TW: abusive relationships, controlling behaviour, attempted murder, eating disorders.
*Make sure you’re in a good frame of mind before reading.*

This book delves into abusive relationships, highlighting that abuse isn’t just physical and that controlling behavior can be equally as harmful. It also explores the aftermath of such relationships, focusing on Cassie, the protagonist, who struggles with paranoia and a deep difficulty in confronting her trauma.

The narrative unfolds across two timelines, with Cassie revisiting her past abusive relationship with Liam through her present-day interactions with him. The plot is a slow-burn thriller, creating a tense and claustrophobic atmosphere throughout.

The characters in this book are all unlikable, yet that’s what makes it so gripping. It keeps readers on their toes, unsure of what will happen next.

Overall, it’s a worthwhile read, offering a raw and insightful look at the experience of dealing with a narcissistic, controlling, and coercive individual.

Sweat, Emma Healey

Synopsis: Liam always knew what was best.

Until the day he pushes Cassie far beyond her limits, and she walks out of their flat and away from their toxic relationship for good.

Two years on and Cassie is stronger, fitter, healthier than ever before. Liam is now blind and Cassie holds all the cards. Time to get revenge.

💪🏼

This book is absolutely nothing like I expected and sadly not one I enjoyed.

This book has themes of toxic relationships, gas lighting and coercive control.

I just couldn't get into it. I hated all the characters, hated their actions and found it a difficult read.

Would I recommend? Due to the hard hitting themes and actions in this book, no.

IT’S NOT an uncommon fantasy, wishing ill on a toxic ex while you continue to thrive. It’s not big, it’s not clever, but it’s human, and most people aren’t really armed with a voodoo doll as they think their wicked thoughts that make them feel better about having been wronged.

When Cassie’s ex-boyfriend Liam walks into the gym at which she works as a personal trainer, she is stopped in her tracks. It’s not only because she is shocked to see him, this embodiment of a part of her life she thought she’d left behind, but because it is immediately apparent that he is blind.

It’s not how she remembers him. Her recollections include coercive control, gaslighting and backhanded compliments, all delivered by a fully sighted man, obsessed with his image, and hers. She is shaken to see for herself this development in his life, and when an opportunity quickly arises for her to take charge of his training, in a split-second moment of madness, she takes it.

She assumes the identity of a colleague, alters her tone of voice and turns of phrases, lays an accent on thick, liberally applies a strong perfume he wouldn’t associate with her. He seems to buy it, and they begin his regime. She quickly learns how he lost his sight and deduces that it may or may not be permanent, so feels a time pressure to apply any revenge tactics she has been cooking up over the months since they parted, in less than amicable circumstances.

Through a dual narrative of the gym partnership and the charting of Cassie and Liam’s relationship, a picture begins to emerge of them both; as a couple, individually and before and after their relationship. Cassie isn’t particularly likeable, but she doesn’t pretend to be she is open about her own failings to a fault. This doesn’t, however, make her a reliable narrator.

At first the reader is not privy to the extent of the abuse within the former relationship, and so Cassie’s treatment of this vulnerable person is quite uncomfortable to read. The author is unsparing in her descriptions of Liam as he navigates the gym – once practically a second home – as a newly non-sighted person.

It is hard not to have respect for his tenacity and a revulsion at how Cassie exploits his disability. At first, it’s difficult to sympathise with Cassie while she carries out her revenge with a single minded, ruthless determination; but as the backstory unfurls, it becomes clear that the power imbalance displayed between Cassie and Liam has become reversed.

Sweat is an uncompromising study of abuse and justice, of what it means to believe the victim, or at least listen to them, no matter who they are. Cassie is a really interesting protagonist; at times brash, prone to spontaneous decisions, willing to break rules if they don’t align with her own ethics.

She is also susceptible to flattery and suggestion, especially when it comes from someone she is in thrall to. This makes for a complex character who is a “problematic victim,” who her own mother has little time for when it comes to cries for help.

Indeed, her mother is a great representation of those who refuse to listen to those they feel are unworthy of compassion. She repeatedly tells Cassie that she is mistaken, that Liam’s control over her is simply care and concern, that he can’t possibly be hurting her when he loves her so much. When Cassie’s complaints fall on deaf ears, she herself begins to wonder if her reactions to some of Liam’s actions are overblown.

Liam isn’t as coherently sketched as Cassie, partly because he is solely seen from her point of view. But he is believable, as a man - not a monster – who chooses to be the way he is, and whose blindness increases vulnerability but ultimately doesn’t, and shouldn’t, excuse his behaviour.

From the author of Elizabeth is Missing, a mystery told through the eyes of a woman in the early stages of dementia, Sweat is another boundary-pushing, high-concept domestic thriller that asks, what would you do if you were in this position? The answer is far more complicated than you may initially think.

This is a very dark story following the relationship between Cassie and Liam, told in dual timeline and from Cassie’s perspective. Cassie first met personal trainer Liam when she started doing one of his outdoor exercise classes. At the time she was a bit of a party girl with a group of close friends and a job she enjoyed but fitness and Liam gradually eroded her lifestyle until she became dependent on him. This was so well written I ended up reading it in one sitting as I had to know what happened.

Briefly, having left Liam Cassie is now working as a personal trainer in a gym. However, she is shocked one day when a new customer walks into the gym - it’s Liam and he is no longer as fit as he was and he is blind. Cassie agree’s to be in charge of his weekly sessions, calling herself Steph and hiding her natural voice, but she has doubts about whether he can see and recognise her. Has the worm turned?

This is a very disturbing read. Liam is controlling and manipulative. He monitored every bit of Cassie’s life but she believed he did it for her good because he loved her. Until an incident that caused her to leave him. Liam was an insidious character. He genuinely made my blood freeze. Cassie’s behaviour in the present was interesting, I couldn’t see where it was going and I did feel she might be an unreliable narrator. I can see this could be very uncomfortable reading for some; a toxic relationship with coercive control over all aspects of life but particularly food and exercise and the effects on the non dominant partner after the relationship ends. Fascinating read.

In “Sweat” we follow the story of Cassie, a personal trainer. In the “present day” she works at a gym and lives alone. But in her past (which we see parts of in flashbacks) she has been in an abusive relationship with her ex-boyfriend Liam. He was also a personal trainer and used to control everything about Cassie’s life, particularly her diet but also her contact with family and friends and even where she went on a daily basis. When he turns up at her gym, now blind, Cassie’s world is thrown into turmoil once again. Is Liam really blind? Does he know that she works at the gym? And is this a chance for Cassie to take revenge?

As I’m sure people will realise, this is not an easy subject to tackle. It made me feel deeply uncomfortable at times but is sadly the reality of what many people in abusive relationships face. While I felt some of Cassie’s behaviour was a bit unrealistic, who am I to judge how someone in this situation would react. And this is also fiction so the reactions can be exaggerated if the author chooses - I just didn’t fell it always worked. I also felt that parts dragged a bit and were a tad repetitive. Overall though, I felt it was excellent in depicting the emotions that could be felt and I really wasn’t sure how it was going to end, which is a plus point for any book in my mind.

While this book won’t for everyone, I would say it’s worth reading and I’m sure plenty of people will enjoy it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

Read 42% and couldn't finish.

I couldnt get into the story or the characters. I have a feeling some really great stuff will be said by the end of the book, but I just couldn't get beyond surface level of the characters.

I think if you love an unlikeable character, then Cass in this book may well be right up your alley.

I may return to finish this book and then ammend my review, but I definitely need a break as it's not grabbing me right now.

Sweat tells the story of PT Cassie and her controlling ex Liam. After escaping from the abusive relationship, Cassie is surprised when Liam turns up at her gym to be trained, blind and unaware of who she is. Cassie takes him on, unable to resist the allure of an opportunity for revenge. Switching between the weekly sessions and flash backs to their relationship, Sweat is a sweat-inducing story of obsession.

It took me a while to get into Cassie’s frame of mind. As the abuse mounts, the characters become clearer. Whilst I get Cassie’s drive for revenge, I struggled to connect with her decision to continue as the risk escalates each week. I found the concept around the control of food and exercise juxtaposed with a controlling relationship really compelling. I enjoyed the structure of the storytelling and thinking the training sessions and themed flash backs worked really well. There is something really uneasy about this book that captures its tone. Definitely one for readers looking for an edge of the seat thriller.

I knew nothing about this book before I started it, only that I had really enjoyed Emma Healey’s previous novels. What I found once I began, was a dark psychological thriller, that gripped me and refused to let me go.

Sweat is a novel about control: self control, coercive control, obsessive control. It’s about trauma, the hurdles we face in dealing with and recovering from trauma and how it affects our relationship with ourselves and those close to us.

The story had control over me, I was addicted. I didn’t know how it was going to end, I knew it wasn’t going to be a ‘happily ever after’ but I couldn’t look away. As Cassie appeared to be wandering down a path of self destruction, I was willing her to stop. When she reached out to her loved ones and was rebuffed, I felt truly frightened for her.

It’s a disturbing, unsettling and compulsive read that stayed with me long after I’d finished it - I loved it.

This is quite a dark psychological thriller, following the story of Cassie, a personal trainer and fitness fanatic. Cassie narrates the story of her ex, now blind, turning up at the gym where she works to enrol in sessions for the disabled. Seizing the opportunity to exact revenge for her suffering during their abusive relationship, Cassie slips between past stories and present day. Overall I found the whole thing rather unsettling and uncomfortable reading. I couldn’t feel sorry for either Cass or Liam, and felt like she was perhaps a somewhat unreliable narrator. Who was the true bully and who was the crueller of the two. And yet I had to keep reading to find out what happened, although I still felt equally undecided about the two characters when I finished. I’m sure it’s a book that everyone is going to be talking about though.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Random House UK, Cornerstone for a copy in exchange for a review.

I’ve spent quite a bit of time reflecting on my feelings about this book – and I’m still conflicted. It’s a gripping, multilayered story that challenges you to sit with the complexities of toxic relationships, control, and revenge. Healey’s writing is immersive and sharp, pulling you into the intense dynamics between Cassie and her ex, Liam, and leaving you questioning your sympathies at every turn.

The story is told through a dual timeline, shifting between the past, when Cassie and Liam were together, and the present, where their paths unexpectedly cross again. As a personal trainer, Cassie takes on a new client – only to discover it’s Liam, who is now blind due to a brain tumour. The shock of this meeting reignites buried emotions and sets the stage for a tense, psychologically charged narrative. Healey skillfully unravels their past, revealing the insidious nature of Liam’s control: from dictating Cassie’s food intake and exercise regimen to isolating her from friends and gaslighting her into submission.

In the present timeline, Cassie wrestles with the temptation of revenge. The power dynamics have shifted – or so it seems – and she begins to push boundaries, taking subtle actions to regain a sense of control. But as the story unfolds, we’re forced to question whether anyone truly holds the upper hand. The dual timelines work brilliantly, with moments from the past and present echoing each other, highlighting how deeply the scars of abuse can run.

What stood out most for me was Healey’s nuanced exploration of trauma and its aftermath. Cassie’s life has been shaped by Liam’s coercion, and even in his absence, she continues to push herself to extremes – a haunting reminder of how abuse can linger long after the abuser is gone. The narrative dives deep into themes of body image, diet culture, and the addictive high of self-discipline, making the book not just a psychological exploration but also a social commentary.

That said, Sweat is not an easy read. It touches on heavy, triggering topics like domestic abuse, coercion, and eating disorders. For readers who are sensitive to these themes, it’s worth approaching the book with caution. While the tension and pacing kept me hooked, there were moments where the characters’ decisions left me frustrated, particularly Cassie’s increasing impulsivity in the present timeline.

Emma Healey is no stranger to intense storytelling. Elizabeth is Missing had me in tears with its raw portrayal of memory and loss. While Sweat didn’t strike the same emotional chord, it delivered a gripping and thought-provoking experience in its own right. The ending left me stunned – it’s unexpected and ambiguous, yet fitting for a story this layered.

If you’re looking for a book that challenges your perceptions and keeps you on edge, Sweat is worth the read. It’s a dark, claustrophobic tale that doesn’t offer easy answers but will leave you thinking long after you’ve turned the last page.

So after reading this book and giving it a few days, in still not sure what I feel about it!

A little warning that this book covers calorie counting, diet culture, coercive abuse and a toxic relationship. Cassie has started working at a new gym and due to issues with the CEO the gym is offering a discount to people with the disabilities, a colleague of hers asks her to take over his client and low and behold the client is her toxic ex who has recently become blind due to a brain tumour! The same ex who was abusive towards her and harassed her several months after finally leaving him.

Let's start with what I liked - I thought it was clever how the author wrote about what happened in the past and the sympathy you have with Cassie is strong (initially). I thoughts the twists were well done too.

what I didn't like - I felt like this book would have been better being slightly shorter tbh. I also found as the book went on, the less I liked the MC. I also feel that the rage the author was creating took away a little from what the book was trying to say.

So yeah, not sure if I enjoyed it or if you're supposed too but would say give it go?

Sweat is a very claustrophobic read, covering a lot of sensitive topics.
Cassie is a personal trainer, she hasn’t always been but has been since her ex boyfriend got her in shape. Liam is a fitness fanatic and is a controlling and manipulative person. Cassie has to get away from him for her own good and when she did she did her best for her path never to cross his again. Liam is stood in front of her at the gym she works at but now she holds the power and she’s going to use it.
This was a book that took me a while to get into, it is a very toxic relationship, Cassie and Liam used to have and is upsetting at times. The storyline is very different to what I have read before and as the scales evened out I enjoyed the book more. The book runs on a dual timeline which helps trying to figure out these complex characters. The book moves a long at a good pace and you get to know the characters well, which helps with the storyline.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

I actually have no idea whether I liked this book or not. It is the story of Cass/Cassie and her ex Liam. They had a very bullying & controlling relationship that saw Liam controlling every aspect of Cassie’s life. Cassie eventually summons the courage to leave and two years later is a Personal Trainer in a new gym. Liam then arrives as a new Client at the gym under a “disability incentive” offered by the management. Here the story tends to split into then and now chapters. Initially I felt sorry for Cassie and as the story went on soon lost any nice feelings I had. I found all the characters immensely dislikeable with few redeeming features.

It does have triggering aspects such as coercive relationships and domestic abuse.

This is so different from Elizabeth is Missing and has two characters that you feel sympathy for/you don’t feel sympathy for. The book really twists the emotions. It’s told in two timelines. In the past we have Cassie and Liam as a couple. He wants Cassie to be the best she can be and he controls every aspect of her life - what she eats, when she eats, when she exercises etc. Under his control her body changes, her musculature and fitness improves but… This is a toxic relationship and the level of coercive control is scary to read. But Cassie finally makes the split. The second timeline is in the present. Thanks to Liam’s ‘control’, Cassie is now a personal trainer, she monitors her food, her exercise and is just as hard on herself as Liam ever was. Then one day Liam walks into her gym, but he is different. He is blind and Cassie now sees that she has the opportunity for revenge. She is the one in control now - or is she? Neither character is likeable and while I might begin to sorry for Liam and how Cassie was treating him in the present day timeline, when the timeline switched back to the past - that sympathy vanished. And it was the same with Cassie - I might have felt sorry for her in the past but her behaviour in the present … There is a lot in here about not only coercive control but also eating issues and body image. The ending - didn’t expect it. A tense read at times.

All Liam ever wanted was to help Cassie reach her full potential; to push her body to new extremes. Exercise, determination, being the optimum versions of themselves together forever. And Liam always knew what was best.

Wow, what a book. I think everyone has known some degree of Liam but he is extreme. The story is scary but absolutely brilliant. It got me so wound up I wanted to intervene. Great writing to invent characters that I hated but couldn’t look away from the page. Some parts tense, some claustrophobic. Great ending. I loved it.

Sweat is the third novel by award-winning British author, Emma Healey. Cassie has been working at the gym for about a year when the CEO makes a costly gaffe on YouTube that sees people with various disabilities taking advantage of a half-price offer. When a workmate asks her to take his new blind client, she’s shocked to see it’s her abusive ex, Liam.

A million thoughts run through her head: she should refuse to take him as a client, explain to her manager why; she should get as far away from him as she can. But the overriding one is that this is her chance to be in control: she can do to him what she likes, get her own back.

She alters her speech, wears a fragrance a client has left behind, checks that his vision impairment in genuine, and feels safe enough to continue with his weekly gym sessions. When she shares this development with her closest friend, Tanya is aghast: she’s seen how Liam broke her, had been there to support Cassie, and warns her that she can’t cope with a repeat.

Liam’s control began so subtly, and its incremental increase was so insidious, his gaslighting so polished, Cassie second-guessed herself into believing his intentions were good, were always for her benefit. And when she finally left him, the stalking and harassment continued mercilessly for months. Perhaps Cassie’s need for payback is understandable, but is it wise? Because, as Tanya says, “he’s still hot, only now he’s all vulnerable and needy and apparently non-threatening.”

Healey paints a vivid picture of the addictive nature of the high that exercise and diet can offer: “We want this. We like it. We like to be sore and we like to be stiff and we like to be tired. Everywhere in the Western world these feelings are being cultivated, and PTs and their clients are bruising and tearing and hungry and aching and high. So high.”

But there are limits: “Going hungry because of someone else is not the same. Just as pain inflicted by someone else is not the same. I loved my next-day muscle ache, even the very worst kinds. But I didn’t want to be hurt. I liked fasting because it was an achievement and I could feel proud of the results. But I didn’t want to be starved.” Gradually revealed, readers will find the level of Liam’s control jaw-dropping.

Tension builds as the reader waits to see what Cassie will do next and observes the danger into which she puts herself. The climax is a nail-biter and the resolution to this dark and powerful tale is very satisfactory. Once again, Healey does not disappoint.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Random House UK Cornerstone

Wow – this was a one reading session to grapple all that goes within this twisty novel. Cassie’s ex-boyfriend Liam wanted to ‘improve’ her – he wouldn’t call it that, but certainly he made much effort to ensure her body was pushed to its extreme in terms of exercise and diet. She quite literally changed in front of his eyes. But it gets too much and Cassie walks away, though finds comfort in a new role (in part thanks to her ex). When Liam walks into her place of work two years on, she is the one who is in control… and much more than she even realises initially. It’s her turn to put pressure on Liam. Quite, quite different from Emma’s brilliant book Elizabeth is Missing, this was worth reading in one go. It’s been described as pulse racing and there are certain moments where you’re unsure where it’s going but that makes for an exciting read.

Sweat follows Cassie as she works as a PT in a gym. Her newest client? Her ex boyfriend who has recently lost his sight due to a brain tumour. Cassie wants to see what she can do with the situation presented …

I liked the premise of this story and thought it sounded really interesting. I liked that it was a back and forth between present day and the past. I also liked the way the events flowed throughout the book. I felt like it wasn’t really something I had read before!

I would have liked more about the relationship between Liam and Cassie before the break up! I felt like the coercive and abusive behaviour could have been explored further to help with more of a build up.

I felt the beginning and end kept me really invested!

I’d recommend if you love the gym 😂

3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars because I liked the ending.

A tale of two of the most toxic people I've ever read about & their car crash of a relationship & breakup. It's so hard to root for the protagonist, despite what she's been through, as she keeps making the most unhinged decisions imagineable. Overall though, a compelling read - I was always eager to see what would happen next, even if the ending felt a bit rushed.

A really complicated and compelling read. It would make a great book club read, who’s side would you take?
Our main character is a personal trainer who, two years ago, escaped an abusive relationship. She’s rebuilding her life and trying to reclaim her sanity when she gets a new client. Things start to go downhill rapidly for her, and we start to learn about her past and her abuser. This will probably be a tough read for a lot of people.
I spent a lot of time trying to understand her choices, but although I can appreciate how anger and trauma can cloud a person’s judgement, it was difficult at times.