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mblanke'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
3.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Murder
frmeden'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
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Homophobia, Racism, Xenophobia, and Blood
Moderate: Death of parent
journeywithrosie'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
I wouldn't call this book a "horror" necessarily, and so I can understand why some people might not like it. Perhaps they went in expecting a fast pace thriller horror book. This book is slow and thoughtful, a tense psychological character study. Yes, there are some horror-filled scenes in the haunted house, but the majority of the book is detailing each character's life leading up to the event, their internal struggles and motivations, and ultimately how they all intertwined.
There are multiple timelines - before Quigley house, the court case after Quigley house, and the present day. There are also multiple POVs. That being the case, there are a lot of moving parts. You'll have to pay attention, at least I did! I usually don't like multiple timelines and POVs, but Mattson did an amazing job with it, I was hooked on each part of the story, and each character felt fully realized and developed, even the most heinous ones.
The reason I am rating 4 instead of 5 is that the more I think of it, the more I wish I got a bit more from the ending of the story. There are a lot of things I wished we were able to see that we never got to. Also, although I loved the social commentary aspects of the story, there were some scenes where it felt like it was a bit hand fisted, which made the dialogue feel forced and fake.
I'm a fan of Mattson, really looking forward to seeing what he publishes next.
Graphic: Body horror, Racism, Violence, and Murder
bebidocrimes'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
4.0
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Body horror, Car accident, Death of parent, and Alcohol
d3nim_diva'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Body horror, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
jendif's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Body horror, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, and Toxic relationship
solanacr'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? N/A
3.75
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Homophobia, Racism, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder
mxajlikesbooks'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
4.5
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Gore, Infidelity, and Alcohol
apersonfromflorida's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Gore, Homophobia, Racism, Toxic relationship, Blood, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Medical content
sunsetcity's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Racism, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail