The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde - UPDATED REVIEW

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde  Genre : Classics Blurb (on back of book) : Oscar Wilde’s only novel is the dreamlike story of a young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty. In this celebrated work Wilde forged a devastating portrait of the effects of evil and debauchery on a young aesthete in late-19th-century England. Combining elements of the Gothic horror novel and decadent French fiction, the book centers on a striking premise: As Dorian Gray sinks into a life of crime and gross sensuality, his body retains perfect youth and vigor while his recently painted portrait grows day by day into a hideous record of evil, which he must keep hidden from the world. For over a century, this mesmerizing tale of horror and suspense has enjoyed wide popularity. It ranks as one of Wilde's most important creations and among the classic achievements of its kind. UPDATED REVIEW MY OPINION : ****** I would like to start out this review by stating that this is undoubtedly m
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The Housemaid - Freida McFadden

The Housemaid by Freida McFadden
Genre: Thriller

Blurb (on back of book): “Welcome to the family,” Nina Winchester says as I shake her elegant, manicured hand. I smile politely, gazing around the marble hallway. Working here is my last chance to start fresh. I can pretend to be whoever I like. But I’ll soon learn that the Winchesters’ secrets are far more dangerous than my own…
Every day I clean the Winchesters’ beautiful house top to bottom. I collect their daughter from school. And I cook a delicious meal for the whole family before heading up to eat alone in my tiny room on the top floor.
I try to ignore how Nina makes a mess just to watch me clean it up. How she tells strange lies about her own daughter. And how her husband Andrew seems more broken every day. But as I look into Andrew’s handsome brown eyes, so full of pain, it’s hard not to imagine what it would be like to live Nina’s life. The walk-in closet, the fancy car, the perfect husband.
I only try on one of Nina’s pristine white dresses once. Just to see what it’s like. But she soon finds out… and by the time I realize my attic bedroom door only locks from the outside, it’s far too late.
But I reassure myself: the Winchesters don’t know who I really am.
They don’t know what I’m capable of…
An unbelievably twisty read that will have you glued to the pages late into the night. Anyone who loves The Woman in the Window, The Wife Between Us and The Girl on the Train won’t be able to put this down!

MY OPINION: ***

Note to self: stop going into random books blindly.

I picked this up as a result of my self-imposed romance book ban. My last couple of books have become over-saturated with the sticky, cheesy, sickeningly-sweet tang of romance and cliche tropes to the point where I now cannot stand another one of them for a long time. I must state that I am briefly interrupting this hiatus with a reread of one of my favorite rom-coms but this is solely because there is a movie version of it coming out in four (4) days and I have to refresh my memory of this particular book's events. However, as soon as this is done, I plan to live free of romance novels for a good amount of time. 

So, as one does, I started looking towards completely different genres to try to remove the gross flavor of the romance books that I have read this summer (which were not even that good) and picked up a thriller/mystery novel for the first time in a while. I went through a very <b>brief</b> phase last year with these kinds of books but I didn't really get hooked into it. I thought I'd try again because you know, new year, new me.

I don't know what I was expecting from this one but I just know I saw it on TikTok everywhere I went after ignoring every romance recommendation. I heard good things about it from a couple of online friends and so I decided this must be the time even though it's literally summer and not the season for thrillers. I heard it was a better version of Colleen Hoover's Verity, which is one of the only Colleen Hoover books I truly enjoyed. Maybe not loved, but enjoyed. 

I have to say, this read exactly like Verity so take of that what you will. If you didn't like that book, you probably won't like this one. However, one of my good friends loved Verity but apparently didn't like this one so maybe I'm just wrong (I'm never wrong, though).

This book follows Millie, the most desperate woman I've ever read about. She is willing to risk her life for a job, especially as she has just gotten out of prison and is living in her car. I don't know about you, but if I feel like my life is in danger and that I am literally on the set of a horror movie, I would run, money or not. I'd rather sell feet pics on the internet than live with some creepy old lady and her equally creepy Hereditary-esque child. 

The first part of this book was... well, it was anything but tolerable. I hated Nina with a passion and every single word that that woman said to Millie made me want to throw the book across the room. Alas, I read this on my phone so that would not have ended well, but that was the only thing restraining me from figuratively ripping up these pages. It was so incredibly frustrating to read about the sickening demands of Nina and her spoiled child. 

However, we must remember we are reading from the perspective of an unreliable narrator. I will not share any spoilers but this book did an amazing job of highlighting the problematic consequences of such a perspective. Part 2 and 3 were insane. I did not see the plot twist coming, though looking back, I feel like I was oblivious more so than usual. It's not necessarily predictable but all in all, it's not that surprising either. I think the second half of the book was more revolting than shocking, so definitely look up some trigger warnings before opening this book. 

I read this in the dark at 4am for two nights in a row and finished it very quickly. It was creepy at first but I will say if you're someone who is scared easily by horror novels, this is not that bad. I don't think it was nightmare-inducing or anything of the sort, so take of that what you will. 

Overall, I think the thing that kept me from rating this book higher was the fact that I was so angry the entire time at literally every single one of the characters. Aside from Enzo, the gardener(?), absolutely no character was tolerable at any point in this book. Even the child was like a demon from hell. I understand perfectly that this was the point of each character but I could NOT stand it. I was just so annoyed and frustrated the entire time, which in turn spoiled my reading experience. 

I will say that if you were looking for a good thriller and you're fairly new to the genre, this was entertaining. I wouldn't say it was incredible or that the plottwist will have you falling out of your seat, so if you're a veteran thriller reader and want to find something more unique, then this is not for you.

Main Character: Millie, Nina
Sidekick(s): Friends, family
Villain(s): I cannot say
Thriller Elements: This was a mystery/suspense novel.

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