‘OMG!!!!! This book is in my top 10 for 2019.’ NetGalley Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐‘I raced through it, often with my heart in my throat!’ NetGalley Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐‘Wow! So not what I was expecting. But in the best way possible!’ NetGalley Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐It happens to every mother. One day, the daughter whose whole world you once were, becomes someone you barely know. And you don’t know the secrets she’s … know. And you don’t know the secrets she’s hiding…
One night, 15-year-old Olivia comes home late from a party she was strictly forbidden from going to, and she and her mother, Hannah, start arguing. Soon Olivia speaks the words that every parent has heard from their teenage child:
‘I hate you. You’ve ruined my life. And I’m never speaking to you again.’
Olivia has never been an easy child, a sharp contrast to her easy-going, happy-go-lucky little sister. But Hannah thinks Olivia’s outburst is the end of a normal family argument. In fact, it’s only the beginning of a nightmare…
After one day of silence, Hannah thinks Olivia is taking a teenage sulk too far. After two days, she starts to feel anxious that something more serious could be going on. After a week, when her daughter still hasn’t spoken, Hannah knows that Olivia is hiding a bigger darkness – something that could threaten to tear their precious family apart…
The Argument is an unputdownable psychological thriller that asks how far we can push our families before they finally break. Perfect for fans of Gillian Flynn, The Woman in the Window, and The Silent Patient.
Readers are loving The Argument
‘It got me from page one and I couldn’t stop reading ‘til I found out how it would end.’ Goodreads Reviewer, 5 stars
‘I got so totally engrossed… I read it in under a day… A brilliant psychological thriller.’ NetGalley Reviewer
‘The TWIST (and I write that in caps that incredible of a twist it was) made my jaw hit the floor when it happened… I couldn’t put it down…’ Goodreads Reviewer
‘Fantastic… so well written and emotional… I would highly, highly recommend this book.’ NetGalley Reviewer, 5 stars
‘From the first page, I was swept right in… I read late into the night. So many twists that I never saw coming… highly recommend.’ NetGalley Reviewer, 5 stars
‘Am still in shock after reading this… brilliant… a must read.’ Goodreads Reviewer, 5 stars
‘Usually I can see twists coming… But this book. Oh man. I had no idea this was going to happen, I did not see it coming.’ Goodreads Reviewer
‘Never saw that twist coming.’ Goodreads Reviewer
‘A devastatingly good book… if this doesn’t leave you shuddering nothing will. Brilliantly well done.’ NetGalley Reviewer, 5 starsmore
Hands down, this is one of the most twisted books I have read in recent memory. The author does an incredible job of keeping the reader guessing as to the true identities of the protagonist and antagonist. Is Olivia an annoying, misbehaving teenager, or is Hannah an unusually overbearing mother? Or is there something deeper going on? You’ll have to read the book to find out because I can’t do the plot of this story justice without giving away spoilers. Go and grab it now! For a complete review, visit my blog at Fireflies and Free Kicks Fiction Reviews. This review was written based on a digital, pre-release copy of the book.
A very good psychological thriller where you can’t figure out who is telling the truth, who is the aggrieved party. Anyone who has had teenagers knows what I mean. But then the TWIST comes and my mouth was wide open! It becomes crystal clear all of a sudden what is going on and speeds to a spectacular finish.
So I think this story has potential, but I can’t say I loved it as is, though I did enjoy reading it. It’s a simple premise – a mother and daughter argue after the daughter, Olivia, was caught having snuck out to a party. Olivia gets so angry with her mother, Hannah, that she swears never to talk to her again. And that’s pretty much it. The story continues along with Olivia speaking only to her younger sister, Rosie, and remaining silent with her mother and father for several days. At the same time, she starts acting out at school, getting herself suspended and in even more trouble at home.
We soon start to realize that Olivia is in desperate need of attention, we just don’t quite know why. Hannah’s internal dialogue paints Olivia as this rebellious child that asks too many questions and doesn’t appreciate what she has. But we can tell there’s something not quite right with Hannah, either. She constantly dotes on Rosie and distances herself from Olivia with no real reason why. It’s hinted at that Hannah has some secrets of her own from when she was a teenager – could that be the key behind her strange behavior?
The reader comes to learn some twisted secrets about this family and there’s a surprising reveal, but I think it takes too long to get there and some readers won’t stick it out to see what’ it’s all about. A large portion of the book is slowly paced, spent on the characters internal conflicts without much action to the story. I think it was worth it, but it will be up to the reader to decide for themselves.
It starts off with daughter Olivia being told by mom Hannah that she cannot attend a party. Being 15 years old, she’s doing what most teenagers do …. sneak out of the house and attend the party anyway. After all… what can happen … right?
Hannah waits up, worrying about her daughter, especially since her husband is out of town working. When Olivia finally gets home, she’s slightly tipsy, and the argument begins.
What parent has never heard … I hate you … I’m never going to speak to you again … at least once?
Olivia is determined, if nothing else. She doesn’t speak for a day … she doesn’t speak for a week… Hannah is almost enjoying the peace and quiet. But then … she doesn’t know what the future holds …. and a nightmare begins.
What starts out as a family drama, it soon turns into something much more deadly. There are twists and turns that rival a roller coaster ride. Surprise after surprise kept me riveted to the pages. And the ending was utterly unpredictable.
Many thanks to the author / Bookouture / Netgalley for the digital copy of this unputdownable psychological thriller. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
A Mother and A daughter. Secrets, lies.
Add in a father and a sister.
One messed up family. Or so one thinks.
Hannah the mom is not likeable but she plays off well against the daughters Olivia and Rose.
The story slowly reels you in. I found myself thinking I am missing something here but what?
Then comes the big twist, I never saw coming.
Great read, makes you think about this very dysfunctional family.
THanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for a great read.
As readers, Jenkins leads us to believe that this story is mostly about a dramatic teenager, a sulk gone too far. An argument and a typical teenage outburst of ‘I hate you. You’ve ruined my life. And I’m never speaking to you again.’ As a mother of three, I dread these words. Which mother wouldn’t? We know the teenage years are coming, but can we ever truly be ready for them? Having read The Argument, I only wish this were the case for teenager Olivia and her little sister Rosie. Sadly, this couldn’t be farther from the truth.
//
I enjoyed the mystery of the diary pages, the little snippets here and there leaving you guessing who wrote it. Was it teenaged Olivia? Or was it her mother, Hannah? Personally, I wasn’t fond of Hannah’s character from the get-go. I know I can be a strict mom from time to time, but Hannah always seemed to take it too far. Always assuming guilt for reasons unrevealed until the latter part of the book. Additionally, I would have loved a chapter dedicated to Rosie and her journey; in the end, I feel like that would have tied everything together nicely, giving the reader a perspective from a much younger mindset. All-in-all everything came together quite well with enough backstory to provide an understanding of the characters – not an agreement by any means, but at least an eye-opener into particular sick and twisted, misguided minds.
//
More times then not, I can usually guess the ending or ‘twist,’ this time, however, I did not see it coming! I was able to figure out one of the reveals regarding Olivia’s parentage, but that twist was something else. For the first almost three-quarters of the book, it felt like I was reading a family drama. I knew there was supposed to be a twist at the end, something psychological, but going in, I had no idea just how fast-paced and truly shocking the last quarter would play out! I commend Victoria Jenkins for throwing me for a loop, dragging me along only to leave me utterly jaw-dropped!
//
I enjoyed The Argument, I liked trying to figure out exactly where it was going. I rated it four-stars. I would happily recommend this book to anyone looking for a family drama mixed with psychological thriller because let’s face it – that last quarter was a pure psychological thrill! Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher Bookouture, and the author Victoria Jenkins for providing me with an advanced reader copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.
//
I just reviewed The Argument by Victoria Jenkins. #The Argument #VictoriaJenkins #NetGalley #Bookouture #MistysCornerReviews
The Argument by Victoria Jenkins is a twisted psychological thriller that kept me guessing. We follow the perspectives of Hannah and her fifteen-year-old daughter Olivia. Hannah loves being a stay-at-home mom. She has two beautiful daughters, a lovely home, and a husband who loves her dearly. She knows that she’s a bit strict and overprotective of her children but she has their best interests at heart.
Olivia is sick and tired of being told what to do by her parents and is determined to break all their rules.
At first, you can’t help but feel sorry for Hannah who is having a hard time coping with Olivia’s sudden hatred towards her. Or maybe you feel sorry for Olivia who just wants her mother to love her as much as she loves her younger sister Rosie. But all is not as it appears to be. That’s because one of them is an unreliable narrator and the other one is withholding information from the reader.
I enjoyed this book. The plot is dark, addictive, and had just the amount of tension and suspense to keep me turning the pages. This was one messed up family and while I had a few theories about what was going on, the twist completely shocked me. If you like thrillers centered on family drama, then this is the perfect book for you.
Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to Net Gallery for providing a free digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
2.5 maybe 3 stars
Oh, where to start?! First off, The Argument was not a horrible book, just didn’t live up to the hype as a Psychological Thriller. For the first 3/4 of the book, I would classify it under more of a family drama. Olivia is a bratty 15 year old kid who gets in a fight with her mom and stops talking to both parents. First half of the book is nothing great, but readable. We then come to the big twist at the 3/4 mark. Did not see any of it coming. To be honest, it felt like the ending didn’t fit. Felt like there was no real hints to make the twist believable.
Oh well, next….
This was a hard book to review. I had a hard time getting into it until almost the half-way mark when it suddenly became a page turner. The first half seemed to be a lot of banter between a helicopter mum and a rebellious bratty teenager. Once things started to fall into place, I really liked it. It is a complicated story with lots of surprises. Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC of this interesting book in exchange for an honest review. I will give it 3-1/2 stars.