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frogglin's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Adrian Rizzo is a fitness guru with a strong family connection to her grandparents and their home, as well as a collection of friends to support her as she grows her fitness empire. The arrival of death threats in the form of pretty terrible poetry starts as a blip on her radar, until the threat increases and becomes real.
There are so so many characters in this book it can take a moment to remember who anyone is, and how they fit into the gentle domestic dramas of a sleepy town. One thing to note is the characters rarely, if ever, are in conflict with each other. Adrian herself appears to be the centre of their lives, and whatever she says goes without a murmur of dissent, no matter how bossy or strident she is.
Much of this novel feels unrelated to the actual point. Do we need multiple chapters dealing with "fitting out a community centre" or "publishing a new comic book"? Nope, but I suppose it helps develop the characters, not that any of them really develop in any meaningful way. They are mostly props to surround Adrian who at times is insufferable.
It's a pleasant enough read in the small town drama sense, the tension of the threats and their increasing danger takes a while to set in because there's no escalation until the last third of the book. Plenty of time jumps to take Adrian from a teenage fitness goddess to a 30 year old fitness goddess, but it does feel like it takes a long time to get to the point.
There are so so many characters in this book it can take a moment to remember who anyone is, and how they fit into the gentle domestic dramas of a sleepy town. One thing to note is the characters rarely, if ever, are in conflict with each other. Adrian herself appears to be the centre of their lives, and whatever she says goes without a murmur of dissent, no matter how bossy or strident she is.
Much of this novel feels unrelated to the actual point. Do we need multiple chapters dealing with "fitting out a community centre" or "publishing a new comic book"? Nope, but I suppose it helps develop the characters, not that any of them really develop in any meaningful way. They are mostly props to surround Adrian who at times is insufferable.
It's a pleasant enough read in the small town drama sense, the tension of the threats and their increasing danger takes a while to set in because there's no escalation until the last third of the book. Plenty of time jumps to take Adrian from a teenage fitness goddess to a 30 year old fitness goddess, but it does feel like it takes a long time to get to the point.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Death
Minor: Miscarriage
citymouse's review against another edition
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Violence, and Stalking
Moderate: Confinement, Drug use, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Car accident, and Death of parent
Minor: Drug abuse, Torture, Vomit, and Pregnancy