This book is a Mystery/Thriller that kept me wanting more till the very end. We'll developed storyline & characters. Will recommend to others who would enjoy it.

Sadly this was a no for me. It just wasn't what i thought It'd be. The description didn't go to the book.
Thanks Netgalley for the Arc

This wasn’t what I was expecting from the description and cover. Unfortunately I couldn’t get interested.

3-4 stars! This was not my favorite book, while I thought it was a chilling use of multiple personality disorders, something was missing. I thought that it was well written, but I think the characters may have been done in a manner that kept me from getting completely emerged in the novel. Recommend to those who are looking for a book that would enjoy a book using multiple disorders to create an intriguing story!
Will make sure I buzz it up on different platforms!

What a compelling look into multiple personality disorder. I was sucked in on page one and couldn't put the book down until I finished. The depth of the story and the imagination of the author were WOW! I want to read more from Chung.

I really liked the concept of the book. I wish they didn't have her end up working at high-end gentleman’s club. It seemed like such a cheesy setup. Why couldn't she have uncovered a secret somewhere else? A high-end gentleman’s club just seemed really dated to me. The whole sex ring seemed sort of fake.

I personally had to DNF this book because of a couple of things - this book felt long in a way that a book of this size doesn't always feel. I wanted to enjoy this but the pacing felt a little off for me. I also found the subject matter a bit dense and hard to get through. While I didn't personally enjoy the book, I appreciated the writing style and the topic and themes that the author was trying to explore and would recommend this book for people who are interested in mental health and books dealing with this topic.

This book shines on every level: sentence after sentence is beautiful and precise. The characters are complicated and sympathetic, the ideas are sweeping and profound, but are never too overt. It’s a rare novel that is as accomplished in its meaning as it is in its storytelling while also succeeding wildly on the language level as well! A novel to lose yourself in and then reflect upon again and again.

Thank you to NetGalley for a Kindle ARC of The Eighth Girl.

One of my favorite books in high school was Sybil. Imagine my disappointment when I discovered, years later, it had all been a hoax, but I remember enjoying the narrative and the way it was written.

That's why I was so excited when my request was approved for The Eighth Girl.

Sadly, The Eighth Girl did not meet my expectations for a number of reasons.

First, the tone of the writing sounded immature, though that may be due to the fact that Alexa is a young woman and her numerous personalities are various ages. Still, the tone felt off.

Second, the inclusion of the psychiatrist, Daniel, and his personal issues, felt unnecessary. I didn't mind insight into his life as he grieved the loss of his wife, his tenuous relationship with his only daughter and his determination to remain sober, but then we got trivial drama involving his booty call and his personal feelings about Alexa, which became one cliche too many.

Third, it was difficult for me to suspend disbelief that Alexa could pull off busting a sex trafficking ring.

I understand why the author chose to include such a farfetched plan in the plot; to allow Alexa a breaking point in which she must come face to face with the horrific traumas of her past and finally begin to heal and integrate the halves of her self into one fully integrated self.

Still, I couldn't suspend disbelief and that outweighed any enjoyment I might have received from reading The Eighth Girl.

I did like how the author takes the reader into the root and cause of multiple personality disorder or DID and helps readers make sense of this unfortunate mental illness.

A Violent Fire is a wonderful, dark and incredibly rich mystery thriller novel, so well built and fast paced that I wasn't able to put it down till I reached the end. I was absolutely captivated by the atmosphere and characters.

This novel submerges the reader in a landscape so imaginative and detailed that the information of the world building, as complex as it is, never feels forced, and is never difficult to understand or picture in one's mind.

Alexa Wu is having another headache. This happens when the others are trying to leave the nest. Right now she is concerned about her best friend Ella. Ella is wanting to join the workforce at the Electra Club. The club may appear as just a club. Ella has shared with Alexa that Electra masquerades as a human trafficking ring. A place where young girls, children are kidnapped or bought from family. Some of the girls are as young as eleven. They are being groomed to enter into the sex trade business.Alexa and Ella are determined to bring the ring down. The nest will help. Dolly, Runner, and the others will all help. The hard part is not being caught.
Excellent and clever read. Loved the characters. Surprise ending!

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing.

This is not what I expected! I was so intrigued to read something original, mind bending, thrilling but I got something meh, hmmm okay not bad but not so good either, in Italian let’s say “quasi quasi” kind of psychological fiction not a thriller because there is nothing surprising makes you sit at the edge of your seat and bite your fresh manicured nails, gives you heavy breathing!

I loved everything written or adapted into movie about “Multiple personality disorder”. I watched JamesMcAvoy’s “Split” 100 times, I even watched “Glass” 3 times ( I hated it but I watched more than one time because see more McAvoy’s craziness and his transformation to the Beast!). As novels: I read several times “Sybil” and I also recommend, JB Salsbury’s “Split” (Of course I also visualize hero as James McAvoy’s kilt wearing version!!!), Liz Coley’s “Pretty Girl 13”, Alessandra Torre’s okay I’m stopping at here because if I tell you the book’s name it will mean I also give a very big spoiler to ruin the surprise (but I think most of you got which book I’m talking about!)

I’m giving my three, it didn’t blow my mind stars and forming my unpopular, stop throwing at me rooted tomatoes and plan to exile me to the minority purgatory review!
The story introduces us Alexa Wu suffering who has different personalities make her feel like there are a big crowd of different people reside in her brain and share her body. But the way of telling story just irritated me. There was something raw, awkward and compelling to empathize with the character. I have to admit I learned so many things about this psychological illness.

Alexa hangs out with best friend Ella at a gentlemen’s club named “Electra” and the entire story takes place between the closed doors of the bar. Alexa’s different personalities start to show themselves and create scenes including so much emotional turmoil, hysterical outbursts. There is nothing surprising, breathtaking, twisty or mysterious. This is a good approach from different perspective to the definition of the illness. The good thing is I didn’t get bored but the bad thing about it, I was waiting some deliciously exciting, mysterious, puzzling story but unfortunately I couldn’t get it which made me a little disappointed. But writing is still promising and I want to give more chances to upcoming works of the author.

Special thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers for sharing this ARC COPY with me in exchange my honest review.

With the help of her new psychiatrist, Daniel, Alexa is trying to navigate her life with dissociative identity disorder (multiple personalities). She is drawn by her best friend Ella into the underworld of sex work and possible trafficking, trying to protect Ella and help some of the girls who are being exploited, while juggling her alter seleves and their various relationships, problems, etc. I don't really know how I feel about this. I love the idea of a book about DID, but I was not that taken in by the plot to sort of take down the strip club owners. I wanted to tell Alexa, Either go to the police or don't get involved at all! Of course some of the events were not surprising, but one thing did happen that I didn't expect. This was a compelling book and I really wanted to keep reading, but again, I was annoyed by some of Alexa's behavior and I also kept anticipating a certain thing happening (which I was right about). 3.5 stars rounded to 3.

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

I loved this one. Very fast paced, had me turning pages as I tore through it – I had to see how it would end. The characters were well rounded and the narrative felt believable. Gave me chills. Solid five

This was an interesting read. I had hoped I would be able to get into it more, but it just wasn’t the book for me.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

Epigraph:

“The girl would see, in the locking of her mind with Freud’s, how cruelly her own understanding had deceived her.”
-Philip Rieff, Introduction to Dora: An Analysis of a Case of Hysteria, by Sigmund Freud

The Eighth Girl by Maxine Mei-Fung Chung takes a perceptive look into the heart of mental illness and even more so into Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). While I was expecting more of an in-your-face psychological thriller, I was captivated with the way the story progressed.
The Eighth Girl is most definitely a suspenseful thriller but the underlying issues of Alexa’s DID makes for a more compelling read and although Alexa’s ‘flock’ of personalities makes her an unreliable narrator, it really worked for this story. I was fascinated by the interactions between Alexa and her new therapist, Daniel along with the past history Alexa had of trauma and abuse that lead to her dissociative disorder. It’s absolutely heart-breaking and as the author points out in the book there are many in the world that will take advantage of someone in this scenario.

I think this is an eye-opener of a book that explores the pain of mental illness in a setting that could be all too real.
A big thank you to Netgalley, Harper Collins Publishing, and William Morrow for providing this galley for my honest review.