mollywill's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Spoiler
(or should I say non-ending)Spoiler
It felt like the author didn’t know how to wrap things up & wanted to avoid being accused of being cliché so she threw in a cliffhanger, but it comes off as lazy.Graphic: Dementia, Domestic abuse, Child death, and Murder
Moderate: Infidelity
Minor: Abortion and Miscarriage
lwelch94's review
- 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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Pedophilia, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse
ruffian23's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
Graphic: Child death, Violence, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Stalking, Physical abuse, and Murder
Moderate: Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Sexual violence, Dementia, and Gun violence
Minor: Abortion, Infertility, and Miscarriage
jellycatfrog's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Body horror, Death, and Murder
lisapetrakis's review
- Loveable characters? No
1.0
Graphic: Death, Child death, Domestic abuse, and Dementia
zoelynn's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Moderate: Murder, Pedophilia, Domestic abuse, Child death, and Suicide
Minor: Rape
mtnest's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Child death, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Biphobia, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, and Alcohol
michaela999's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Hate crime, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Death, Chronic illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Child death, Child abuse, Violence, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Pedophilia, and Infertility
leanderson's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Stalking, Death, Gun violence, Murder, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Kidnapping, and Grief
xjamescollins's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This book was a good one. I enjoyed reading it. The characters were interesting and the clues were there. No deus ex machina to be found.
The dialogue was hit or miss. The attempt at small talk was an eye roll and difficult to stomach sometimes. But the overarching story kept me reading.
Margot is very likable but she’s slow on the uptake - not with the overall story but just the questions to ask. We are led to believe she’s a good journalist, a good reporter but we are watching her learn to become one. That is not acknowledged - in the end it felt like an I told you so.
The end was a nice wrap up of the crime, it was devastating to hear the epilogue. But wow I was also let down. Cliffhangers are not the way to go on these kinds of books, in my opinion. A little more closure is needed with no promise of a sequel that I’ve seen.
I also want to talk about authorship. The full credit reads Ashley Flowers with Alex Kiester. That is not the cover. This feels like a press choice but also makes me wonder who wrote what. This also feels like a choice made to hide something but not use a ghost writer? I would like a little more answers about who was doing what as this was a debut novel. My opinion is that if it’s not a ghostwriter and there is a credit to be found, put them on the cover. Own it.
As Real Housewife Aviva Drescher once said “Use your vocabulary, writer girl.” We know Ashley is a great writer and storyteller. I would not have blinked twice with a second name on the cover. The audiobook credit says Contributor: Ashley Flowers, which piqued my interest.
As Real Housewife Aviva Drescher also once said “The only thing [a]rtificial about me is this [leg].”
Graphic: Child death and Murder
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Domestic abuse