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itsheyfay's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment
Moderate: Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
emma6544's review
Sadly, this book failed to deliver. From the start, I found Elliot, the main narrator and one of the main characters, extremely insufferable. I decided to finish Act 1 to see if there was any redeemable qualities but I found none. He was a very needy and obsessive character (which is important for the ending, which I googled once I decided to DNF):
I was disappointed in this because the twists in The Silent Patient and The Maidens were shocking and had real impact so I was expecting something great.
While I appreciate the Greek tragedy of this twist, warning us of the dangers of obsession and unrequited love (plus how Alex Michaelides uses acts to provide the atmosphere of a Greek drama), it was predictable as Elliot’s obsession with Lana was clear to me from the first chapter. And, as I continued with Act 2, other predicable revelations were revealed
Another reason why I DNFed this book was the fact that many chapters repeated the same information over which frustrated me as I felt no progress was being made into furthering the narrative. This is done, which as the book makes clear, this novel focuses on the characters. However with the main character so obsessive, narcissistic, attention seeking and controlling, it is hard to find any redeemable points in him unlike the other characters (Lana, Jason, Kate, Leo and Nikos) who display both likeable and undesirable qualities which helped to humanise them and drew my attention to them.
If you like unreliable narrators, unlikeable characters, Greek tragedies and a character focused mystery/thriller with a weak plot structure then this is for you. It is also important to note that despite the comparisons made to classic mystery offers such as Agatha Christie, it does not follow that structure.
Graphic: Murder
Minor: Animal death
davschi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death and Infidelity
skyfluff's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
uphorikbooks'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
4.75
Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Blood, Murder, and Alcohol
miggyfool's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
honeybeewitched87'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
2.5
Moderate: Animal death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual content
missgrangerr'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
2.5
Graphic: Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Blood, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Violence, Stalking, and Abandonment
Minor: Animal death
emadisonc's review against another edition
- 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
2.5
Now, I know only this for sure—the first half of life is pure selfishness; the second half, all grief.
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Animal death
paronomaniac'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
4.0
Moderate: Gun violence
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Blood