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tofugoddess's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I wanted to like this book a lot more than I did, but unfortunately I couldn't get past some weird writing choices.
First, the villains in this book are comically flat. They're just pure evil, with no ulterior motives beyond being racist and wanting money. I'm not saying people like this can't exist in real life, but such one-dimensional characters get boring very quickly. Also, every scene with them has them explicitly explaining their evil plan to each other while stating facts that everyone present should already be aware of ("we hold all the power, the police and media are on our side!"). It felt like a parody of itself.
Second, the reveal of the conspiracy at the end was incredibly unrealistic. A supernatural explanation would have made more sense than what was decided on. Structural racism and gentrification are real problems to be solved, but the roots of the issues are complicated and multifaceted. They're not the result of some evil cabal meeting regularly and asking how they can do a racism today while also leaving an easily stumbled-upon paper trail. It kind of felt like what a conservative thinks a liberal believes about the world.
Finally, some of the descriptive language was just plain weird. At one point someone's laugh is described as sounding like jicama going over a grater?? I'm not sure what the author was going for there.
I like the idea of a thriller based on gentrification and still think the idea has a lot of promise if done differently, but I just couldn't get past my criticism long enough to fully enjoy the book. Three stars.
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, and Slavery
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Medical content, and Medical trauma
Minor: Sexual content
unphilosophize's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I enjoyed reading it but it didn’t grip me
Really liked the social commentary
Can tell that Cole write a lot of romance
Ending was a bit unsatisfying
Good red herrings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Gun violence, Racism, Sexual content, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Forced institutionalization
spellboundchapters's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
3.0
I really liked Sydney's character (Theo was alright too - not a fan of the romance though but I didn't mind it), and the first 2/3 of the book overall got me really engaged (although there were some parts I found were a bit too slow paced). There were some really good twists and the atmosphere was very creepy and got my heart racing quite a few times.
But I found the pacing weird : one moment it's super slow, then something creepy is going on and then it's back to being slow and sometimes it's like that scary situation never happened ? And the ending was way over the top for me and felt too easy.
This one is a personal preference but I just don't like when characters are being made unreliable with substance abuse - imo Sydney's paranoia/anxiety was already enough to make her unreliable.
And lastly, I would've liked for the epilogue to be another chapter, and have an epilogue set a few months later to see what happened to the neighbourhood. There were just too many plot holes and unanswered questions. They're all quite spoiler-y so I'm gonna hide them, except for this one : why is no one on social media?? The protagonists are in their 20s/early 30s and yet none of them uses social media to alert about the shady stuff happening and people disappearing? I don't buy it.
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Racism, and Violence
Minor: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, and Murder
gm_vak's review
- 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
1.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Racism, Terminal illness, Torture, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, and Murder
sarah984's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Medical content, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Physical abuse, and Death of parent
Minor: Animal cruelty, Genocide, Slavery, Vomit, Dementia, and Stalking
sucreslibrary's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Police brutality, Kidnapping, and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Blood
amna_a's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism
Minor: Addiction
melaniereadsbooks's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Sydney's neighborhood in New York is going through a rapidly increasing gentrification process: neighbors are moving away, rich white people are moving in, and the friends and businesses she has known her entire life are disappearing. But even more nefarious things are afoot with what's going on, and Sydney will have to figure out what is happening if she wants to survive.
This book had me on the edge of my seat the entire time! I was completely hooked from the get-go and found myself trying to figure out exactly what the mystery was as Sydney did.
Sydney is such an interesting character. For one, she is an unreliable narrator, which I love. So is the other main character, Theo. You never know who is telling the truth and who is conveniently leaving out details.
The events that happen are so chilling. If you have ever been in a situation where you didn't trust those around you, you will be able to feel the skin prickle on your neck as you read this. I was particularly stricken by the scene with the uber and with the inspector at Sydney's house.
This story also viscerally shows the effects of microaggressions on people.
I thought this book was spine-tingling and informative! I absolutely loved it.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Gun violence, Racism, Terminal illness, Violence, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, and Murder
buttoneyereads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Forced institutionalization and Blood
bexshelf's review
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Racism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, and Dementia