u/avacado_for_life

I hesitated to pick this book up for the longest time simply because of the massive hype surrounding it. Initially, my fears felt justified as the pacing was quite slow, and I typically struggle to connect with heavy internal monologues. It frustrated me at first, but I knew it was meant to be a slow burn, so I stuck with it. I am so glad I did. Once the plot escalated, I was completely hooked. I literally could not stop reading and devoured the entire second half in just two hours.

This book is brilliantly written. It is so much more than a standard psychological thriller; it’s a profound exploration of how trauma shapes us and how some psychological wounds never truly leave you, even after years of therapy and healing. It absolutely blew my mind.

The character work here is phenomenal. Every single person has layers of depth:

• The Paranoia: The author masterfully manipulates your suspicion. Early on, when Yuri talked about liking a girl and stalking her, I was suspicious of him. My mind looked at everyone suspiciously, exactly as the author intended.
• Theo: He was the most fascinating character to me. Watching a borderline psychopath who cannot accept his own truth construct a completely useless alternate reality was gripping. He made his world so much about this one person that his entire sense of right and wrong blurred. His delusion that everything would be okay once Gabriel was gone and then going to Alicia just to absolve himself of the blame was peak borderline behavior.
• Alicia: My heart broke for her. She had been a victim of the people around her for her entire life. She carried so much internal rage and was just desperately looking for an escape. But end up being dissapointed by all the men in her life. (the most important ones)
• The Parallels: The juxtaposition of Gabriel and Kathy’s storylines was brilliant, how they were so similar, yet so distinctly different.
• The Reveal: I actually started piecing it together right when Theo began following Gabriel; I got the sneaking suspicion that he was the killer himself. Even seeing it coming, the reveal was beautifully written. But my absolute favorite part of the ending was the truth about Alicia actually pulling the trigger, tying perfectly back to the Alcestis myth.

I finished this yesterday and woke up still thinking about it this morning. A thoroughly gripping, thought-provoking read that is entirely worth the hype!

I hesitated to pick this book up for the longest time simply because of the massive hype surrounding it. Initially, my fears felt justified as the pacing was quite slow, and I typically struggle to connect with heavy internal monologues. It frustrated me at first, but I knew it was meant to be a slow burn, so I stuck with it. I am so glad I did. Once the plot escalated, I was completely hooked. I literally could not stop reading and devoured the entire second half in just two hours.

This book is brilliantly written. It is so much more than a standard psychological thriller; it’s a profound exploration of how trauma shapes us and how some psychological wounds never truly leave you, even after years of therapy and healing. It absolutely blew my mind.

The character work here is phenomenal. Every single person has layers of depth:

• The Paranoia: The author masterfully manipulates your suspicion. Early on, when Yuri talked about liking a girl and stalking her, I was suspicious of him. My mind looked at everyone suspiciously, exactly as the author intended.
• Theo: He was the most fascinating character to me. Watching a borderline psychopath who cannot accept his own truth construct a completely useless alternate reality was gripping. He made his world so much about this one person that his entire sense of right and wrong blurred. His delusion that everything would be okay once Gabriel was gone and then going to Alicia just to absolve himself of the blame was peak borderline behavior.
• Alicia: My heart broke for her. She had been a victim of the people around her for her entire life. She carried so much internal rage and was just desperately looking for an escape. But end up being dissapointed by all the men in her life. (the most important ones)
• The Parallels: The juxtaposition of Gabriel and Kathy’s storylines was brilliant, how they were so similar, yet so distinctly different.
• The Reveal: I actually started piecing it together right when Theo began following Gabriel; I got the sneaking suspicion that he was the killer himself. Even seeing it coming, the reveal was beautifully written. But my absolute favorite part of the ending was the truth about Alicia actually pulling the trigger, tying perfectly back to the Alcestis myth.

I finished this yesterday and woke up still thinking about it this morning. A thoroughly gripping, thought-provoking read that is entirely worth the hype!

So I am very new to reading, all my life I tried reading books but they were self help, it only occured to me that I am not a person, I am more of a curious deep thinker and I love stories
So I started with this book ' Before the coffee gets cold' my boyfriend gave it to me, and then I read A Thousand spended suns, I was so so overwhelmed with emotions so i Went with Housemaid.

Now I am confused between some books , help me

silent patient, Good girls guide to murder, Days at the Morisaki Bookshop, Veirty, Housemaid secret, Pallace of illusion, Shiv triology
Your recommendations would be appreciated

#THRILLER