mind!
I also felt there were a lot of unnecessary sexist commentary lobbed in...
I also didn't really believe/get invested in the main relationship. The narrator choices probably played into this a lot.
Still, there were moments of intrigue and tension and I remained curious as to how it was all going to end!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Kidnapping
Moderate: Death of parent and Death
mothercoconuts's review against another edition
mysterious
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? It's complicated
3.0
I was so disappointed in this after reading the raving reviews saying there were so many twists and turns….
For one, there aren’t even any “twists” there are only light reveals. Once the main reveal is done, about half way thru, it’s pretty much over.
The book even mentions another novel in it that the second half of the story pretty much mirrors! 🙄 So, there really isn’t much mystery there.
The reveal about the landlord towards the end is pretty obvious. I didn’t predict it, but it’s not surprising and made me just go “oh yeah ok that sounds about right.” 😒
I also felt very disconnected to Sam and Annie as a couple. Like, I didn’t feel their chemistry or know much about their dynamic at all besides that they role play, which also had zero significance to the main plot!! 😡
The end was also a little too perfect and felt rushed. It was fun in the first half, and I kept reading to find out what happens but I just felt so let down. A very run-of-the-mill thriller imo.
For one, there aren’t even any “twists” there are only light reveals. Once the main reveal is done, about half way thru, it’s pretty much over.
The book even mentions another novel in it that the second half of the story pretty much mirrors! 🙄 So, there really isn’t much mystery there.
The reveal about the landlord towards the end is pretty obvious. I didn’t predict it, but it’s not surprising and made me just go “oh yeah ok that sounds about right.” 😒
I also felt very disconnected to Sam and Annie as a couple. Like, I didn’t feel their chemistry or know much about their dynamic at all besides that they role play, which also had zero significance to the main plot!! 😡
The end was also a little too perfect and felt rushed. It was fun in the first half, and I kept reading to find out what happens but I just felt so let down. A very run-of-the-mill thriller imo.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Stalking and Violence
Minor: Death of parent
lindseyrenee's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This was a very quick and easy read that started strong with part 1. I enjoyed learning about the patients and was even pulled in thinking “Charlie” would play a larger role. Part 2 brought the twist pretty early on into the story and I thought it was great! That’s where the great ended for me though. I was hoping for more twists and turns but unfortunately the climax was in the middle and it became extremely predictable from there. I think there was an attempt at another twist towards the end, but it was already so obvious that it didn’t do much to add to the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Stalking, Mental illness, Alcohol, Confinement, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Dementia and Suicide
Minor: Blood, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
jasmine256's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Mental illness, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Stalking, Kidnapping, and Dementia
Minor: Death of parent, Infidelity, and Sexual content
archaicrobin'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
I remember reading The Perfect Mother, also by Malloy years ago and loving it. I had such high expectations and none of them were met. This is one of the poorest written thrillers I’ve read in a long time, and a huge disappointment.
Sam is a therapist that likes to lie to his wife and spend 2 million dollars they don’t have. Sam goes missing and said wife stumbles around trying to find him. The novel is from different perspectives, none of which are interesting or cohesive. I hated every character in this book. When Sam went missing, I did not care. When main characters’s lives were in danger I did not care. The characterization and writing were so mediocre in this, I had to make myself sit down and read it.
Along with the subpar character and writing, is the atrocious plot and confusing plot twists. In The Perfect Mother, every twist was well thought out and explained. In Goodnight Beautiful, every twist was confusing, stupid, and a cheap shot at being shocking. There is also so much problematic dialogue from every single character. With the very thinly veiled misogyny, classism, and ignorance in this book I was shocked to see it was published as recently as 2020.
The plot in this book is a mix of Gone Girl and The Shining. Like the author chose her favorite books and just decided to rewrite them with the lamest, most unrealistic ending she could think of. I’m not sure what happened between her debut novel and this release, but it ain’t for me! This thriller came off as a Lifetime Drama where nothing really makes any sense or is any good, but it has all the tropes. If you love Lifetime made for tv moves this could be for you.
Sam is a therapist that likes to lie to his wife and spend 2 million dollars they don’t have. Sam goes missing and said wife stumbles around trying to find him. The novel is from different perspectives, none of which are interesting or cohesive. I hated every character in this book. When Sam went missing, I did not care. When main characters’s lives were in danger I did not care. The characterization and writing were so mediocre in this, I had to make myself sit down and read it.
Along with the subpar character and writing, is the atrocious plot and confusing plot twists. In The Perfect Mother, every twist was well thought out and explained. In Goodnight Beautiful, every twist was confusing, stupid, and a cheap shot at being shocking. There is also so much problematic dialogue from every single character. With the very thinly veiled misogyny, classism, and ignorance in this book I was shocked to see it was published as recently as 2020.
The plot in this book is a mix of Gone Girl and The Shining. Like the author chose her favorite books and just decided to rewrite them with the lamest, most unrealistic ending she could think of. I’m not sure what happened between her debut novel and this release, but it ain’t for me! This thriller came off as a Lifetime Drama where nothing really makes any sense or is any good, but it has all the tropes. If you love Lifetime made for tv moves this could be for you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Confinement, Death of parent, Medical content, Mental illness, and Misogyny