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bookswithmazzy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Gun violence
jelkebooks'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? It's complicated
1.0
This took me a while to rate. I just went back and forth on the rating for quite some time. I have to say that a one star rating seemed a bit harsh for me. I didn't absolutely hate this book. That being said I truly do not have a single postive thought about this book. It was just so extremely underwhelming. I still can't wrap my head around it. So I still landed on a one star rating.
I do have to say this started off alright to me. Overall it was an extremely slow read. Almost nothing happened in this book. At the start that was alright, because there was this undercurrent of something's not right here. It kept me engaged enough to start reading. However, with a start like that you really need to stick the landing, and this book didn't do that.
For starters, the actual mystery didn't really come into play until like the 75% mark. It took us so damn long to get there, and the characters themselves weren't engaging enough to keep the book going for me. Kelly in particular was just an exhausting character to be in the POV from. But then we actually get into the thick of it, and it's so incredibly dragged out. There were like 3 different points where I thought this book could perfectly end but it just kept going. This also meant that the reveals just felt extremely lackluster as well. They came out of nowhere, and (in my opinion) just weren't satisfactionary answers to the questions raised through the book. By the end this just became a shore to read.
So yeah, this book just really didn't work for me. I think that's a shame because this book did sound incredibly interesting to me. I just feel like this failed to deliver on every single front. There truly wasn't a single thing I liked.
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Drug use
Minor: Animal cruelty, Miscarriage, and Stalking
There’s also a minor content warning for doxxing.hmetwade's review against another edition
- 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
1.75
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Pandemic/Epidemic
cassie7e's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Kelly is excruciatingly self doubting and insecure. Combined with the narrator's voice for her in emotional scenes, I found her annoying. However I did relate to her moments of frustration at being consistently left out of the loop or her desire for plans and predictability being treated with disdain. And she does grow, which of course we get to see in her thoughts in elaborate detail, which slows down tense moments so much it's shocking the other characters don't comment on her long pauses before reacting!
In addition to some moments being drawn out, others are glossed over and omitted, only told to us later. Kelly's thoughts refer to past moments of relationship building that we didn't get to see, which makes them feel fake and trying too hard prove the closeness is developing. Would have been more effective for me if those fond moments were on page, not mental reflections.
I'm still not sure how I feel about stories being set during the height of the pandemic - they either feel like inauthentic shallow set dressing or way to heavy for me to think about. This one leans toward shallow and mainly serves to further isolate the characters. Also for how often Virgo appears and does very catlike things, no mention is ever made of feeding her, even though other mundane daily things (like feeding the humans) comes up a lot! Minor observation, I know.
Graphic: Death and Murder
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Sexual content
snoopyfanclub's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Graphic: Gun violence, Sexual content, Violence, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Stalking, and Pregnancy
Minor: Vomit
estimpert's review
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
Minor: Domestic abuse and Sexual content
megwilli's review against another edition
3.75
Graphic: Gun violence, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Violence
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Gaslighting
nailartklaudia's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Pandemic/Epidemic
v_spain's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Stalking, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Abortion
brittanyisbooked's review
- 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
3.25
I did not expect the ending and fell right into the default assumptions. I do think the author did a perfect job of lining up the clues with the resolution. Overall, I think it was a decent thriller/romance and would still recommend it.
Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Animal death and Domestic abuse