I'm not quite sure how to describe this book. It's a difficult read for a number of reasons - trigger warnings for coercive control; emotional abuse and eating disorders for starters. The story is told through the present as seen by Cassie, the protagonist, and also by flashbacks to the earlier relationship and experiences of Cassie with Liam. I didn't like Cassie at the start, when I didn't know some of her back story. I found her vindictive, petty and quite hateful. This made it a slow start for me and I left long gaps between reading, Then, all of a sudden about a third of the way through, I was transfixed and couldn't put it down. I wanted to know more of the history and I wanted to know how far Cassie would be willing to go in her 'revenge'. There's so much personal unravelling in here which makes it really difficult at times, but I've also found it very thought provoking and reflective about women who do experience this type of abuse and the lack of understanding and support which (sometimes) they find in friends and family. I find myself thinking about this book even though I finished it a day or so ago and have already started my next. Did I enjoy it? I'm not sure that's the right description here, but it did make me empathise with Cassie, and all the partners in the same position as her.

I couldn't read this fast enough to see how it played out where the abused became the abuser.

This is quite a dark and twisted storyline. Neither of the MC's were likeable. I did strangely feel a small amount empathy towards both of them as it revealed what the other had done.

It's not what I call an enjoyable read. It made me feel sick, horrified, and cringing at what happened, but I couldn't put it down.

This book was intriguing because it is very topical and made it easy to relate to because we all face many of the issues.

The author must be congratulated for creativity and innovation. The book itself is about health, friendships, relationships and mental issues. There is a lot to think about.

In most suspenseful books the challenge for the reader is to discover who is the “baddie”! This book also challenges you to find the “goodie”! I found that tricky to grasp.

I am glad I read the book but have to admit it was not “my cup of tea”.

This book was an ok read and is also a difficult subject to get to grips with. Cassie is a personal trainer and her partner Liam is the same. Cassie is happy sticking to regimes in her own way but Liam becomes obsessive to the point of cruel. The relationship hangs on but eventually breaks when Cassie finds she cannot deal with the control Liam is placing on her and it is making her stressed to the point of depression. Cassie leaves the relationship and makes a new life for herself and it is all going ok and then… The gym is taking new people who need extra help and she is asked to help a young blind man regain his fitness. In walks Liam which throws Cassie a curve ball. Is he really blind, has he managed track her down. All emotions go through her mind. She begins to train Liam and feels he has indeed lost his sight. Rightly or wrongly Cassie feels she can get her own back on all the trauma he instilled in her and this is what she decides to do in a small way. Eventually she finds out what has happened to Liam via one of his friends who coerces her into a terrible situation. As I was reading this book I decided in my head what would happen towards the close but I could not have been more wrong. An ending I was not expecting at all. Enough said about that as do not want to spoil the plot

"Sweat" by Emma Healey probably wasn't what I expected when I read the blurb. It is much darker and contains scenes of domestic abuse, coercion and controlling behaviour around food and fitness. However, I did enjoy reading it and wanted to find out how Cassie got out of her abusive relationship and how she was going to exact revenge. Some scenes weren't that realistic but it was an entertaining read.

Thanks to Netgalley, Random House UK Cornerstone and Emma Healey for this ARC. This book was simultaneously gripping and terrifying. It follows our main character Cassie, a personal trainer who comes face to face with her ex partner in a unique situation.

The characters in this book were all unlikeable but that was part of what made it so intriguing. It was impossible to predict what would happen next in any given moment.

There were definitely parts of the book that were very difficult to read, a key theme is coercive control in a prior romantic relationship. I would not pick this book up if emotional or physical domestic abuse is a trigger for you. I would recommend it for fans of thrillers with dark storylines, the story felt similar in tone to 'boy parts' but with lower stakes.

I'm rating this book 4 instead of 5 stars because it did feel slow in parts, especially in the middle and the end felt quite rushed.

This was a very dark read and had lots of upsetting parts in places. It includes abuse and control through food and although it's a very difficult read in places it's very eye opening.

Thank you to Net Galley for an advanced copy

Sweat's protagonist is Cassie, a young woman who, having left her coercive boyfriend, is working at a gym as a PT. After the gym owner offers half price sessions to people with disabilities, Cassie's ex turns up at the gym - and he's now blind. The premise is great but, for me, the story never quite lived up to its promise.

The story is told across two timelines. In the present day, she is single, working at a gym and now dealing with the reemergence of the ex-boyfriend. Their relationship is told through repeated flashback and that device meant that, for me, there was a loss of tension and a lack of momentum to the story as we kept switching between timelines. Cassie in the present day does begin to take 'action' but I found her responses quite unbelievable. Most of the characters lacked depth and nuance so I couldn't understand just why her mum would respond in the way that she does.

I wasn't sure what the story was about - if it is a revenge story it doesn't work for me as Cassie doesn't really take revenge. Without the build up of tension and any precision to the narrative, it doesn't work as a psychological thriller either.

It will find its audience and other reviewers seem to love it but, for me, it fails on plot and on characterisation.

What a psychological thriller! Sweat really made me sweat as I read it nonstop to get to the end and find out what happens. It was worth the rush, as this page turner kept getting more and more interesting. Emma Healey has delivered again. Talk about relationships, power and control and this pulse racing novel delivers. The context? A character called Liam who wants to help Cassie reach her full potential. He encourages here to push her body to new extremes. And he always knows best. But he pushes her beyond her limits and she walks away from their toxic relationship. Cassie gets stronger, fitter, more determined and healthier. And they meet again, two years latter. You've got to read it to find out what happens next!

This book definitely needs to come with trigger warnings to any who has been in an abusive relationship, anyone with food related disorder or exercise OCD.

Cassie is finally away from her boyfriend Liam, who said he loved her and only wanted her to be he best. But in pushing her to be her best he pushed her too far and controlled her, even what she ate.

Now Liam is back, and Cassie pretends to be someone else to continue to be his personal trainer. The only difference now is that Liam is blind and Cassie holds all the power to control and get revenge.

The story is quite disturbing due to the main character, Cassie, coming out of an abusive relationship with Liam. Cassie does go back into her history to highlight times of the abuse, which at times is an uncomfortable read.

The story itself is an easy, fast paced read, which is very tense at times.

This was a tough read for me. I found the content harrowing, and often had to take breaks in the middle of reading to compose myself. This was primarily due to my own personal experiences and is not a criticism of the novel, however I do think it is important to point out to readers that this book centres around an abusive relationship and disordered eating. If you're more sensitive to those topics, I would recommend giving this novel a miss.

Aside from that, I thought this was a strong novel from Emma Healey. The story was engaging and perfectly paced, and Healey seamlessly switched between the past and present day in a way that maintained the momentum of the plot and kept me gripped throughout. Additionally, the characters were complex and well-written; I found myself heartbroken for Cass yet deeply frustrated at her choices, an indication that Healey did a good job of communicating the complex emotions one might experience when dealing with an abusive partner. My only criticism is that I felt Liam had very few redeeming qualities, giving no logical reason for Cass to want to stay with him besides his companionship. I think the positive side of their relationship could have been explored a bit more to make sense of this.

The reason I'm not giving this book a higher rating is that I felt something was missing from the final chapters. Cass is physically and psychologically abused throughout the novel, yet this is never directly addressed in the text. Rather, the reader is assumed to understand that Liam's behaviour is abusive and immoral. Cass never discusses why she stayed with Liam for so long or whether her perspectives changed after escaping the relationship. Her belief of Liam's teachings, that it was right for her to starve, to practice discipline and self-control, was never corrected - the book even ends with a (distasteful) quip about calorie control. Though I appreciate that Cass's outlook may not have changed, I feel the book needed someone to reaffirm that Cass was abused, that Liam's behaviour was inexcusable, and that their attitudes towards food and exercise were unhealthy.

Thank you to Penguin Random House, Cornerstone and NetGalley for providing me with the ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Sweat made me laugh, cringe with discomfort and at one point, dramatically gasp and cover my mouth. I flew through it, desperate to find out what protagonist Cassie would do given the opportunity to turn the tables on her ex, who previously controlled all aspects of her life under the guise of keeping her fit and healthy. A great, entertaining novel!

This can only be described as a revenge story - Cassie has finally escaped her abusive relationship and is making a new life for herself when her ex walks into the gym she works at… but he’s blind, and doesn’t know it’s her training him.

Dark and fast paced, but worth heeding trigger warnings - this book is very much about weight, eating disorders and coercive control.

Cassie has escaped from the suffocating relationship she had with Liam. One in which he controlled very calorie that went into her mouth and forced her into a fitness regime that separated her from her friends. His coercive behaviour finally became too much for Cassie and she dumped Liam and began to rebuild her life. But, initially, Liam doesn't take no for an answer. He stalks her and texts her and even goes through her rubbish to see what she has been eating. After things have calmed down, Cassie qualifies as a fitness instructor and gets a job at a local gym. Then, to her surprise, Liam arrives a t the gym for an assessment and she discovers he has temporarily lost his sight. Cassie now has an opportunity to get her own back as she becomes his personal trainer. But the stalker is now the stalked as Cassie still has a key to Liam's flat. Her behaviour becomes more obsessive. leading to an inevitable conclusion. One bizarre feature of the story is that, after leaving Liam, Cassie becomes harder on herself than Liam was, limiting herself to 500 calories a day and training to the point of pain. Thus the story raises questions about the long-term effects of coercive control on its victims. i really enjoyed Emma's earlier book, 'Elizabeth is Missing' and greatly looked forward to reading her latest novel. I found this story compelling but very different in tone. Emma is obviously very damaged which made her quite unsympathetic at times. However, the most annoying characters are Emma's parents who are captivated by Liam and won't hear a word said against him. An excellent read that left me questioning how far should anyone go to get revenge.

I found this book very hard to read for a couple of reasons.

1 - The storyline is about domestic abuse, covering the family and friends that don't believe, and the victim who is drawn back. I like my books to take me away, and this was unfortunately too realistic and gritty for my liking.

2 - None of the characters are likeable. There isn't a single character that you want to root for throughout the story. The main character and victim of this story is very unlikeable, and even in the situation she finds herself in, makes some horrible decisions, which just had me shaking my head.

This book is good for showing people what domestic abuse can be like but also seems to reinforce to victims that the only way out is the drastic ending of this story. That concerns me, and I hope that victims of domestic abuse that may read this book realise that there is always hope and ways to get to safety.

Sweat by Emma Healey

Wasn't quite sure what to expect with this one , but I really enjoyed it.
It's a book that will stay with you even a week or more since you've finished it.

Thank you to Emma Healey, NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. This book is a captivating read that is both unstoppable and also difficult to read at the same time. A detailed and exploratory insight into controlling, coercive and toxic relationship. I enjoyed reading this and wanted to stay with the main character to make sure she was ok at the end. This is a book I’ll be thinking about a long time after finishing.

Absolutely loved this read and devoured in a day and a half.

The story centres around Cassie who is reeling from a broken relationship with Liam who she met at a boot camp he was running. Totally committed to making Cassie her best possible self he’s rigorous in ensuring she eats clean, trains hard and basically takes control.

He’s a groomer, but not one we’ve seen before and this is a perfect example of coercive control.

It was pretty fast paced and held my interest throughout. Recommend!

Thoroughly recommend, thanks to the author and published for an advanced copy.

Masterfully written, this book is incredibly immersive. I was impressed by how the author draws you in and gradually draws out the plot bit by bit. It makes the ending hit HARD. A masterpiece of a novel.

Note: readers with a history of eating disorders should be aware that it’s very triggering.

I feel quite disappointed by this book. It had the potential to be really great. It needed to be faster paced. The last 25% picked up more and felt a bit more exciting but overall it just felt way to unbelievable.