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books_and_things's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
What I really did not see coming was Camille being the target of the Collective. WHAT?!?! I personally don’t think a phone call at the wrong time and some strong words warrants murder but eh what do I know?
All that to say, I thoroughly enjoyed this one. I especially loved the look at grief. It is dark and raw and totally consuming.
Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Rape and Self harm
rambleandsipwithelise's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Moderate: Gun violence and Sexual violence
tomilola's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Child death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, and Murder
catinseas's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Transphobia, Violence, Police brutality, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, Outing, and Alcohol
danaslitlist's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Instead this is thriller that puts the focus on grief and the many ways it can present itself. Self destruction, the destruction of others, regret, anger, and so much more. And while this is still a suspenseful and tense book I found this to be a much more emotional journey than I had expected. I really appreciated the commentary on victims of violence at the hands of those who have the means to escape justice (whether that is because of their race, financial or social status, or just utter incompetency of the system).
The Collective spends a good portion of itself discussing how the world views these victims in life and in death and how that extends to the surviving members of the victims' families. One of the most powerful and gut punching moments occurs when justice (in theory) is finally attained for one of the main characters and we see how quick the world is ready to reinvent the narrative they spent so long pushing and benefiting from. And how fast everyone is to move on immediately after, how that doesn't sate the feelings of rage and pain that linger for those still wronged.
I really enjoyed our main character, Cam, she's a beautifully flawed (and who wouldn't be given the circumstances) character that I wanted to both shake some sense into while also root for her to keep going. The mysterious supporting cast that names themselves The Collective are equally fascinating and I really love that even in the end we know very little about who they all are and how this system works. Again, the premise is just genius and terrifying. I also appreciate the deviating from the young lover with Luke, I tip my hat to Alison Gaylin for that little twist.
The only reason that I'm removing a star from this book is because of the ending. This is a book that builds up and up, a dam about to break, but instead of a shattering of that dam we get someone poking the wall with a stick to create a leak that completely ruins the spectacle. Now, I'm not saying that we needed to have a guns blazing ending or anything but it was very anti-climatic and that I think it could've been fixed with some little changes. One of those being the pacing; the majority of the book has great pacing however the last 100 pages or so goes by very quickly with a lot of reveals and twists given to you all at once. This didn't quite work out for me the way I think it was intended especially given the reveals we were receiving. They were quite vital for Cam and her character and instead of having any time to ruminate on them we're forced to go, go, go. The other change I would make would be to make the stakes at the end a bit higher. I think the ending is where the author finally played it too safe for me because there was never a question of what decision she would make.
I think a lot of my minor issues have to do with the pacing of the last 100 pages. It’s so fast as if it’s trying to quickly tie things together on a time crunch. I wish we had some more time to focus on the relationships that motivate her decisions at the end.
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Murder
Minor: Homophobia, Mental illness, Racism, and Medical content
palebea's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I do recommend this book absolutely. It is dark and suspenseful in nature with great writing, complex characters and a original plot line.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Stalking
eve_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
⁕ This is a book for those who want an easy, weekend binge read. It's not the masterpiece of the decade by any means, but goodness is it hard to put down.
⁕ Gaylin presents a surprisingly in-depth analysis of anger and revenge in the face of grief. She does not try to entertain forgiveness, rather she explores the reality of taking vengeance to the extreme and the consequences of doing so (bonus points because it's from the perspective of a woman).
⁕ I could not have predicted the ending (which was awesome), but it was very outlandish and a little nonsensical (which was maybe a little less awesome).
To read my full review, visit: https://evereads.online/
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Moderate: Child death, Drug use, Gun violence, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Violence, Grief, Stalking, and Murder
alexisgarcia's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
carrasreadsandthings's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug use, Murder, and Alcohol
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
lovelymisanthrope's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This novel follows a grieving mother, Camille Gardner, trying to seek justice for her deceased daughter. Five years ago, Camille's high school age daughter was found alone in the woods, and she unfortunately died shortly after. The lead suspect was a charismatic college student who claims the relationship was consensual and he had no part in the young girl's death. To Camille's horror, the man gets to live his life, and thrive, while she is decimated by her loss. In her depths of dismay, she stumbles across a group of grieving mothers who connect on the dark web and spill their darkest thoughts of revenge against those who have taken their children from them too soon. Camille quickly finds herself in a scheme of revenge against all the bad people who have hurt their children.
I thought this book was going to be a pretty straight forward case of heartbroken mothers who are seeking vigilante vengeance however, that is not the case. This novel has many twists and turns that I did not see coming. Everything, every action, every character, is connected in this grand scheme of revenge that I did not begin to piece together until I was almost at the end. Camille was such an interesting character to read from because she does not come across as this harden criminal that you would suspect to be involved in revenge, but losing her daughter changed her. I do think the ending is very polarizing. I can see why some people would hate it, and it would ruin the book for them. I personally really enjoyed the ending and I thought it was poetic and full circle. The epilogue is where the book started to lose me a little bit, but I still enjoyed my time with this book immensely!
Graphic: Child death, Death, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Blood, Car accident, and Alcohol
Minor: Terminal illness and Pregnancy