Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

I Killed Zoe Spanos by Kit Frick

19 reviews

jijireads's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

god damn this book. i give it a 4 because at times i was not a fan of the writing style because the poetic tone didn’t make sense in anna’s dialogue to me. but i understand how that adds a— with lack of a better term— mysterious aura to the book. also, at one point i found myself sick of the bread crumbs of information we got regarding the overarching mystery. however when it picked up… boy did it pick up. my jaw was slack for most of late part 3 and part 4 😭. the twists came one after another and i was genuinely surprised as i decided to sit back and let the story show me instead of trying to figure out the mystery myself. overall with layered characters, an interesting storytelling format, a host of twists and turns, and attention to detail, this was a gripping story about (vague spoilers)
how sometimes our stories can intertwine in ways we would never imagine.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

kstericker's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

melody_t's review against another edition

Go to review page

mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

If you're starting to get into murder mysteries, then it's a good starter book. However, if this is one of your favorite genres (it's one of mine) then I'd say avoid it because it doesn't really develop a good mystery like other books do (example: truly Devious)
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

lunagirl_alice's review against another edition

Go to review page

mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

i really loved this book, if anyone loved a good girls guide to murder i recommend this, it’s not exactly the same but similar vibes. I thought i knew all the plot twists and to be fair i think i’d figured out most of them but the final one right at the end i was not prepared for and i didn’t actually expect.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

rochellefh's review against another edition

Go to review page

mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

 This was a really disappointing read and I'm mad about it, so this review is going to be a bit all over the place. Sorry. I Killed Zoe Spanos was very good at keeping me hooked, but it did not live up to my expectations in any way.
The ending was supposed to be shocking, which it was, but it was also a huge letdown. Throughout the book, there are heavy hints as to what might happen next, but when the time comes, it turns out that these hints were hiding the true foreshadowing. Unfortunately, what ends up happening is boring. It would have been a better route to actually go with what the writing was hinting at most heavily; it sounded more interesting even if it would have been predictable.
The writing was a pretty big issue for me: it tried to be deep and relatable, and sometimes it worked, but other times it came off as cringey, and there was a huge "telling vs showing" issue. Additionally, the main character was very stupid, which was just frustrating. Most of the other characters felt really flat and uninteresting.
Something I liked about the book was the fact that the chapters alternate between past and present.
In short, this book had a boring plot, frustrating writing, and not the most likeable characters.
However, if anyone would still like to read it, I recommend it to people who enjoyed The Girl on the Train, as they have some key similar elements.
Ratings: 
Writing 3⭐️, Plot 2⭐️, Themes 3.5⭐️, Originality/Idea 4⭐️, Execution 1⭐️, Character/Development 2.5⭐️
Was it engaging? Yes
Was it insightful? It tried to be
How was the pacing? Fast
Would I reread it? No.
In one word: underwhelming.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

clairophy's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

What a wild ride of a book! This was one of the more confusing thrillers I’ve read but in a fun way? I found that the confusing aspects are what made me so hooked. From the first chapter I was so intrigued as to how it could work out to where a certain character DIDN’T kill the victim. 
I was consistently trying to read characters and figure out where the truth lies and the author didn’t make it easy but that’s what made it such a good read! And the switching times and inclusion of a podcast transcript helped set the tone and hook me! 
An amazing read.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

jillkaarlela's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

Mystery thriller, but in the Hamptons. A mysterious disappearance takes place in a small rich town, riddled with family drama and dark secrets. This book keeps you on the edge of your seat with an addicting plot line and crazy twists you can’t see coming. It cuts back and forth in time, and including a podcast about the disappearance, that causes the reader to question everything. My mind was constantly blown, and I was in a constant state of shock. I truly couldn’t put it down. I hold my mystery books to an extremely high standard, and this exceeded all of my expectations. This is one of the best thrilling ya mysteries I have read. I highly recommend, and I especially recommend listening to the audiobook of this book! I will definitely look into more books by this author!
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

mo345's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

i had such a hard time finishing this book. it reads like the first book of an author who has no idea what their writing style is. there are only two POC and LGBT+ characters, both of which feel forced and unnatural; most likely thrown in for “diversity points”. the ending was kind of a let down and was not as dramatic as the story made it seem like it would be.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

viljahe's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

4.0

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
More...