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rafiniert's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death and Sexism
Minor: Grief, Mass/school shootings, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
alexisgarcia'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
2.0
i absolutely loved No Exit by this author so i thought this had to be good. i think the premise is super interesting and different, but it fell short. while this was definitely tense and action-packed, it was almost too much. there was an absurd amount of twists and turns that weren’t executed well. it felt like the authors gun ran out of bullets so they just started throwing rocks. these twists were predictable while also feeling so unnecessary and overdone. also the ending??? what kind of hallmark/lifetime movie did this turn into at the end?
*slight spoiler****
also, if you’re an author and you’re writing a mystery or thriller and it is based around one of the main “villains” having a mental illness, just don’t???? this heavily perpetuates mental health stereotypes and stigmas, which simply aren’t true. this is so played out and just downright harmful and inaccurate.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
caitlin_davis22's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Moderate: Child death, Miscarriage, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Alcoholism
likeagilmoregirl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
The first 50% of this book was incredible. I was thoroughly creeped out and was having a great time coming up with theories about what the twists would be. And even when many of my theories were proven right, they were done in such a way that left me invested in the story and frequently wanting to throw my e-reader across the room.
The weak points for me were after the halfway mark. While the book was engaging all the way through, it sometimes became frustrating to see what was happening way before some of the characters did. The main twist involving the heroine’s past also made it difficult to sympathize with her the way I would have like to as a reader. And there was also a very very brief, seemingly last-minute decision to include an explanation/excuse of mental illness concerning the killer that left a bad taste in my mouth. These things brought this down from a 4 to a 3.5 for me.
Overall, I enjoyed this book a lot. I couldn’t put it down and I was a little sad when it was over. Love the premise, mostly love the story. Going to sleep with my lights on now!
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Infertility, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Mass/school shootings, and Alcohol
Minor: Mental illness and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
danielle70's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Car accident, and Murder
Moderate: Animal cruelty
Minor: Infertility, Mental illness, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
stephmcoakley's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Infertility, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
chasingpages1'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Cursing, Drug use, Eating disorder, Excrement, Medical content, Mass/school shootings, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
avidreaderandgeekgirl'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
3.75
Mostly I found the male-narrated parts to be annoying but insightful. I think part of it was the narrator's voice, and the character himself to be annoying, but I think he was sort of modeled after INCELs.
Whereas Emma's parts are more palatable. I took her POV to be more reliable, as some things were told from both POVs but the spin of the character.
I didn't expect the final twist with Emma and what had happened in her life prior to the beach.
Overall it was a pretty good book. And I'm so glad that Laika survived!
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Minor: Bullying and Infertility
kimveach'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
2.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
yvo_about_books's review against another edition
4.5
"Coincidences are fine in real life. But in fiction, they're bad writing."
I’ve been meaning to try his books for years now, and of course there was no way that I was going to resist the blurb of The Last Word for long. I love books with bookish angles, and what is more fascinating AND terrifying than a thriller read where an author slash killer goes after a person leaving him a one star review? And while things can be said about the plot being over the top and you definitely have to suspend your belief, I personally didn’t care because I was too busy enjoying the ride. This was exactly the dark, twisted and exhilarating read I needed! There is just something about the writing style that makes it very easy to fly through the pages, and the plot itself only increases that pace. The POVs are somehow blurred in points, and at times it takes a second before you realize who is in the spotlight; this would usually highly annoy me, but somehow in The Last Word it only added to the suspense. There are plenty of twists along the way as well, and with (at times) two contrasting POVs telling how the events happened it makes you wonder what is the real version. Again, this is usually something that would bother me, but in this case it somehow worked. Even the characters: none of them are exactly likeable, but since the main focus is on the plot and the life or death situation it's not as important. The Last Word definitely tips its toe in the horror genre though, and warnings are in place for particularly gruesome and graphic scenes as well as animal cruelty. If you think you can stomach those and like your thrillers on the dark and twisted side, I can highly recommend this story.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail