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asolis's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Miscarriage, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
ellekiriel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Gaslighting
racl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Infidelity, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
Minor: Drug abuse and Drug use
soradsauce'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? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Infidelity, Miscarriage, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
imstephtacular's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Vomit, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Alcohol
vixenreader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Kidnapping, and Alcohol
Minor: Gaslighting
If you are afraid of dogs, this book will prove to be quite triggering. Plus no one likes when the dog dies.travelseatsreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Ward has an innate ability to completely engulf the reader within her writing and immediately the darkness and unease begins to claw it's way out of the pages from the very first chapter. There are so many layers within this story that it would be easy for a reader to get lost among them but Catriona harrowingly and flawlessly ensures every single enmeshed strand has a place and a purpose.
The story is told with alternating POV's and dual timelines which works perfectly to ensure the reader is left hanging on every word waiting for that gnawing tension to subside (spoiler alert, it doesn't).
I can't write this review without mentioning trigger warnings as frankly this book in itself is almost one. There are large sections to do with animal deaths and experiments on dogs. To be honest, this is normally a hard no for me and I will often DNF a book with animal abuse but to be fair none of it appeared gratuitous or overly descriptive so while it took me aback it wasn't overly distressing. There are also many mentions of multiple forms of abuse (adult, child, physical and emotional), mental illness, pregnancy, infant death, self harm and suicidality.
Overall, Sundial is an engrossing, dark, sinister and twisted psychological horror meets thriller which will send shivers up your spine and leave you haunted for some time to come.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Murder
kerrygetsliterary's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
amy_lynnn's review against another edition
4.0
This book was absolutely BANANAS, in the best way. Psychological horror + family dysfunction +weird science experiments? Sign me up.
I went into it not knowing very much about the plot –and I’d recommend doing it that way, because the less you know the better. This is the sort of psychological horror that I absolutely love: there’s constant tension, and nothing is quite as it appears. Every time I felt like I knew where things were going, I was hit with a twist. It keeps you guessing the entire time. It’s definitely the sort of book where you’re never quite sure who the villain really is, what is reality vs fantasy, and you don’t really see the ending coming (phewww, that ending). All of these elements add up to a recipe for success, for me personally.
The book is told in dual timelines (the present day, and then also Rob’s past as a kid/teenager growing up in Sundial), and also dual perspectives (most perspectives told via Rob, but also some chapters from Callie’s point of view). I found Callie’s chapters particularly unsettling-–I always love a spooky child character, and Callie definitely provided that creep factor for me. Like, I never was really sure what was real, what was just in her head, or what to expect from this kid.
Rob’s chapters were where the meat of the story took place though, and they do not disappoint. Reading her perspective felt kind of like walking through fun house mirrors–twisty, turny, terrifying, and every time you turn a corner you never end up quite where you expect. The writing throughout was seamless and compelling; I had a hard time putting it down once I got going.
The only thing I really didn't enjoy about this one were the “Book within a book” chapters. I didn’t really enjoy them and I didn’t really feel like they added anything to the plot–they could have been removed, entirely, in my opinion.
Overall though, I enjoyed this one! Definitely a book of constant tension, darkness, dysfunction, and creep-factor.
Graphic: Gore
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Self harm and Suicidal thoughts