Reviews with content warning for Cursing - Gone Girl

The first half was def necessary for the reveal, but it was sooooooo slowwwww i could not get over it 😭😭 its embarrassing how long it took me to finish this book BECAUSE of the first half. The second half i read in two sittings, FIVE STARS ⭐️ for the second half.

Spoiler

unhinged women = chefs kiss

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breedawnwriter's review against another edition

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challenging dark funny 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? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I really really enjoyed this book, but it’s too sexual for my tastes. I also can’t decide if I love or hate the ending, so there’s that.

If you like psychological thrillers, I’d recommend it. However, I would NOT recommend this to anyone under 18 because of the descriptive sexual content.

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didireadthat's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense slow-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? It's complicated

3.0

Almost DNF’d this book before making it half way through. The second quarter of the book was so slow and I did not like Nick or Diary Amy at all. Right before I gave up though the book turned around and I got sucked into the mystery. An incredible web of clues and lies and plot twist I loved how everything played out. However I still never liked any of the characters and I don’t think they really grew or changed throughout the book.

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saraavowlerr's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

I loved the writing and the overall plot but I’m not a fan of the ending and some parts felt unnecessary. I liked how the plot twist happened more so in the middle but it left the ending sort of boring for me. I liked the back and forth of the characters and as a reader constantly going back and forth who’s crazier. I feel like it’s one of those you can reread and really pick up on personality flaws that may explain the characters from the beginning. I recommend it. But it’s not the best Gillian Flynn book she’s written and it’s definitely not the best thriller.

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taliatalksbooks's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn was an unputdownable thriller that keeps you glued to the page from cover to cover. I fell in love with these characters, then I fell in love with hating them, and I think that speaks to Flynn’s ability to write real and raw characters. Flynn thinks of everything here from tying up loose ends with ease to dealing with technology of the modern age. This was a perfectly laid out and planned novel, and was one of the most cohesive thrillers I’ve read recently. I loved this book, and I’m so glad I finally got around to reading it before seeing any major spoilers (somehow, one that I did see went right over my head because I was loving that book so much at the time I didn’t even notice the Gone Girl reference; for those of you wondering it’s House of Hollow). I really think that in terms of thrillers, this is one of the best. Not only does it keep you in the loop, but it also forces you to learn beside Nick in a way that is satisfying and infuriating, just like Amy would want. If you’ve not read it yet and love thrillers, definitely give it a read

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david_slack110507's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense slow-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

5.0

You know a book is good when even a reading slump and an admittedly slow and uneventful first part of the book can't take away from your overall enjoyment and still leaves you with the decision to rate it 5 stars. It took me a while to finish this once started for two main reasons, 1) As mentioned earlier I was in a major reading slump, so I struggled to be even interested in some amazing other books I was reading at the time such as the AGGGTM series and 2) The first part of the book was really slow and difficult to get into.

Gillian Flynn's writing is brilliant and feels much more complex than some of the other writing I've read before, the way she writes both Nick and Amy but particularly Amy is amazing (Pun intended). She makes sure that they are presented as awfully complex and toxic people yet gives them many layers that the reader can both love and hate them at the same time. I will admit that the supporting cast of characters isn't really developed beyond bits and pieces of detail, but they don't really have to be, this is a story between Nick and Amy and their complexities as characters.

The book really hits its stride when it begins its second part, reading about Amy was much more fascinating to me because she's written with such brilliance that she genuinely believes that the things she is doing are a reasonable reaction to what Nick has done. She's a well-written example of a morally complex and grey female protagonist/character. I didn't expect this book to go into such gritty detail about Amy's plan, but it made her all the more interesting in how she rationalises her behaviour whilst Nick's perspective is also intriguing as he goes from loving his wife to hating her and planning to kill her within a second's notice.

I'm really glad that I read the book rather than watch the movie first (which I will be doing soon hopefully) as I feel like I wouldn't have had the motivation to read this if I already knew what happens and if I knew how long it would take me to finish it. Looking forward to potentially reading more of Flynn's novels in the future and seeing how their adaptations fare in comparison to the source material.

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sammm_888's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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nattiehewitt's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

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