Reviews with content warning for Addiction - The Appeal

Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

The Appeal by Janice Hallett

61 reviews

megspiteri's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

okay I have a lot to say on this book. I was excited to read it, I'd heard good things and I really enjoyed the Christmas novella sequel thing BUT the email/text style of writing gets old really quickly. It was a good style for the short novella but in this 300+ page book it got boring very quickly. ALSO some of the (main) characters are INSUFFERABLE which I know is deliberate but it got so annoying and put me off reading the book. ALSO if you are reading this for a murder mystery, it doesn't happen until about 70% of the way through, and it feels like the solving is very rushed and squished into the last bit of the book. I kept reading until the end to find out what happened but I didn't enjoy the reading, I just wanted to know how it all worked out, and although the mystery does solve pretty nicely, I don't think it is groundbreaking enough to undo all the annoying and boring bits about the book. The actual story is great but the way it's written ruins it. Other books by Janice Hallet are on my TBR but I'm not sure I will read them if they involve the same annoying characters and the email/text writing style

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missgrangerr's review against another edition

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funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

LOVED this book! I am a huge fan of stories told in unconventional ways, so seeing this book being told through emails and texts was a huge draw. The story was well told and plotted. Highly recommend to fans of mysteries.

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b33dubs's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I could not put this book down. The author did an incredible job developing the characters just through how they write emails, as well as burying clues within the context of the emails (such as time stamps). The initial drama is in the interpersonal relationships, and the tension in wondering who will be murdered, how, and for what reason as you learn more about the characters and the secrets and grudges they hold.

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melshoo's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

A quick and fun read! The format isn’t for everyone (epistolary novel with a large cast and multiple POV) but I liked piecing together the overarching story from messages that would have seemed mundane in isolation. I can’t speak to whether the twists and big reveal were set up well but they didn’t seem to come out of nowhere and weren’t too far-fetched. I’ll probably read the next book in this series.

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dilani's review against another edition

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mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

A unique take on a mystery involving a wealthy family and their amateur theatre group. A sick 2-year-old, Poppy, needs a new type of medicine to battle her rare brain cancer. A new kind of medicine means it won’t be cheap. Luckily, her family creates an appeal to raise the necessary funds, but there’s something more sinister behind it all.

First time reading a full novel comprised of emails, text, and articles. There were a lot of people involved which made it hard to keep track of. I didn’t even know how to map out my theories, but I still enjoyed it. 🎭💉

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motypeandroid's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

I really enjoyed this book. It’s probably the most fun I’ve had reading a book this year. It was so messy with lies and fraud and crazy people that I forgot there was going to be a murder. I really enjoyed the format this book was told in. I’d consider reading from this author again.

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