Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

The Housemaid by Freida McFadden

37 reviews

kjm19's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I haven’t read a book like this in a very long time - probably since the Girl on the Train?

An incredibly fast-paced crime/thriller novel about a woman on parole who is hired to be a live-in family maid. You can see twists and turns coming for the most part, but you don’t know the specifics and that’s what keeps you on your toes. 

The change of POV at a critical point in the story didn’t leave me wanting more, in fact it answered some questions but also gave me a thirst for more answers. 

The plot centring on the injustices of the prison system and how poorly women in abusive relationships are treated by law enforcement and the ‘establishment’ made it more impactful for me. 

Other than the police chief person’s daughter being Andy’s ex (cliche, lazy, forced…), the ending (last chapter with Andy’s mum at the funeral and the epilogue with Millie being interviewed at a new place) chefs kiss. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Torture, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Sexism, Deportation, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Stalking, Blood, Body shaming, Suicide attempt, Violence, Alcohol, Body horror, Grief, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse

koreydobbert's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Body shaming, Bullying, Mental illness, Violence, Domestic abuse, Self harm, Torture, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Child abuse, and Forced institutionalization

brenda89's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad slow-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? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Misogyny, and Murder

pamshenanigans's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

A fast-paced and compelling story about Millie, the Winchester’s new housemaid who’s desperate for a job and money. Millie has to deal with the mental and physical gymnastics of working for Nina Winchester who seems hell-bent to make her life miserable. 

It’s already quite challenging for me to be surprised or impressed by a plot twist in a thriller book because I’ve already read quite a lot. However, The Housemaid took me by surprise with the second half of the book! While I have some gripe about the main character being naive and uncharacteristically stupid at times, I had a lot of fun reading this. 

The book is told in 2 POVs, Millie’s and Nina’s. I found the second half of the book more gripping story-wise, while the first half was compelling when it comes to the pacing. 

The ending was interesting because aside from getting a satisfying resolution to the story, there’s a hint of the possibility of a sequel and getting more out of Millie’s story. Found out that there IS a sequel. I’ll definitely read it! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Misogyny, and Domestic abuse

jessclarkee's review

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Infertility, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Body shaming, Confinement, Dysphoria, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Toxic friendship, Torture, Death, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, Misogyny, Mental illness, Violence, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Murder, Drug use, and Toxic relationship

adriapeters's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Torture, and Toxic relationship

mollykmyers's review against another edition

The book became wayyy too dark and creepy. The torture and gaslighting was too much for me 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Infidelity, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Confinement, Infertility, Misogyny, Mental illness, Body shaming, and Gaslighting

emspeid's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Torture, Murder, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Body shaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, and Toxic relationship

ynaiita_5896's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

🗝️ This book has everything a good thriller asks for: times suspense, a tense environment, an exhilarating thrill and a sense of mystique and an ominous ambience that pulls you into the plot. McFadden is a genius and this book deserves all the laud and popularity it received.

🗝️ This book met all of my expectations. Which is why I read it in less than a day. The plot twists were perfectly introduced, in a way you'd never expect. The characters were not lovable in the traditional and obvious way. But they came with a level of intrigue so strong and convincing that you're hooked.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Confinement, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting

nialiversuch's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Abandonment, Death, Fatphobia, Domestic abuse, Bullying, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, Infidelity, Body shaming, Physical abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse

Minor: Sexual content, Xenophobia, Child death, and Death of parent