Well written and engaging but for me, it's lacking more of an actual plot. This book could have been developed into something a lot more.

Unfortunately this book didn't work for me at all. The POV was repetitive and a little clunky, and I know part of this was intentional, but it felt tedious.

This book was very thorough in its detail of the characters and plot but because of this it took me too long to get into it and I struggled to finish it, but I persevered and was glad I did as the the ending was great. However I could just as easily not have finishes it

This book was very detailed when talking through the characters and plot and it took me a long time to get into the book due to the extended storyline. However, three quarters in and the book heated up, it took several twists, the build up was worth the perseverance and the ending was great.

Overall I did enjoy the book as the ending was brilliant but I feel that the detail in the lead up at times detracted and left me struggling to get into the book.

This is the story of Mike & Verity, or rather the twisted ‘love story’ of Mike & Verity, that I found both gripping and terrifying.
The story starts from Mikes perspective, who is in prison but for what crime we do not know at this point. Why he is prison we do not know, but as the story goes on we come to realise that all is not well with Mike. He and Verity share a long history and it would be fair to say that when they were a couple it become a very creepy obsessive ‘love’ story. Eventually he and Verity split up and Verity meets and subsequently marries. Mike does not accept that they are over however, and thinks that Verity’s actions are all part of their ‘Crave’ a strange sexually charged game that they used to play when they were together, where Verity would flirt and ‘pick up’ men whilst Mike looked on from a distance, and then at some signal from Verity Mike would ‘swoop in like ‘a Knight in shining armour’ and rescue her from ‘unwanted attentions’. This obsession eventually leads to tragedy, but the story does not end there.
I do not want to say too much more so as not to ruin the story. But I would say that if you want to read a really tense psychological thriller then look no further than this book.

Our kind of cruelty is an original psychological thriller. It's not the husband beating the wife, someone who has a hidden past, normally abuse kind of thriller it's actually properly mind twisting. Mike the 30 year old lead character starts writing from prison, he tells the whole story of his life with Verity ending with what happens next. V, is the ex girlfriend who it's fair to say Mike was obsessed about, they enjoyed a long relationship where they played a sexual fantasy game they called the crave. This involved pretending to be strangers in a bar letting blokes chat up V then Mike going in to rescue her, all pretty tame really but, the cues they used were non verbal so confused Mike into misunderstanding of verbal meanings.
After their break up Mike finds it difficult to come to terms with it and has violent outbursts. Mike's difficult past was talked about and how these things effects his anger, however, I thought the fact he is clearly autistic would explain many more of the issues he was having. He is convinced V still loves him and will do anything to save her.

The characters are well written with sympathy coming easily. I did read it in a weekend so I obviously found it a page turner. I would recommend to those that want a change from the norm, a male perspective and a proper psychological thriller.

After going through my blog post drafts, I realised I had a half-finished review of Our Kind of Cruelty by Araminta Hall. Rather than attempt a full review, I thought I would share my thoughts in a Recently Read post. Verity loves Mike. Mike loves Verity. They have a special game called the Crave; they will both go to the same bar and Verity will pretend to be single and invite attention from other men. When other men approach her, Mike will intervene and whisk her away. *raises eyebrows* Different strokes for different folks and all that. When Mike is sent to America for his job, the distance is too much and Mike and Verity split up. However, Mike is adamant that it is only temporary. Even when Verity announces her engagement to another man, Mike is insistent it’s just a bigger game of Crave. Isn’t it? Oh wow, it is no exaggeration to say I was absolutely addicted to this novel, and in any spare moment I got, I was reading it. I found myself constantly guessing throughout. Is it a game? Is it not a game? IS IT A GAME? It drove me wild (in a good way!). The story was told from the perspective of Mike, and it was interesting to pick up subtle clues from his interactions with other people. Mike was an engaging narrator and in fact, he reminded me of Joe in You by Caroline Kepnes, so if you enjoyed that book you should consider picking this one up too. I rated Our Kind of Cruelty 4* as I desperately wanted Verity’s version of events, even if it was just a short epilogue.

Mike adores Verity. She’s everything to him. His troubled background makes him crave security and love and he thinks Verity is the answer to everything. And he thinks she feels the same. At first she does, and she’s a willing participant in the excitement of their game. But when things change, Mike can’t accept it. And the story gets incredibly dark.

I’m really in two minds about this book. It is well-written, well-paced (not a twisty, turny roller coaster, but a good, slow burner), it’s gripping, and involving. It’s also an extremely thought-provoking and honest account of how women are treated, of how assumptions are made of them, how they better not like sex, or they will be judged. And I think that’s something very important.

That said, I did feel that Mike’s character was a little stereotypical. He’s badly affected by his childhood but there must be something else that makes him behave the way he does. It can’t be that simple. It’s a rather flat portrayal of mental health problems and it does get a little tiring, as someone with experience of mental health issues, to see such ‘easy’ motivations for unlikeable characters.

That said, the scenes that explore the treatment of Verity are excellent, timely, valid, important – the novel is well-worth reading for this alone.

Recommended.

I've tried to read this book three times but struggled each time. I do like the idea of the blog but I found it really difficult to get past the first few chapters. I would love to be able to put my finger on the reason why but I can't. Such a shame as I see so many people have really enjoyed it.

I will try again at some point.

This book had me totally gripped from beginning to end. I found myself looking for reasons to hide away with it for a few minutes, desperate to know what was going to happen next. I found the tension almost unbearable, and the plotting so skilful – I just couldn’t tear my eyes away from what was unfolding before me.

Mike and Verity are no longer together. But when they were together, they played a game in which Verity would sit alone at a bar and wait for a man to approach her, and Mike would step in before anything could happen. Now, living alone, Mike believes they are playing a more elaborate version of this game. He believes that Verity still loves him as much as he loves her, and that she wants him to rescue her from her seemingly happy marriage. He’s bought a house for them to live in. And he’s waiting for Verity’s signal that he should make his move.

It's impossible to know who to trust and what to believe as you’re reading this clever thriller. Narrator Mike made me feel so unsettled, and I knew that I couldn’t believe the version of Verity he presented, but also knew it was the only one I was going to get. It’s a chilling, breathless read, and I’ll certainly look out for future books by this author.

Our kind of cruelty is a dark obsessive tale of love narrated by Mikes POV. It’s a disturbing story of a delusional person and how far they can go building fantasies in their own mind.Though it was interesting to read the book from Mike’s perspective I would have enjoyed it more if there was a chapter about Verity’s thoughts and feelings.

I would like to thank the publisher & NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and fair review.

I started this but just wasn't feeling it. There was nothing inherently wrong with it I just wasn't feeling it at the time, and I had a lot of other books to focus on that came out on the same date. However having been really excited about this book beforehand I would like to try again sometime.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC.

This psychological thriller was a quick read, based around a relationship where the two lovers play the Crave game.
A good read for a wet day.

Oh my God. This is one chilling psychological thriller. Mike and Verity have a dark and dangerous relationship which seems to suit them both down to the ground. Then, Verity decides it's time to get out and Mike's true personality reveals itself. Totally terrifying, this is a brilliant book. I can't recommend it highly enough.

The first half of this book had me both cringing at what Mike would do next, as well as dying to find out. I was expecting the second half to reveal another side to the story, but it focused on who could legally be blamed. An interesting take on obsessive love in which there are no winners.

This is a psychological thriller about a spurned lover who can't accept their relationship is over so becomes an obsessed and disturbed stalker. But rather than the story been told from the victims point of view it's told by Mike, the spurned lover. We find ourselves in his very disturbed psyche, one where his ex is sending him secret message that she still wants him despite marrying another man. The thing is so deep are we in this man's mind that regardless of the blatant signs she really doesn't love him anymore we can't help but wonder if she might be sending him messages. Highly confusing but very enjoyable. I might have been able to give this five stars as it's a real page turner. But the issue for me was there's not one likeable character. Nope, pretty much everyone is despicable or just plain wet. And the ending, whilst not bad by any means left me a little disappointed - I like implicit endings usually but for me this needed more definite answers regarding Verity. But despite that it really is a tense and gripping read that I enjoyed very much.

A recommendation from Gillian Flynn is enough to make me sit up and take notice by itself but the premise of this book is fascinating too. Mike and Verity have a special game called The Crave. Lately the rules have changed and become muddied, Verity is marrying someone else but Mike is certain the game isn't over.

The story is told from Mike's point of view. Raised in an abusive and neglectful home, Mike struggles with social interaction and relationships until he meets Verity. He quickly becomes obsessed with her and they start an intense relationship involving a game called The Crave. They go to nightclubs where Verity waits to be approached by another man before Mike swoops in and rescues her. After a drunken mistake causes Verity to end things with Mike and start a new relationship he refuses to accept it and believing they are still playing a warped version of the game, sets out to win her back. Mike sets a new bar for the unreliable narrator. A high flyer in finance, there's shades of American Psycho's Patrick Batemen in Mike's detachment from the real world. He struggles to read people's emotions and is uninterested and scornful of his co workers. The reader is left to pick out the bits of truth from his concerned colleagues approaches to him.

The last third of the book takes place as a court case and has a definite point to make about how a person's personal and sex life can be picked apart under cross examination. The barristers are no more reliable than Mike in some sense as they twist events to suit their own means.

It's a dark and heavy read at points. Mike is an intense character and the reader gets to spend a lot of time in his head. It's so cleverly written in how there's a slight detachment to Mike's narration at points. There's plenty of gaps for the reader to fill in for themselves and this ambiguity is a smart way of provoking debate making this an essential book for book clubs. I read my fair share of psychological thrillers but this definitely stands out from the crowd. This one isn't about "the twist" but the characters and you'd be doing yourself a disservice by not getting to know them.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for a fair review.

This book was extremely well written and is very clever. It deals with the obsessive love that Mike has for very and the disastrous turn it takes. I did find the first part of the book a little too long winded. I got to the stage of being bored by Mike and his obsession. Once the innocent husband had been dispatched them it became much more interesting. I had expected a twist at the end but never the less thought the ending was apt.

Gripping, toxic, thrilling.
A tale of love gone horribly wrong.
Find a weekend to read this in go if you can.

Another of those books which delve into the dark side of sexual relationships. Not really my kind of story but it was well written.