Abusive relationships and coercive control are quite rightly much discussed topics at the moment. However, I do feel there are a lot, maybe too many, fiction books around at the minute with this at their centre and it can be a trope rather than a well explored issue. Ms Healey did manage to inject a different perspective by introducing a now visually impaired ex boyfriend and allowing thoughts of revenge to play out questioning "what would you do?"
The ending was unexpectedly dramatic, but the eventual outcome probably the tight one.
Thank you to netgalley and Random House for an advance copy of this book.
3.5 rounded up to 4 stars

Cassie has had enough with Liam and their toxic relationship focusing on food and exercise. But after she’s left him for good, he turns up blind at her gym and suddenly the roles are reversed. Is it a trap? Or will she finally be able to get her revenge?

I’ll say off the bat that Sweat is not a light read and needs trigger warnings to eating disorders, compulsive exercise and orthorexia, as well as abusive and toxic relationships. We first meet Cassie as a personal trainer at a gym where she meets Liam, but the narrative slowly reveals how they know each other and their history – which can be quite a tricky read at times. The switches from present day to flashback are done really well, with something in the present narrative sparking a memory which links to the next chapter set in the past.

The plot is a slow-burn thriller and feels claustrophobic and tense throughout. You are unsure on what is happening – whether Liam is as helpless as he makes out and whether what she is doing to him is entirely justified. As a reader you are kept off-balance and stretching out for the solution which is kept just out of reach until the very end.

Characters around Cassie - from her mother to her best friend, are so frustrating as they struggle to see things from her perspective. It makes a point on how easy it is to ignore what’s going on around us and makes us question if we would see the signs and believe our friends as well, especially in a society where romance and obsession are very easily confused. This does make it quite difficult to find a character to grip onto though, especially as Cassie can be unreliable and frustrating. At times she seems unstable, impulsive and bad at making decisions, but the more that we learn about her past, the more we empathise with her. I could not see how this book would end, and it gripped me as we went along, wanting to find out. The ending itself really surprised me, I’m still not really sure how I feel about it - I do think it’s the most realistic conclusion though, sadly. It certainly made me think about it long after I’d put it down.

Overall, Sweat is a claustrophobic, tense thriller designed to have your heartbeat racing but keeps you off balance and reaching out for the conclusion throughout. Thank you to NetGalley & Random House UK, Cornerstone and Hutchinson Heinemann for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Oh I do enjoy a messy thriller. A personal trainer is covering for one of her colleagues when a new client comes into the gym. The client is her ex-boyfriend. Who is now blind. Their whole backstory is mixed in with the current day narrative & it all unravels.

It’s pretty clear right away that Cassie and Liam did not end their relationship on a good note. Actually the entire thing was pretty terrible for Cassie. So of course revenge seems appealing.

I had a good time reading this. Some of it is tough to read, I would imagine even more so if you have experienced an abusive relationship. It is pacy & engrossing if you’re up for it though!

Cassie is a personal trainer at a gym. Her boss has made a crass comment that has resulted in reduced rates for those with disabilities.
Cassie takes on a couple of these clients, one of whom turns out to be her ex. He’s currently blind.
The story weaves through the present day and historical events when they were a couple - his controlling, coercive and abusive behaviour. Whether it was to do with exercise, food (no sugar of any kind, and as for chocolate!) or alienating her from her friends. Of course no one believes her story, he’s so well behaved in public.
Cassie decides to take revenge on Liam, slight changes to her voice and phrases, a different perfume - she’s thought it all through….or has she.
Total page turner and compelling, despite wanting to shout ‘Cassie! No! Stop!).
Touches on sensitive subjects: domestic abuse, emotional and physical abuse, lies. Hard reading in places, you can understand how others don’t believe the victims, perpetrators can be so convincing.

This a very uncomfortable, claustrophobic read about an abusive relationship between Cassie and Liam.

It’s told between past and present, in the present day Liam is blind and Cassie is trying to work out how to use this to her advantage. In flashbacks we see the coercive behaviour in their relationship and what has driven her to behave the way she does.

This was a hard read, I don’t get triggered by books usually but the amount it touched on weight and eating did make me feel really uncomfortable (I know that’s the point but just a warning if you really do struggle with that kind of content.)

It was very bleak and isn’t one i’d necessarily recommend by saying I enjoyed it, but it did make me feel something and that’s a sign of a good writer and we shouldn’t always just stick to reading things that we’re comfortable with.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read this book in exchange for a fair and full review.

This was such a great read. I love psychological thrillers and this got my attention straight away. It was a bit slow to start but once it got going it was fab. I would definitely recommend this to my book friends.

This is a hard hitting book!

Cassie is a personal trainer who works at a gym, when her coercive, controlling ex, Liam comes through the door and she is asked to work with him. Plot twist he is now registered blind.

This is a story of a toxic relationship that is handled so delicately and sensitively, with a dash of humour, in the right places.


Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.

Coercive control and narcissism - revenged.
This is an excellent book dealing with difficult subject matter. Each chapter deals with a week in the life of Cassie, a physical trainer who works at a gym. The first part of each of these covers her present time, and the second goes back to events in the past. I don't normally like split timelines, much preferring a linear timeline, but in this case, the format really does work.
Lassie is no longer involved with Liam, who has influenced her to change her eating habits, exercise regime, and fitness. She now has a new life, but that may be about to change.
Emma Healey deals with some difficult subjects in a very sensitive way. She also brings in bits of humour and banter that temper some of the scenes that are quite disturbing.
This book is well worth reading.

This tackles the tricky issue of dealing with a toxic relationship. The tide turns and the perpetrator is now vulnerable. Not an easy read to work through

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for my ARC copy.

This book took a while to get going for me, the tension builds really slowly but is worth sticking out for. I would say that this book is not what I was expecting, it's quite different to Elizabeth is Missing if, like me, you enjoyed that book and were expecting something similar from the author. This is definitely more of a thriller, very dark at times and explores an abusive relationship so please do bear that in mind if you are going to read. Overall I did enjoy reading this, but it did take a while to hook me and I found the ending a bit meh.

Really unique concept!
Quite triggering if you’ve ever had a partner who’s scared you or been in an otherwise toxic relationship. It’s a power reversal but still horribly toxic.

Imagine your terrible ex returns to your life but now he’s the vulnerable one, what would you do with the power? This is Cassie’s situation, her ex Liam arrives as a PT client except he’s now blind. She can’t resist taking advantage, hiding her identity and avenging her past self in petty ways. But is she really making a power play or spiralling back into his poisonous orbit?

I’m writing this review from the couch and Cassie’s ex Liam would be horrified (which makes me happy). A unique framing for an all too normal story.

I didn’t love the back and forwards between now and then, I think it made the book really hard to get in to. I enjoyed the second half much more than the first because I actually felt like I knew what was going on.
I didn’t love Cassie as a protagonist, not a criticism, I empathised enormously but she was v frustrating. I actually had the most sympathy (and respect) for her friend Tanya.

I couldn’t stop thinking about where this story was going and the tension carries right on through to the end. There’s a lot of endurance and power to this book and I think it’ll make it in to a lot of book clubs (she says as she desperately wants to talk about the ending).

A survivor of domestic abuse is not only a person who has suffered violence, it’s a nuanced and terrifying thing - not speaking from personal experience - and I think this book explores this space well.

In a funny way it made me think about taking up exercising. Although I am just thinking about it…

Thank you to #netgalley @cornerstone_press for my #arc

Really enjoyed this - a tense and enthralling read with as much to say about diet culture and misogyny as abusive relationships.
Read in basically a single sitting, Liam is truly the stuff of nightmares.

I liked the authors previous novel Elizabeth is Missing and was pleased to be given an arc for Sweat. Over two timelines it is the story of Cassie, a personal trainer and her relationship with a coercive ex boyfriend. Perhaps it was the dark themes but I did not enjoy the novel and failed to finish.

*themes of domestic abuse and coercive behaviour

What a great, if somewhat disturbing book! Told by Cassie in both the present and past, this is the story of her relationship with Liam. Two years after escaping his hold on her, he turns up at her gym for personal training, and at last Cassie has the advantage.

I didn’t always like Cassie’s actions and at times her decisions had my heart in my mouth, but Liam was such a horrible piece of work. What was so sad is other people’s (including Cassie’s closest family) didn’t or didn’t want to recognise Liam’s behaviour as abuse.

It’s not a nice read, but it is a thrilling read, that I flew through!

Thanks netgalley and penguin for the opportunity to read this early copy.

Emma Healey can be relied upon to write a book that is out of the ordinary.
Sweat is certainly that.
Most readers will be uncomfortable for at least some part of this book as Cassandra is controlled by boyfriend Liam, or when she plots to take revenge.
The book is full of things that made me think why, but there are such people around. I have seen some of them in the gyms that I have been to.
I had various possible endings in my mind as I read this, and the one in the book was one of them, sort of.
Things were intentionally unclear at the end, but such that you can think that the end is a full stop if you want to.
A great book for a book group. I can see them discussing this for months.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

PHEW! This book was a rollercoaster... in a good way!

The novel covers two timelines: the rise and fall of Cassie and Liam's abusive and coercive relationship, alongside them unexpectedly reuniting in the present day. Now, I've seen reviews where people believe Cassie's acted wrong throughout the novel, but I am not here to read people doing the right thing. Liam put her through hell and clearly traumatised her in more ways than she can realise, and I had no problems with her actions - because its fictional. It's fun to read people to socially unacceptable things! And give the girl a break, he definitely had this coming.

Liam was eerily realistic, intimidating enough to cause unease through words on a screen. I never knew which way he was going to go. One scene in particular really stuck with me and even a week later I uncomfortable thinking about it - which is an excellent sign this is a book worthy of your time. My only issue is the ending, which I felt a bit flat about after living alongside Cassie for her crazy rollercoaster of a trip. Without trying to give any spoilers, she deserved better.

Thank you to Random House and Netgalley for the chance to review. All opinions are my own :)

This is an extremely claustrophobic book with some very difficult issues covered - self-harm, domestic abuse, eating disorders, coercive control and two characters neither of whom are particularly likeable or believable.

Cassie is our protagonist. She is a few years out of a relationship which was exceptionally abusive. It has left her with mental scars that may never heal. Her ex Liam was a controlling person who pushed Cassie into an eating disorder and over-exercising, which has not left her in the intervening time. She works as a personal trainer whose obsession with food and exercise has pushed her friends and family away.

However, one day she gets a new client. Liam who claims he has lost his sight. She pretends to be another trainer in order to get close to him and the abusive relationship is switched. But can she believe a word Liam says? Is he truly blind or is this yet another way of keeping her close;of controlling her every move.

The tone of this book remains sinister throughout. It gets more and more claustrophobic and threatening as the narrative continues and Cassie's state of mind becomes more precarious. But there was a tiny niggle at the back of my mind the entire time - that Cassie might just be an unreliable narrator; that you were never quite sure who the real manipulator was.

I enjoyed this book up to a point. It is not an easy read due to the subject matter. It certainly left me feeling powerless and anxious a lot of the time. I'd say Emma Healey did an excellent job of putting doubts into my mind about what was real and what was not. Recommended.

Thankyou to Netgalley and Random House, Cornerstone for the advance review copy.

Sweat is a novel told in two timelines by the narrator, Cassie. In the past Cassie is living in a relationship with Liam, who has all the control and two years later in the future, where it appears that Cassie has the control. Cassie is not a particularly reliable or likeable narrator and the subject matter can be quite hard to read. I found it quite hard to engage with the story to start, but really liked the premise of the book and was pleased I kept on reading. It is well written and different to anything else I have read recently. Personally, I like a book that has me squirming, gets my heart pounding with anxiety for the characters and outcomes and Sweat did just this.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Cassie is trying to get over her last relationship, staying for and working in a gym. Along comes her ex boyfriend, although this time it appears she may just have the advantage for once. We learn the story of this very toxic and controlling relationship, however as it goes along you do start to wonder which one of these characters is the most psycho. The characters are not likeable, the obsession with food and exercise becomes repetitive, and the strange behaviour just gets weird.

Wasn’t a fan of this one which is really disappointing as I was so excited to read this but it unfortunately fell flat to me with only the past timeline keeping me engaged. A more detailed review is linked below on tiktok.