TW: Language, jealousy, cheating, gaslighting, toxic relationships, abusive relationships, toxic parent relationships, self harm

*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:Just graduated from high school and waiting to start college at Oxford, Lily lives under the scrutiny of her volatile Singaporean mother, May, and is unable to find kinship with her elusive British father, Charlie. When May suspects that Charlie is having an affair, there's only one thing that calms May down: a glass of perfectly, spoiled orange juice served by Lily, who must always taste it first to make sure it's just right. As her mother becomes increasingly unhinged, Lily starts to have flashbacks that she knows aren't her own. Over a sweltering London summer, all semblance of civility and propriety is lost, as Lily begins to unravel the harrowing history that has always cast a shadow on her mother. The horrifying secrets she uncovers will shake her family to its core, culminating in a shattering revelation that will finally set Lily free.
Release Date: August 23rd, 2022
Genre: Psychological thriller
Pages: 256
Rating: ⭐

What I Liked:
1. OBSESSED with that cover

What I Didn't Like:
1. How is the audiobook 10 hours long when the book is only 256 pages
2. All the siblings got on my nerves
3. This book felt too long
4. Dry weighed down writing

Overall Thoughts:
I honestly don't know what I was expecting from this book. I thought it was going to be on the horror side of things but it just felt like as I kept going on and on little was happening at all.

May is completely not all there. Lily can't do anything with her mother making a comment and then gaslighting her into thinking she's always in the wrong.

Honestly, these siblings were annoying. All picking on each other and complaining. I found it exhausting

Final Thoughts:
I dnfed this book. Surprise surprise I know! The book wasn't horrible but it wasn't for me. Plus I think it doesn't help that I just finished another book that dealt with toxic people.

This book was just missing something for me. I found myself being bored and drifting off into other thoughts about what to make for dinner or should I go to the gym before bed or after waking up - no worries I didn't go at all. Maybe I did miss something because so many people gave this book high marks. Perhaps if the writing didn't drag on. Or that the characters were less annoying. I don't know.

I still love that cover though.

Recommend For:
• Complex family relationships
• Bi-polar rep
• Mother/daughter relationships

𝟯.𝟱 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗥𝗦 𝗥𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗗 𝗨𝗣
What a weird ride…

I went from like —> dislike —> confusion —> fascination —> confusion (again) —> apprehensive enjoyment.

This book contains some of my new least favorite characters, and yes they were written that way on purpose. I just felt so bad for Lily, even when maybe I shouldn't have? No wonder she makes the decisions she does and acts the way she does. THE GIRL IS TRAUMATIZED.

compulsive, gripping ansd fast-paced, this book got me out of a reading slump. not your usual thriller, it had a bit more substance to it, very much enjoyed.

I have to be a little careful about reviewing or even rating this book. It is not one that I personally enjoyed content-wise, but there are many 'buts'. It is a book that delivers its promise of how the content will be. Once again, I might have been a little lax at looking at the synopsis/blurb. Dysfunctional families come in various sizes and shapes, some can be fun to read about, and others (like this one) are pretty horrific. All the more potent because of the writing and the possibility of such things actually happening is high.
Lily is the third child, the only daughter left at home, the one who feels her mother is dependent on her while the other siblings have fled the roost to lead dysfunctional lives elsewhere.
The author introduces the life our protagonist leads and the atrocities that she brushes away as her life in drips and bits, just like the flashes that Lily keeps having about her mother's childhood.
No one is good in this book, except for maybe one couple who rescue Lily, although we are given hints as to the longevity of the escape. May, the mother, the foundational issue is terrifying. I may have felt sorry for her at some stage, but by the time the book finished, I did not.
This is the kind of book that I move past quickly, although I know there are people out there who would appreciate this experience more.
The shock value is high, but I could not put the book down. This latter point is the main reason for me rating the book the way I am. The writing kept me hooked to every next car crash (literal and figurative).
It is one that I will not recollect (or try not to) once I post this review, but I think people who do read about dysfunction at its peak often will get along better with this book.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

Another slow-paced, uncomfortable book exploring the toxic ties between a mother and everyone around her. I found it fascinating, if not entirely interesting at all times.

Wow, this was so incredibly disturbing but at the same time so addictive. This is a story of a highly dysfunctional family and three siblings who must survive in very difficult circumstances. The characters lives are all interwoven in a very toxic web and a mystery surrounds them. King’s writing is exquisite and suspense abounds. This will appeal to fans of Maid and Ginny Moon.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of Bad Fruit, by Ella King.

Oof, I do not know how to feel about this one. It's dark, it's triggering, it's mean. It addresses an abusive relationship between an daughter on the cusp of adulthood and her mother. There are issues of race, of repressed memories, and of siblings who have long since fled home.

While I do love a good dysfunctional family story, there has to be a level of endearing quirkiness, but this was just gritty and upsetting. And I don't even mind that, except I felt like this was missing the redemptive arc that would make me feel okay about the characters after the book was over. I suppose I got it to a degree, but not enough.

Basically my review it that it's well written and like nothing I've ever read before, but please approach with caution. There are landmines all over the place.

(ARC from NetGalley but I read it wayyyy after the pub date so not really "advanced") To the girlies with mommy issues, this is for you. Lily is essentially the carrier pigeon/peacekeeper between her parents, Charlie and May. She gives in to her mother's every demand to keep her calm, until she finally cannot. Psychological thriller/family drama? Sign me up.

Addicting and dark, as rotten and alluring as the fruit it’s named after. Bad Fruit is a slow descent through memory and darkness, and left me doubting that Lily would manage to escape from the complicated web of her family right until the very end

Lily lives with her parents - Singaporean mother May and British father Charlie - when she starts to have hallucinations.

BAD FRUIT explores the most toxic and dysfunctional aspect about mother-daughter relationship while brilliantly capturing the unbearable weight of inherited trauma. King exposes how past traumas often define one's sick behavior, although the manipulative/abusive nature shouldn't all be justified by it. This is a disturbing read in which one feels bothered by the trauma and child abuse. I wasn't expecting this one to be as devastating as it was, furthermore, I found it very thought-provoking.

Readers will be consumed by this book and the horrifying secrets uncovered. The story shows that "BAD” FRUIT is an understatement (more like "rotten fruit").

(ps: this was my second try and I am glad I did it)

I love family dramas and this one was no different. I will post more thoughts on my IG page as I am still collecting them now but loved this one - excellent debut, heart wrenching and thrilling to say the least! Thank you!

Short and quick read with themes of strong women, toxic mothers, and generational trauma. Ella King explores these themes through heartbreaking and visceral writing. A very good debut novel.

Will be posting a review to my IG page but truly loved this original and amazing book. Thank you Astra House.

I really did enjoy this novel, it kept me engaged throughout the entirety of it and I found myself wanting to know more and I connected to so many of the characters. I would highly recommend this read!

I keep trying and failing to get into this book. For months. It’s not for me. I don’t know why it didn’t click. Normally I love mother issues and Oxford but I couldn’t get into it.

“- I love her!” He roars, and it’s the most shocking thing I’ve ever heard, more profane than the most explicit swear word, more obscene than the sickest secret, and in that instant, I understand why my father is in my mother’s thrall”

This is a novel about a complicated mother-daughter relationship and everything that goes with it. The trauma, the abuse, the doubts and the guilt. But also the difficulty to see things realistically when you’re part of it. It is sometimes so subtle and sometimes so loud, the author really nailed the complexity of it.
It is heartbreaking as you going through the game the mother plays to guilt trip her children. The blackmailing, the jealousy, the humiliation and the pain.
At some point in the book, I even questioned myself about feeling someone else’s trauma as I am very interested in the ability for your body to keep trauma. Could it be passed on to you from your ancestors?
This is a fantastic debut novel and I can’t wait to see what the author writes in the future.
Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

the writing is exceedingly soapy and i cannot take the mother-daughter dynamic seriously. maybe fans of cheesy domestic thrillers will find this more gripping...

As her mother becomes increasingly unhinged, Lily starts to have flashbacks that she knows aren’t her own. Over a sweltering London summer, all semblance of civility and propriety is lost, as Lily begins to unravel the harrowing history that has always cast a shadow on her mother. The horrifying secrets she uncovers will shake her family to its core, culminating in a shattering revelation that will finally set Lily free.

This was a hard read. But so good.
Don’t miss this one

Fast-paced and utterly engaging. A recommended first purchase for collections where thrillers are popular.

Lily has graduated from high school and is looking forward to escaping her home when she attends college at Oxford in the Fall. However, the more unhinged her mother May becomes, the less likely it seems that Lily will be able to leave her.

This novel addresses the complexities of abuse within a family. It shines a light on how it can become cyclical and why people stay. Trigger warnings that this novel contains instances of physical, sexual, and psychological abuse. It is not a “fun” read, but it is a well written story.

Thank you to #NetGalley for an ARC of #BadFruit by #EllaKing - 4 stars