Reviews with content warning for Death - Șoaptele

This book was way better than I expected! I read it really quickly and enjoyed it more than I anticipated. When you think about it, the plot isn't very deep or complex, but the way the author tells the stories about these families in the neighborhood just sucked me in. Each chapter is told from the perspective of one of the moms/neighbors.
Plot summary:

Four families live on this one street - 3 are friends and one is an OG outcast house that others are waiting to tear down and buy the land to build a new house. One family has the aesthetically pleasing wife with a powerhouse job, but she's a terrible mother with anger problems. This wife, Whitney's, best friend across the street is Blair. Blair is the perfect wife, turning a blind eye to her husband's obviously wandering eyes, and perfect mother to their daughter. Whitney and Blair envy each other, but Blair is unaware of Whitney's envy of Blair being the perfect mother. The 3rd family - Rebecca lives in the neighborhood, picture-perfect marriage and intense job of ER doctor. She desperately wants kids but has had 5 miscarriages. Whitney's oldest son and most challenging (to her) child falls from his 3rd story window. The book delves into what may have happened. In a nutshell- Blair thinks her husband is having an affair with Whitney. He's not, but he is a cheater that she just stays ignorant to. Whitney is a huge cheater, just to feel like she isn't trapped in her life of being a mom when she doesn't want to be. So a twist is that she isn't having an affair with Blair's husband, but with Rebecca's husband!!!! The supposedly sweet, kind, doting, affectionate husband! Whitney's son saw them having some wild sex on the patio one night, he yelled out for them to stop, and he fell out of his window. Whitney and her son had an argument that night so everyone, including her husband, thought that Whitney had pushed him because she can have explosive angry moments. In the Epilogue, her son is awake and fine and alive. She's desperate to show him she's still around and she didn't leave like she threatened before he fell out the window. He agrees to talk, it's a super tender moment. Bringing the book to a happy ending. Then basically the last line is the son saying "what will happen to you when I tell everyone what you did." 🎤⬇️ If I was a mom I feel like this would break my heart. But since I'm not, this feels perfectly calculated, cruel as only kids could be, and definitely not what i expected!!!!!!!

Content Warnings

mickid_booksnbees's review against another edition

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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

4.0

Content Warnings

amandaviljanen's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.5

Content Warnings

nloushoes's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

Rating: 🤗/4.25

Thoughts: A raw and DARK “more than mystery but not quite a thriller” focused around the women in a neighborhood and their struggles in marriage and motherhood. (I could see how this book can contain a lot of triggers so research if interested in reading)

Format: 👩🏻‍💻

Source: Currently Reading podcast

Content Warnings

shamaramill's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

Content Warnings

erindotdotdot's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad 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

4.75

Audrain’s writing invoked so many feelings. I wanted to scream at, cry for, and hug so many of the characters in various stages of their stories. Motherhood is complex. And the pressures society puts on women and mothers is immense. Audrain showcases this clearly in characters that crave motherhood, to those that should not have been a mother but became one anyway, and the mothers in-between.

Content Warnings

kimveach's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

4.25

This was both a good mystery and an excellent look at motherhood through the eyes of four different mothers.

Content Warnings

katiejohns's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-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

4.0

Content Warnings

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