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maryconney's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, and Outing
amandinesophie'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
3.0
This was batsh*t crazy but entertaining.
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
cyndi1966's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Lesbophobia, Outing, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, and Blood
Minor: Alcohol
taylorp0113's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Torture and Murder
ravenpuff's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Drug use, Torture, Blood, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
essentialnpc's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Excrement, and Vomit
bookishmillennial's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
This was a wild ride, but ultimately it made me laugh and I had a good time with these shamelessly messy, unhinged, overly competitive, toxic women π
This felt to me like if June and Athena from Yellowface went to a writing retreat before they both published novels. The angst, jealousy, and obsession with success and notoriety in the publishing industry was so entertaining, and I enjoyed the (extremely toxic but) sapphic denial between Wren and Alex, former friends who are now writing rivals.
Roza, the successful horror novelist that hosts this writing retreat, was every bit conniving, pretentious, and mischievous that you would imagine a renowned literary genius would be. She ate up the groveling of the five women who aspired to achieve even an ounce of the success she found, and she knew what she was doing in every single moment. The way that she revealed it would be a competition among the five attendees had me howling; I was like THIS IS ABOUT TO BE MAYHEM π«£
I thought this was a fun novel because it provided a sinister but goofy enough commentary on the life of a writer, and how far someone would go to ensure a global bestseller! It brings you into the darkest, greediest, most menacing thoughts of someone who eats, lives, and breathes writing and wants so desperately to be recognized for their work. This book made me happy to be a reader and not a writer π
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
jamiee_f's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Surprise--the missing girl isn't lost in the snow, she's IMPRISONED BY ROZA. It turns out that Roza has stolen every successful novel she's written, and this retreat was an excuse to get 5 more stories from the participants. The women all end up imprisoned, and Roza continues to escalate, trying to force the participants to kill each other. Eventually everyone dies/is murdered by Roza and her lackies, and it comes down to Wren vs. Alex. Alex refuses to kill Wren, and it seems like Roza is going to take drastic measures when--BAM, one of the women we thought was dead returns and conks Roza in the head. Flash forward to the epilogue, all the writers that survived are now published.
This was reminiscent of Lianne Moriarty's book about the wellness retreat in the desert, I think it was The Nine? But this was a bit darker and much gayer.
Graphic: Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
whimsykat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Bullying, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Outing, and Gaslighting
Minor: Infidelity, Racism, Vomit, and Alcohol
sarahbobearah's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Torture, Kidnapping, and Murder
Moderate: Child abuse, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship