Book Review: Helpless by Jessica Knoll

Rating: 8 out of 10

Spice Level: 3.5 out of 5

Cover: A

Audiobook Narration: Excellent delivery by Marin Ireland

In Helpless, Faye Heron left her college boyfriend, Henry Spalding, twelve years ago before he could swallow her whole. Now both are safely, conventionally married, until a professor’s funeral pulls them back to campus and into each other’s orbit. Henry, it turns out, has not forgotten and has not forgiven. What begins as a drink at the hotel ends with Faye waking up in his remote mountain cabin, where a week of captivity slowly unsettles everything she thought she knew about their history, herself, and the years between.

It definitely feels like misery with your ex, and I can get down with that. The pacing is solid, and the tension holds. Dialogue feels natural; easy to believe, easy to read. The MMC kept me continuously falling in and out of trust with him, which is exactly the kind of thing that makes a thriller work. Mystery elements that actually keep you guessing, twists that are adeptly executed, and a setting that is isolated, creepy, and entrapping. Character growth is decent. The resolution ties everything up nicely. Fair warning on the spice: when it finally hits the pages, it’s dirty, hits a degradation kink, so go in knowing that. Overall, a smooth read that kept me engaged start to finish.

The FMC was not very likable; at least it took me almost the entire book to root for her, but I did eventually. It’s part of her character, but I still want to root for her even if she’s a bit supercilious. Please note: the first three-fourths of the book gets one chili pepper. The last quarter brings that one up to 3.5.

Solid! This hit the spot as a palate cleanser, compact, tense, and easy to tear through. The romantic thriller blend does exactly what it should: I was uneasy the whole way, genuinely unsettled from start to finish in the best way. (8/10)

🖤 Tropes

• Captivity

• Forced Proximity

• Primal Play & Power Dynamics

• The Unreliable Narrator

• Second-Chance Romance, Dark

⚠️ Trigger & Content Warnings

• Non-Consensual Drugging / Spiking

• Abduction & Unlawful Confinement

• Dubious Consent (Dub-Con)

• Toxic & Obsessive Relationships

• Gaslighting & Psychological Manipulation

• Infidelity

Thank you to Jessica Knoll, Scribner, and Libro.fm. I received an advanced review copy for free and am leaving this review voluntarily. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Aber Stoat Books (print)

Bookshop.org (eBook)

Libro.fm (audiobook) 🎧

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Publisher: Scribner | Simon & Schuster

ISBN: 9781668062302 / 9781668110751

Narrator(s): Marin Ireland

320 pages / 8 hours 16 minutes

Fiction / Thrillers / Psychological

Fiction / Thrillers / Suspense

Fiction / Romance / Suspense

A NEW YORK TIMES, OPRAH DAILY, CRIME READS, TOWN & COUNTRY, AND BOOKPAGE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK!

From the New York Times bestselling author of Luckiest Girl Alive and Bright Young Women comes a "sexy new thriller" (New York Post) with a "shocking and mindbending" (SheReads) last page.

It's been twelve years since Faye Heron broke Henry Spalding's heart. Henry was her college boyfriend, her first love, but Faye was in danger of being subsumed by him and the intensity of their connection—a connection that took her beyond boundaries she'd only dreamed of crossing.

Now, Faye is one half of a power-producing duo with her Hollywood husband. Henry is a married father running the family business. On the surface, both of their lives have essentially gone to plan.

When a former and beloved college professor suddenly passes away, Faye and Henry find themselves back on campus for the funeral, circling something old and dangerous. Something, if Faye is honest with herself, she has been trying to duplicate for years. But Henry is one of a kind.

The kind who delivers a hypnotic apology for the way things ended.
The kind who suggests they go back to the hotel for a drink.
The kind who drugs and kidnaps her.

When Faye comes to Henry’s remote mountain cabin, she’s beside herself. Has Henry brought her here to punish her? She did, after all, write and star in a lauded episode of television based on their indelicate appetites and vicious breakup. As her week of captivity unfolds, Henry’s wanton demands intensify, and Faye finds herself pulled back into his irresistible gravity. But as Faye and Henry spiral into their old dynamic, a sprawling, years-old mystery begins to take shape—one that will rewrite history as Faye remembers it and reveal an astounding, cataclysmic truth.

Author Bio:

Jessica Knoll is the New York Times bestselling author of Bright Young Women, The Favorite Sister, and Luckiest Girl Alive—now a major motion picture from Netflix starring Mila Kunis. She has been a senior editor at Cosmopolitan and the articles editor at Self. She lives in New York City with her family.

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