Born Bad

by Josephine Cox

Title: Born Bad Binding: Hardcover Author: Cox, Josephine Publisher: HARPER COLLINS PUBLISHERS

Genres: Fiction

374 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2009

About the author

Josephine Cox was born in Blackburn, one of ten children. At the age of sixteen, Josephine met and married her husband Ken, and had two sons. When the boys started school, she decided to go to college and eventually gained a place at university but was unable to take this up as it would have meant living away from home. Instead, she went into teaching – and started to write her first full-length novel. She won the ‘Superwoman of Great Britain’ Award, for which her family had secretly entered her, at the same time as her novel was accepted for publication. She is now a No.1 bestselling author with over 40 books to her name.

She wrote dark psychological thrillers under the name Jane Brindle.

Reviews

[Michelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't get into this at all; I just couldn't get into the story line or relate to the characters.

One star.

[Sue Gerhardt Griffiths · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ooh, this one from Josephine Cox was a real page turner and had me gripped until a few pages prior to the ending, and then…it was like…WTH! The twist at the end was SO startling, it left me shaking my head, I can only believe that the author made an error in judgement to contradict everything she wrote about this one character. Such a shame as this was a 5 star read up to that point.

I will still recommend this book as it was compelling and other readers might like the strange twist at the end.

Popsugar Reading Challenge 2020: #5 - A book with the same title as a movie or TV show but is unrelated to it

*Book #44/72 of my 2019 coffee table to-read challenge, cont. 2020

[Freya · Rating 1 out of 5]

If Judy's father Don was indeed the one that abused her as a child, then why was his brother Mac peeking in at Sammie as she undressed and getting visibly excited. Something doesn't add up.. Did the author forget as she was writing the epilogue who the villain was.
All in all this book was horrendous to read. The writing style was incredibly tedious, melodramatic and repetitive. Just plain awful.

[Belinda · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book would have been half the size if the events of the "one night" were not repeated so often by so many people. All versions add nothing to the story line and add nothing to the plot that you don't already know. Although at first I liked the characters, by half way through they were starting to get on my nerves. This was the first time I have read this author and I don't think I will be going to look for any more of her books. Just not my cup of tea.

[Fiona Story · Rating 1 out of 5]

Overall, fairly dreadful. One-dimensional characters with a predictable plot. The themes of the story were laid on so very thickly, leaving me to think that the author must consider her readers to be fools needing everything blatantly pointed out to them. Avoid. I have read other books by Josephine Cox previously and I don't recall them being this awful or I wouldn't have picked it up. I guess that is what happens when you fill a box for $5 at the book fair - win some, lose some!

[Scotchneat · Rating 1 out of 5]

Good gods, this was bad. I'm even tempted to give away the plotline so you can appreciate how annoyingly melodramatic it is.

[Laura · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found the writing style annoying. The story was predictable up until the end, where she threw in a very unsatisfying twist. The characters were caricatures and the dialogue was silly.

[Nona · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dear, dear me. Josephine COX must have a secret benefactor as I don't know why this was published. The writer commits the fault of continual repetitiveness that does not enhance the tale; in fact confuses it. Further she totally confuses the reader with alternate use of dialogue. In instances we are hearing the voice of the writer telling the story, and before one knows it, the character is speaking, sometimes inwardly and other times out loud. Then just to further confuse the dialogue will be included with one character talking to another. Totally, totally confusing; very poor writing.
I listened to this novel and one CD was totally devoted to a holiday of the main character's family. After it finished I once again was totally confused and found it difficult to understand why COX had devoted so much dialogue to this scene. After I finished I was still none the wiser, except I thought 'the uncle' might have some connection to an unknown 'fatherless' child.
I found myself constantly fast-forwarding the CD's.
Part of the story itself is quite plausible, that is the account the love story of Judy and Harry. COX tries to introduce sub plots, however fails miserably in trying to interweave them into the story. Everything else is ludicrous.

[Becky · Rating 2 out of 5]

Listened to as an audio book.
Regarding the audio - Other than the squeaky imitation of the young boy, the narrating was 'listenable'.
Regarding the book - 'Born Bad' tells the tale of a young loved-up couple who were separated in the teenage year but have never lost their lust. I found it predictable and pretty boring. The secrets of the characters were actually pretty easy to guess so that removed any possible suspense or excitement. I disliked the very ending. The only good point I can make is that it wasn't completely terrible and I did bother to finish it. I probably won't choose to listen/read a Josephine Cox again though.

[EILEEN SHEPPARD · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another cracker

I loved this book, it is hard hitting and the story had me almost in tears a few times. Poor Judy, her heart and soul belong to her first love Harry but unfortunately she is married to Phil. He is a sadistic bully, with a vile mouth and temper who gets his fun terrorizing his poor wife. He beats, rapes and totally demoralised her till she is broken. The book has a twist that I never saw coming but I won't spoil it for other readers. Would I recommend this book, you bet your life I would, it was a great read.

[lahraeb · Rating 3 out of 5]

moving & touching in places... was getting slightly concerned towards the end as there were so little pages left & so many unresolved conflicts... & gosh darn that plot twist at the end, though it was kinda unsatisfying...? the dialogue was a little clunky & predictable & slightly odd writing style - but a good enough read to whittle away the afternoon.

[Dianne James · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was eager to read this book, but found it slow - not boring - just slow. It's what I would call a quiet little story.
That said, the characters are very well developed (though some are just too good to be true) and there was a twist at the end I did not expect.
All in all I did enjoy the book and I'd probably read another - I like Cox's style of writing - but I'd be hoping for a faster pace.

[Lorraine · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have loved many of Josephine Cox's books, but this one took forever to actually get going. It is not until towards the very end that you get an idea of where the storyline is heading. I struggled to get to the end of this book but persevered and reading a good book should be a joy not a perseverence.

[Bernie Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really liked Born Bad. A sad story of abusive relationships but with good resolution and conclusion.

[Elly Wendy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just not my kind of novel. I didn't learn anything or see new places, plus I kept wanting to edit.

[Saarah Niña · Rating 1 out of 5]

A tedious read. Unnecessary words, too long. Was predictable, became dull quickly. Like a mail order bride kind of novel.

[Priyanka Gupta · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unnecessary writing and explaining.

[Cazi3 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this on audio , I didn’t much care for the narrator, whilst good at his accents including Irish, cockney male/ female and a child’s voice. His story telling for the most part was like he was reading Thomas the Tank Engine, to 5 year olds. To much filers within this story, which lengthened it unnecessarily. You get a good quarter way through the book , before you get a sense of what would pan out to be a rather dark tale, of family secrets and lies. At times I wanted Judy to grow some and just take the many opportunities she was given to escape., the whole town new the thing she was married to. The end was quite imaginative as I didn’t see that twist coming.

[Marcelina · Rating 2 out of 5]

The style of writing was baffling and childlike at times. The repetitiveness was soul destroying and would have easily been half the pages if the story wasn't constantly repeated. Irish Kathleen was like a panto dame, I'm Irish and I can assure you nobody talks in her exaggerated tongue in Ireland. Initially I liked the twist but then I realised why wasn't the creepy behaviour of the uncle explained, it made no sense. The story was dragged out within an inch of its life and then bang in a few pages finished without much substance.

[Janine Lawton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Outstanding weaving of plot, exposition and character development. However I was really disappointment with the twist near the end of the book. I wanted the story's condemnation of the ultimate bad guy to follow through to the conclusion that we'd been lead to believe. And a little more time spent exploring Sammie's background/younger childhood would've been nice too.

[Ethereal Amorist · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was captivated from the very beginning! The story was deeply emotional and heartbreaking, keeping me engaged throughout. But the twist at the end caught me off guard—in a way that left me disappointed. I would have preferred a more predictable yet satisfying secret reveal over the way it was actually done in this book.

[Vawana Khatri · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was just wondering around and i saw this book in the library!!Immediately i started reading and i didn't stop till i finished it at midnight....ooh its a fabulous book!!!Everyone needs to read it!

[Thebookvamp · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dropped out... Find no reason for further reading... Stopped in page 258. Sorry.....

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book.

[Josie Murrell]

Really enjoyed this read - again as it was so real. Well written.

[Alyssa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Slow start and the story had some holes. A bit darker then I was expecting

[Glenys · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read with a family secret that was only revealed at the very end...

[DubaiReader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review for the abridged audiobook.

I listened to this as an abridged audiobook and felt that even that was too long. The plot seemed to proceed at a rather tedious pace, leaving me disinterested in the characters or their fates.

We meet Harry Blake as he bids farewell to his beloved wife at her death bed. Her dying wish was that Harry should take their young son, Tom, back to Harry's childhood home and his aunt Kathleen, who had raised him after the death of his own parents.
But Kathleen is not the only reason that Harry is drawn back to Fisher's Hill. He has never forgotten his first love, Judy, whom he had abandoned when he discovered that she had lied to him.
Will he find Judy? Will he be able to forgive her for her lies? Will we learn the reason why she had lied?
The story unravels in rather predictable fashion. There was one unexpected turn towards the end but I found that rather more unbelievable than the conclusion that we were being drawn to.

If this had been in book form it would probably have stayed on my shelf but, being an audiobook, it got an airing as I never have enough in-car listening. Sadly, I can only say that I found it a bit boring - I don't think I'm a great fan of Ms Cox.

[Bronwyn Rykiert · Rating 3 out of 5]

At 14 Judy Roberts was tossed out of home when she told her parents that she was pregnant, her boyfriend Harry Blake also left her, so she was left to her devices. When Phil Saunders asked her to marry him she agreed even though she did not love him, this led into a dangerous life as Phil’s wife.

Harry had been in love with Judy but she had deceived him and he left her, later he regretted making that choice. 18 years later Harry has just lost his wife Sara and before she died Sara made him promise that he would take their son Tom and go home to Fishers Hill so he could be with someone who would look after them. He went home to the house that he grew up in after his parents had died, home to Kathleen who had been like a mother to him. He found himself a job then went looking for Judy.

This story started off okay and it was compelling enough to want to finish it, but there were lots of holes in the story, where I really thought that what the people were thinking and doing did not seem right. Her father going off to look for her, I think he should have tried harder, but maybe he had his reasons not to.

[Sandy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Audiobook on CD.

This was given to me by a friend - I didn't buy it!!

The main character in the story was portrayed as a simpleton who, pregnant at 14, was thrown out of the family home to survive by herself on the streets.

She was taken in and married to a man who would rape her on a daily basis and abuse her mentally also. Her first love, the man who had supposedly got her pregnant then left in a hurry, comes back to town after a bereavement to find her again - nearly 20 years later.

Hard to pin down the era of this book but I'd put it in the early to middle 60's. Harry drives a Hillman Imp and cars in general are more common place.

Not my usual choice of book and I did find quite a few holes in the script. Very cliqued and also typical of the sort of book made popular by the likes of Catherine Cookson, but Cookson did it better.

Plenty of these books have been trotted out by this author so she must have some appeal - not my cup of tea though!!