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violetvulptex'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Confinement and Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Excrement, Antisemitism, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Cultural appropriation
araowl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Medical trauma
Minor: Child abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Excrement, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Outing, and Gaslighting
blackcatkai's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
this was pretty good, especially for a debut, in my opinion. not a huge fan of how some mental illness was handled, especially the use of words like 'psycho' and such, but this was definitely entertaining. a couple twists, one of which I definitely saw coming, complicated characters, weird relationships, drama, and just kept my attention the entire time. I feel the pace was good, and it was well put together. I'd definitely read more from Bartz in the future.
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Racism, Sexism, and Grief
kris386's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, and Antisemitism
savvyrosereads'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
3.5
Alex is struggling in her personal and professional life when she receives a once-in-a-lifetime invitation to attend an exclusive writing retreat hosted by her favorite author...but the invitation may not be all that it seems.
This book has an exceptional premise, and the vibes (winter locked room thriller with an And Then There Were None type plot) were outstanding. I’ve heard so many good things and went into this read extremely excited—especially because it was a BOTM pick and I usually have great luck with their choices.
Unfortunately, this one ultimately fell a *little* flat for me. It wasn’t bad (as evidenced by my 3.5 stars) but I found the plot a bit too unbelievable, and felt like the ending was very out-of-character/didn’t fit with the rest of the story. I also wanted more of a twist or reveal—everything seemed pretty predictable the whole way through.
All of that said, I do want to emphasize that I’ve seen some amazing reviews of this one and you might like it a lot more than I did! And, the writing is generally good and engaging—I’ll definitely still be giving this author a future try for whatever she writes next.
Recommended if you like: locked door mysteries; women’s wrongs; books about books
CW: Kidnapping/confinement; blood/death/violence; toxic friendship/emotional abuse/gaslighting; sexual encounters involving questionable consent
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Torture, and Excrement
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Slavery, and Cultural appropriation
thecriticalreader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Graphic: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Torture, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Blood, Vomit, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse, Confinement, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, and Abandonment