My Dark Vanessa

Finished it in 2 days! This book has gripped me in a way I haven’t felt since I was younger about a voracious reader. Largely due to the brilliant narration. The actual story left me feeling deeply frustrated and sickened in some aspects, but sympathetic and understanding by the end.

I am not okay

I listened to it twice! The first time around I couldn't stop listening. The second time listening I took my time and paid attention to every detail. The author perfectly discribes how complicated feelings can be within a toxic (and in this case illegal) relationship. I trink I cried a couple of times alongside Vanessa! It makes you reevaluate your own experiences as a woman and it leaves you with compassion for Vanessa. Grace Gummer did an absolutely amazing job narrating this book and giving Vanessa a voice that perfectly shows how the Trauma changes her over the years!

Julia

I‘d rate it at least six stars if I could! The topic is very disturbing and trigger warnings should be taken seriously but it‘s so important at the same time. I will keep this story forever in my heart. Mrs Russel is a genius for making the story come to life in a way I often had to remind myself the story is fictional.

I am honestly very confused as to how I should rate this book. Purely based on the story? The way it was told? The characters? The way it made me feel? A sum of all of it, I guess. And how is my overall feeling? 3 stars at best. First of all, the narrator did a good job, but I am sure that if I would have read Jacob's voice myself, it would have sounded very predatory. The narrator, however, made him sound like an unknowing doofus. Reading it myself, I might have had the experience of the book portraying all the manipulation and gaslighting that Strane did and which skewed Vanessa's view of reality, however, the narrator made the dialog and narration of the book seem like it was all normal (at least in the beginning). The latter part of the book was overpowered by the bitter taste left in my mouth of the first half. No characters were likeable. Not even Vanessa. My heart goes out to everyone and anyone who has experienced the betrayal and abuse of all the adults involved. One thi