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meloches's review against another edition
2.0
Grievance by Christine Bell was sort of an impulse pick I had while browsing through Netgalley one day. A novel marketed as a “haunting and suspenseful (novel) that draws readers into the world of a grieving widow stalked by a stranger bent on stealing away everything she has left- even her past.“ I figured it sounded completely original from anything else I have been reading; it isn’t often a grieving widow is at the core of a thriller novel.
Now that I have finished reading, I am not 100% sure how I felt about this one.
What I Liked:
I did enjoy the play on words with the title; discussing both the grief that the protagonist is going through and her complaints of the “do-gooder” around her. I thought that was a really clever aspect.
I also liked Bell’s voice throughout the text. I found that I was absolutely curious enough to keep reading, even though I was finding myself overly thrilled or connected to the text.
I also found that the aspect of grief and the psychology of grief that was core to the plot was quite interesting; it is a concept that is not discussed often in fiction so I found that was very original and had me intrigued.
What I Struggled With:
Grievance was not a thriller. I feel as if it was completely mis-marketed as such.
I also found that this one was quite a bit slower than I was expecting. It did pick up the pace near the end but, for the most part, it was pretty slow moving.
I also found that I couldn’t connect to any of the characters; I didn’t really feel anything throughout the whole text.
Overall, I feel like this one read like a contemporary drama or family fiction. If you like that style of novel, then maybe this one would be a better fit. However, if you want a thriller or something to keep you on the edge of your seat, this would be one I would skip.
Now that I have finished reading, I am not 100% sure how I felt about this one.
What I Liked:
I did enjoy the play on words with the title; discussing both the grief that the protagonist is going through and her complaints of the “do-gooder” around her. I thought that was a really clever aspect.
I also liked Bell’s voice throughout the text. I found that I was absolutely curious enough to keep reading, even though I was finding myself overly thrilled or connected to the text.
I also found that the aspect of grief and the psychology of grief that was core to the plot was quite interesting; it is a concept that is not discussed often in fiction so I found that was very original and had me intrigued.
What I Struggled With:
Grievance was not a thriller. I feel as if it was completely mis-marketed as such.
I also found that this one was quite a bit slower than I was expecting. It did pick up the pace near the end but, for the most part, it was pretty slow moving.
I also found that I couldn’t connect to any of the characters; I didn’t really feel anything throughout the whole text.
Overall, I feel like this one read like a contemporary drama or family fiction. If you like that style of novel, then maybe this one would be a better fit. However, if you want a thriller or something to keep you on the edge of your seat, this would be one I would skip.
rachelpiripi's review against another edition
3.0
This book made me really uncomfortable, not because it was bad (it was okay, easy to read) but because it was so creepy.
katressia's review
3.0
This book was pretty good. It took a while for much to happen in the book, but when the mystery got started I kept reading to find out what would happen. The end of the book was ok except that there was a minor character in the book that I took a special dislike to who makes a repeat appearance later.
brucefarrar's review
5.0
Lily Declan is grieving. It’s approaching the one-year anniversary of her husband’s death. The anxiety and torment resulting from accompanying him through chemotherapy and his long wasting away have been replaced by the disorientation, pain, anger, depression, and hypersensitivity of grief. It’s a time when many others think you should have gotten over it by now. It’s also a time when a rude stranger hitting your car in a parking lot can send you into an angry rage. These are common experiences for the bereaved, but Lily has an additional concern, she’s been receiving unwanted and unexpected gifts from someone, that are both benign and bizarre: a valentine from someone claiming to be one of her husband’s former girlfriends, an anonymous gift of a sexy nightgown, a free landscaping job and house cleaning including a rearrangement of her furniture.
Bell’s portrait of grief and the setting of her novel in middle Tennessee are vividly accurate, and the book’s nail-biting, page-turning conclusion kept this reader wide-awake until midnight. Five stars for both accuracy and thrills!
Bell’s portrait of grief and the setting of her novel in middle Tennessee are vividly accurate, and the book’s nail-biting, page-turning conclusion kept this reader wide-awake until midnight. Five stars for both accuracy and thrills!
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