The following review is unsponsored. These are my feelings about the book and its contents, not the author themselves although background information about them may be included. This review may include profanity, spoilers, and a whole lot of chaos.
Rating system:
⭐️ = Did not finish/ hate it
⭐️ ⭐️ = I did not like it, would throw tomatoes
⭐️⭐️⭐️ = I like it, probably wouldn’t double back
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ = I would recommend this
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ = my soul has healed, I'm enlightened, 10s all across the board!
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⭐⭐⭐
Brain Damage by Freida McFadden
Kindle edition, 387 pages. | Kindle Unlimited ✅ | www.freidamcfadden.com
tags: psychological thriller | mystery | who done it
Initial Thoughts...
The idea of it sounded really interesting, but somehow I knew that 387 pages felt a little long. And I was right! A lot of information just seemed like unnecessary filler and the situation for Charly (FMC) just got more and more pathetic until it was resolved. There's a point where Charly has a dream of the night she was shot...and we read almost the exact same details in nearly 4 chapters back to back. If you're not going to add anything new, why say it over and over again?! I'm not mad, Freida, I'm just disappointed....
When you guess "who done it"...you'll be exactly right. In comparison to other McFadden hits...it doesn't even meet the mark, truly. I've been ranking them for a couple years now:
1. The Housemaid (5 stars)
2. The Locked Door (5 stars)
3. The Boyfriend (4 stars)
4. The Inmate (3 stars)
5. Brain Damage (2.75 stars)
I love McFadden as a pallet cleanser. So I'm not bummed this didn't really hit the way I would have hoped, but I kind of wish I just picked up her newest book - The Witch instead. This lady writes a book in 30 days it feels like! I'm tempted to say she's my generation's James Patterson or something...just always on the shelves but that doesn't mean every single thing is good. They all have the same unlikable characters and "who done it" concept anyways.
Summary...
We read the entire story from the victim's point of view. We know her thoughts and feelings as she navigates her current state of health recovering from a traumatic injury: a gun shot to the head. We also get glimpses of how events lead up to the shooting. Charlotte (Charly) is a victim of loving a man that doesn't deserve it - will she take note of the signs or will she crumble under the need to be loved back?
Some readers felt connected to the process of recovery that Charly goes through. Making friends in the hospital, making progress in healing (or not sometimes), and feeling guilt for having loved ones stressing on the outside all seemed really relatable and honest in lots of reviews.
Let us know in the comments, what's your favorite Freida McFadden book?
What author feels like a pallet cleanser to you?