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cin19's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
beckys_book_blog's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
2.0
ell_n's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
5.0
Amazingly written. The twists were incredible and I'm still processing the ending!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Mental illness, Rape, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Murder
nebulous07's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.0
What Happened on Floor 34? is an interesting slow-build premise centred around Rose, a day editor. She has a work connection with the night editor, Will Frost. Suddenly, Will Frost disappears, and Rose's boss offers her the position of night editor. However, this comes at a price. Caroline Corcoran's narrative style is engaging, and the downward spiral of our protagonist is thorough and intense. The spiral triggers an obsession to truly decipher what happened to Will Frost, leading Rose to walk a dark and narrow path of disconnection and isolation. There were multiple moments when the book dragged on and felt like a never-ending cycle, impeding my reading experience. This book is filled with twists and turns; some are pure hits, while the others felt like it was a consolation, added purely for shock value. The plot is intriguing; however, the execution slightly falls short—a 3-star read.
Trigger Warning - Rape.
Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for giving me an e-ARC. This honest review is left voluntarily.
Trigger Warning - Rape.
Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for giving me an e-ARC. This honest review is left voluntarily.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape
readwithcatriona's review
3.0
Rose works as the day editor for one of the leading newspapers. But when the night editor goes missing and Rose takes over the position, she can’t help but wonder that there is something more sinister at play… and if she will be next
I found this to be such a gripping novel with a lot of suspense. I was so shocked at the plot twists and the reveals, I definitely didn’t know how the story would play out which is exactly what I look for in a thriller novel.
I found this to be such a gripping novel with a lot of suspense. I was so shocked at the plot twists and the reveals, I definitely didn’t know how the story would play out which is exactly what I look for in a thriller novel.
em_the_reader13's review
2.0
First of all, let me thank the author, publisher and Net Galley for providing me with an advanced readers copy of this book, it's greatly appreciated.
Second of all, let me put into words my thoughts only a few minutes after having finished this title. As of right now, I have mixed feelings about what I just read - there were parts that entertained me (even surprised and shocked me) but there were also parts that I found infuriating and would rather have skipped or omitted all together. And this second kind was coincidentially, the majority.
Let's begin with our protagonist, Rose, whose perspective I did not enjoy reading from. She is a stubborn people pleaser (as she doesn't forget to mention multiple times throughout the book) who denies her very obvious problems and "soldiers on" with the biggest amount of self-pity under the Sun. I detested reading from her point of view because of how insufferable she was to listen to and how 90% of her thoughts was just plain self-deprecation and denial. I'm well aware of the fact that this book portrays serious real-life issues (TW: rape), but the whole book was written in such a way that you'd think all the depression and PTSD of the main character managed to seep into your own life.
I'm not sure why I thought this book was a mystery, potentially delving into the paranormal. That might've been my misunderstanding, even though I had those same feelings while reading the first 30% of the book. From then on it quickly went downhill - the plot kept on dragging on for a ginormously long amount of time and then the final plot twists (yes, you heard right, plural) were crammed into the final 15-20% of the book. And what's even worse is that at the end of the epilogue (despite being pleasantly surprised by the last plot twist), I was still not sure whether the suppossed villains were the actual villains, as the narrator was so unreliable I probably wouldn't have believed her even if she managed to pull up clear and obvious evidence.
Another thing I'd like to mention is a very annoying detail the author decided to fit into almost every. Single. Chapter. While the protagonist looks for clues in conversations with her acquaintances, usually we only hear her responses to said clues and hints (e.g. "I am so shocked by what she told me about___") and actually hear the facts and data after another 10-20%. of the book. Which, as you might imagine is quite the buildup-killer.
In conclusion, there were a few aspects of this title I enjoyed - the epilogue, the atmosphere descriptions & an interesting look behind the scenes of a day editor of a periodical (I think that's what it's called).However, the negatives sadly outbalance the positives - slow plot progression, overcrammed plot twists at the end, (very) unreliable narrator, confusion over facts and fiction & the absolute monotony of the protagonist's conversations and thought processes.
But if that's something you enjoy and seek out in a book, go ahead, you'll love this one.
Second of all, let me put into words my thoughts only a few minutes after having finished this title. As of right now, I have mixed feelings about what I just read - there were parts that entertained me (even surprised and shocked me) but there were also parts that I found infuriating and would rather have skipped or omitted all together. And this second kind was coincidentially, the majority.
Let's begin with our protagonist, Rose, whose perspective I did not enjoy reading from. She is a stubborn people pleaser (as she doesn't forget to mention multiple times throughout the book) who denies her very obvious problems and "soldiers on" with the biggest amount of self-pity under the Sun. I detested reading from her point of view because of how insufferable she was to listen to and how 90% of her thoughts was just plain self-deprecation and denial. I'm well aware of the fact that this book portrays serious real-life issues (TW: rape), but the whole book was written in such a way that you'd think all the depression and PTSD of the main character managed to seep into your own life.
I'm not sure why I thought this book was a mystery, potentially delving into the paranormal. That might've been my misunderstanding, even though I had those same feelings while reading the first 30% of the book. From then on it quickly went downhill - the plot kept on dragging on for a ginormously long amount of time and then the final plot twists (yes, you heard right, plural) were crammed into the final 15-20% of the book. And what's even worse is that at the end of the epilogue (despite being pleasantly surprised by the last plot twist), I was still not sure whether the suppossed villains were the actual villains, as the narrator was so unreliable I probably wouldn't have believed her even if she managed to pull up clear and obvious evidence.
Another thing I'd like to mention is a very annoying detail the author decided to fit into almost every. Single. Chapter. While the protagonist looks for clues in conversations with her acquaintances, usually we only hear her responses to said clues and hints (e.g. "I am so shocked by what she told me about___") and actually hear the facts and data after another 10-20%. of the book. Which, as you might imagine is quite the buildup-killer.
In conclusion, there were a few aspects of this title I enjoyed - the epilogue, the atmosphere descriptions & an interesting look behind the scenes of a day editor of a periodical (I think that's what it's called).However, the negatives sadly outbalance the positives - slow plot progression, overcrammed plot twists at the end, (very) unreliable narrator, confusion over facts and fiction & the absolute monotony of the protagonist's conversations and thought processes.
But if that's something you enjoy and seek out in a book, go ahead, you'll love this one.
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