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lmdov's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
We read this for our book club and I did not enjoy it at all. WhatsApp and Instagram clearly banned in this village probably the "bad signal" all the men in the book are 2 dimensional misogynists, two of the women have made up jobs where they stop for cake everyday at 11. It is a Desperate Housewives plot set in the Cotswolds. Nothing of substance to discuss at book club as the only thing to critique is the writing style. All characterisation is bland, plot is unbelievable but not in a fun villinette way
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Vomit, Car accident, Abortion, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
Moderate: Animal cruelty
kateea7536's review against another edition
dark
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
3.5
This was a gripping book and I was able to read it really quickly. It was tense and I always wanted to read on. Alice, one of the main characters, was extremely creepy and I think the writing was effective to make me feel so creeped out by her. However, I felt that there was so much coincidence in the book and things always worked out for Alice, it was often very unbelievable. Some of the detail in the writing felt unnecessary and cliched. I don’t think a lot of the writing style was for me but it was an ‘easy read’ and the plot did have twists and turns and I liked the exploration of the side characters’ trauma and in some cases wrongdoing. But the fact the characters were meant to be a group of friends wasn’t that believable because they didn’t seem to talk to each other about the glaringly obvious issues that were happening. I would’ve liked to have seen the friend group be tighter knit and more believable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
Moderate: Abandonment and Injury/Injury detail