amanda_reads13's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Chloe is one of 7 students at her college in a clinical study - they are all psychopaths. When a student in the study is found murdered, the hunt is on to find the killer.
This was a very interesting concept. It was fascinating to get into the mind of the psychopathic characters and see the story from their perspectives. Due to the nature of the characters, all of them were pretty unreliable which, I think, made the story more interesting because you never knew who to trust.
None of these characters are very likable, but they are very intriguing. It fascinating to read about how the interact with each other and try to manipulate one another.
I wish that we hadn't jumped between so many characters and between 1st and 3rd POV. It got to be a bit too much and made it difficult to connect with anyone. I didn't care what happened to any of the characters and I think that was a huge missed opportunity. We all love a morally grey character, but in this case, I didn't really connect to any of them.
I wish that we had a bit more storyline involving the twins. I felt like their story, though so important to the plot, was thrown in as a bit of an afterthought.
This was a very interesting concept. It was fascinating to get into the mind of the psychopathic characters and see the story from their perspectives. Due to the nature of the characters, all of them were pretty unreliable which, I think, made the story more interesting because you never knew who to trust.
None of these characters are very likable, but they are very intriguing. It fascinating to read about how the interact with each other and try to manipulate one another.
I wish that we hadn't jumped between so many characters and between 1st and 3rd POV. It got to be a bit too much and made it difficult to connect with anyone. I didn't care what happened to any of the characters and I think that was a huge missed opportunity. We all love a morally grey character, but in this case, I didn't really connect to any of them.
I wish that we had a bit more storyline involving the twins. I felt like their story, though so important to the plot, was thrown in as a bit of an afterthought.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Death, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Kidnapping, and Mental illness
Moderate: Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, and Rape
markedwithanm's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Sexual assault, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Murder, Sexual violence, Rape, Blood, Sexual harassment, and Stalking
lmy612's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-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
4.0
This was an enjoyable whodunit that takes place at a college with some special psychopath students and a killer who’s targeting them. The students don’t know who they can trust and everyone is playing games.
Keeps you guessing until the last few chapters with all the twists and turns right up to the end.
My only dislike is that the audio book was read by one person who was voicing chapters from multiple characters’ POV. Sometimes it took me a while to know and remember who’s head I was in.
Keeps you guessing until the last few chapters with all the twists and turns right up to the end.
My only dislike is that the audio book was read by one person who was voicing chapters from multiple characters’ POV. Sometimes it took me a while to know and remember who’s head I was in.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Gun violence, Drug use, Violence, Vomit, Alcohol, Death, Infidelity, Murder, Rape, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
readerette's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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
While the execution was somewhat uneven, I was drawn in by the complexity of the characters (what really makes a person act like what we stereotypically think of as a "psycho"?).
The ending was overdone for my taste (too many red herrings and an overly dramatic climactic scene) and some threads of the plot are left unresolved, but I appreciated the journey throughout the book of assessing what it really looks like to have psychopathy, and how much impact that has on a person's moral choices.
The ending was overdone for my taste (too many red herrings and an overly dramatic climactic scene) and some threads of the plot are left unresolved, but I appreciated the journey throughout the book of assessing what it really looks like to have psychopathy, and how much impact that has on a person's moral choices.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Cursing, Toxic friendship, Death, Sexual content, Violence, Infidelity, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Gun violence, Sexual assault, Racism, and Suicide
pamshenanigans's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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
1.0
Waste My Time 2022
Really promising blurb that didn't deliver and only annoyed the shit out of me. It could've been a better game of cat and mouse between the psychopaths who are being hunted down and murdered, but it fell off around the middle mark up to the very end. I just powered through for the sake of finishing the book.
I do appreciate the author's effort in debunking and sort of normalizing how psychopaths are actually defined versus how society perceives them (i.e. not all psychopaths are murderers, they simply are egotistic people who lack empathy for others).
Really promising blurb that didn't deliver and only annoyed the shit out of me. It could've been a better game of cat and mouse between the psychopaths who are being hunted down and murdered, but it fell off around the middle mark up to the very end. I just powered through for the sake of finishing the book.
I do appreciate the author's effort in debunking and sort of normalizing how psychopaths are actually defined versus how society perceives them (i.e. not all psychopaths are murderers, they simply are egotistic people who lack empathy for others).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Gun violence, and Violence
Moderate: Rape
Minor: Suicide
vaniavela's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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
3.0
7 psychopaths. None of them trusts the others.
Told in several points of view, we follow Chloe Sevre, who has planned revenge on the man who raped her; Charles, the pretentious and wealthy son of a politician; and Andre, who faked his condition in order to afford the expenses of such a prestigious college education.
The premise of this book was interesting, with complex characters and mystery elements. At first, the book hooks you into the narrative, but the structure falls apart after a few chapters. Especially with such a slow pace. Likewise, I couldn't understand or empathize well with any of the characters as the different perspectives confused me. A book with only one perspective would have been a better choice.
Overall, a unique premise, but a half-hearted execution. It's a good book though, so I'll give the author's future works a read!
tw: murder, death, stalking, rape, sexual assault, gun violence, adult/minor relationship, suicide, blood, brutality, bullying, drug abuse, gore, mental illnesses, racism, sexual content, suicide, violence.
Told in several points of view, we follow Chloe Sevre, who has planned revenge on the man who raped her; Charles, the pretentious and wealthy son of a politician; and Andre, who faked his condition in order to afford the expenses of such a prestigious college education.
The premise of this book was interesting, with complex characters and mystery elements. At first, the book hooks you into the narrative, but the structure falls apart after a few chapters. Especially with such a slow pace. Likewise, I couldn't understand or empathize well with any of the characters as the different perspectives confused me. A book with only one perspective would have been a better choice.
Overall, a unique premise, but a half-hearted execution. It's a good book though, so I'll give the author's future works a read!
tw: murder, death, stalking, rape, sexual assault, gun violence, adult/minor relationship, suicide, blood, brutality, bullying, drug abuse, gore, mental illnesses, racism, sexual content, suicide, violence.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death, and Stalking
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Gun violence
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Suicide, and Blood
emmamc02's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Stalking, Drug abuse, and Gun violence
shafaerie's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Blood, Death, Gore, Murder, Physical abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content, Rape, Sexism, Car accident, Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, and Stalking
booksthatburn's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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 don't have any basis of expertise to evaluate whether the depictions of psychopathy are accurate or inaccurate. I enjoyed the book and the information fits some things I already knew, as well as explaining a bunch of new stuff, but it's not trying to be a psychopathy explainer except in as much is necessary to understand the characters.
The narrative style is a bit unusual. There are several main characters whose perspectives are shown as point-of-view characters. But only Chloe narrates in first-person, the others use third person. This creates detachment and uncertainty, which works especially well when Chloe suspects most of them of being the murderer at one time or another. I like Chloe, Charles, and Andre, they're a solid trio in the narrative, even as their individual relationships with each other are very different throughout the text. They make sense as people, which is important in a story which revolves around a bunch of characters having the same mental health diagnosis. Chloe has her own way of being a psychopath which is distinct from the others, with these traits often helping but just as frequently getting in the way of her goals. I like her as a character, and Charles has his own charm, but Andre is my favorite of the main three.
By focusing on characters who are diagnosed with psychopathy, the narrative takes advantage of an opportunity for a wonderful mix of showing and telling. Chloe knows that certain of her traits are because of her psychopathy, but that doesn't make her better at controlling her impulsiveness (at least not this early in the program).
This is a solid mystery, very thrilling. The twists and turns make sense without being immediately guessable. Part of what helps is there are lots of bad actors in addition to the actual murderer, so it becomes a matter of figuring out who is doing a bunch of bad things, whether they're doing one or several of them, and whether any of them are enough for that person to make sense as the killer.
The narrative style is a bit unusual. There are several main characters whose perspectives are shown as point-of-view characters. But only Chloe narrates in first-person, the others use third person. This creates detachment and uncertainty, which works especially well when Chloe suspects most of them of being the murderer at one time or another. I like Chloe, Charles, and Andre, they're a solid trio in the narrative, even as their individual relationships with each other are very different throughout the text. They make sense as people, which is important in a story which revolves around a bunch of characters having the same mental health diagnosis. Chloe has her own way of being a psychopath which is distinct from the others, with these traits often helping but just as frequently getting in the way of her goals. I like her as a character, and Charles has his own charm, but Andre is my favorite of the main three.
By focusing on characters who are diagnosed with psychopathy, the narrative takes advantage of an opportunity for a wonderful mix of showing and telling. Chloe knows that certain of her traits are because of her psychopathy, but that doesn't make her better at controlling her impulsiveness (at least not this early in the program).
This is a solid mystery, very thrilling. The twists and turns make sense without being immediately guessable. Part of what helps is there are lots of bad actors in addition to the actual murderer, so it becomes a matter of figuring out who is doing a bunch of bad things, whether they're doing one or several of them, and whether any of them are enough for that person to make sense as the killer.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, Sexual content, Vomit, Murder, and Gun violence
Moderate: Drug use, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Blood, and Gore
Minor: Suicide, Pregnancy, Ableism, Child abuse, and Rape
odrib's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gun violence, Murder, Violence, Sexual violence, Mental illness, and Gore
Moderate: Sexual content, Alcohol, Drug use, and Infidelity
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, and Car accident