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thebookishnerd_'s review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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
I had high expectations going into this book, I love all things horror and reading about the acting industry. The premise seemed great and the first 100 pages kept me engaged and curious to see where things went. A story within a story, love it. However, around the midway point, the story became dull and repetitive. With the events happening to her, being the exact same as the script shown 10 pages before, I found myself skimming over it, knowing what happens already. Showing the script removed any tension because we knew how it was going to turn out. The latter part of the book felt so quick with everything being revealed, twist after twist. Some make no sense. The final big plot twist that was supposed to explain everything, even before the events of the book came out of nowhere. A complete left turn that felt flimsy. Overall, it was a decent read. I'd recommend if you want a quick easy read that will keep you interested. Maybe for those new to the genre. But not for the more seasoned thriller readers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Emotional abuse, Blood, Car accident, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
kstericker's review against another edition
mysterious
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
2.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting
Moderate: Car accident, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
sleeson's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
The narrators were great, however they could not save this novel. It was way too long. Too much of an intense build up for the silly ending that was revealed. I’m sad because I have enjoyed other novels by Howard. This one not a lot. Moderate cursing.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Mental illness, Car accident, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
_thelitlibrarian's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
TW: Gaslighting, Injury/injury detail, Toxic friendship, Murder, Death, Infidelity, Sexual harassment, Blood, Violence
3.75 stars
-
A book, within a book, within a book. At first, Run Time may seem a tad confusing but once you start to iron out the details and figure out what is real, and what is part of the book it starts to make more sense. At one point in her career Adele Rafferty had it all, now, she has a hard time finding a job after an unfortunate event that happened while on set of her last film. Out of the blue she gets a call from a number back home, and it seems to be the opportunity of a lifetime - she's being offered the lead in a film without even having to audition. The only thing? She has to sign a NDA as the film is super hush hush, and the filmmakers don't want anyone knowing about the film.
Adele has been getting cryptic calls and messages warning her not to go to the set as it'll put her in danger, she chooses to brush it off as she needs the money. As soon as she arrives on set things seem a little off, none of the crew is there to greet her, other than Donal, who has just been hired on as well. The second she does meet the crew they are all distant towards her and basically act like she's not there, it doesn't help that the director also seems to have a specific way of doing things but no one is questioning it. Soon after her arrival she starts to find clues that perhaps someone had been there before her, things start happening to her that were in the book, and with the texts she's been getting things just don't add up. As she starts to question everything, it's clear that she's pushing her luck.
The story takes a turn and it soon becomes a story about survival as it appears that she's in danger, the pacing was so fast and I just wanted to get to the bottom and figure out what was truly going on. At one point I didn't know who I could trust as the story spiraled out of control, I really liked how parts of the book were added to break up the plot and give you a look at what was to come!
3.75 stars
-
A book, within a book, within a book. At first, Run Time may seem a tad confusing but once you start to iron out the details and figure out what is real, and what is part of the book it starts to make more sense. At one point in her career Adele Rafferty had it all, now, she has a hard time finding a job after an unfortunate event that happened while on set of her last film. Out of the blue she gets a call from a number back home, and it seems to be the opportunity of a lifetime - she's being offered the lead in a film without even having to audition. The only thing? She has to sign a NDA as the film is super hush hush, and the filmmakers don't want anyone knowing about the film.
Adele has been getting cryptic calls and messages warning her not to go to the set as it'll put her in danger, she chooses to brush it off as she needs the money. As soon as she arrives on set things seem a little off, none of the crew is there to greet her, other than Donal, who has just been hired on as well. The second she does meet the crew they are all distant towards her and basically act like she's not there, it doesn't help that the director also seems to have a specific way of doing things but no one is questioning it. Soon after her arrival she starts to find clues that perhaps someone had been there before her, things start happening to her that were in the book, and with the texts she's been getting things just don't add up. As she starts to question everything, it's clear that she's pushing her luck.
The story takes a turn and it soon becomes a story about survival as it appears that she's in danger, the pacing was so fast and I just wanted to get to the bottom and figure out what was truly going on. At one point I didn't know who I could trust as the story spiraled out of control, I really liked how parts of the book were added to break up the plot and give you a look at what was to come!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Violence, Blood, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
ahixon1's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Sexual harassment
Minor: Violence and Vomit
cady_sass's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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
3.5
December Thriller by the Book Club pick - 3.5/5
I’ve now written this review 3x and keep clicking in the wrong place by accident and losing it (goodreads, your UI needs work!) so at this point I need to keep it brief, haha.
As a horror movie nerd/fangirl I was really looking forward to this one! Hard to say if that fact is a reason why I feel let down or if the book itself is kind of disappointing. It’s tough to say exactly why it is I didn’t love this without massive spoilers so I’ll just say this: this novel flies so close to the sun with meta/self-aware writing to the point where it becomes a bit predictable.
This is a quick read, will keep you entertained and turning the page until the final chapters even once you’ve figured out what’s going down. There are a few more minor twists that did catch me by surprise and I liked that a lot! Ultimately what kept me from giving this 4 stars is the full on dialogue dump at the end, where two characters sit down and explain whodunnit and why-dunnit in great detail, which is disappointing and unfortunate. Using this plot device is just a clear cut signal, to me, that the author either knew they weren’t writing effectively what was happening as it was happening, or they’re treating the reader like they’re dumb.
I’ve now written this review 3x and keep clicking in the wrong place by accident and losing it (goodreads, your UI needs work!) so at this point I need to keep it brief, haha.
As a horror movie nerd/fangirl I was really looking forward to this one! Hard to say if that fact is a reason why I feel let down or if the book itself is kind of disappointing. It’s tough to say exactly why it is I didn’t love this without massive spoilers so I’ll just say this: this novel flies so close to the sun with meta/self-aware writing to the point where it becomes a bit predictable.
This is a quick read, will keep you entertained and turning the page until the final chapters even once you’ve figured out what’s going down. There are a few more minor twists that did catch me by surprise and I liked that a lot! Ultimately what kept me from giving this 4 stars is the full on dialogue dump at the end, where two characters sit down and explain whodunnit and why-dunnit in great detail, which is disappointing and unfortunate. Using this plot device is just a clear cut signal, to me, that the author either knew they weren’t writing effectively what was happening as it was happening, or they’re treating the reader like they’re dumb.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Infidelity, Blood, Vomit, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
karensbookcorner's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- 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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Infidelity, and Murder
Minor: Sexual harassment
chapterobsessed's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Run Time, what a wild ride!! 😅
Former soap-star Adele Rafferty hasn’t worked since an incident on her last project, but a chance leading role in a horror film could be the thing to bring her back from that horrible event.
Once on location in Ireland for the horror film “Final Draft”, Adele starts to experience weirdly similar things that also happen in the script. She starts to freak out and thinks the worst. Could this horror film be real life? Or all in her head!!
I really enjoyed it. Fast-paced, locked room, unpredictable and a unique plot. I really liked the addition of the script scenes, especially during the audiobook. I loved the multiple voice actors. It felt like an actual movie and I didn’t want it to end. I did see the twist coming towards the end, but I definitely enjoyed getting there and then after. Can’t wait to read more from this author!!
Thank you, Netgalley and Blackstone Publishing for gifting me an eARC and Blackstone Publishing - Audiobooks for the audiobook in exchange for my honest review.
Former soap-star Adele Rafferty hasn’t worked since an incident on her last project, but a chance leading role in a horror film could be the thing to bring her back from that horrible event.
Once on location in Ireland for the horror film “Final Draft”, Adele starts to experience weirdly similar things that also happen in the script. She starts to freak out and thinks the worst. Could this horror film be real life? Or all in her head!!
I really enjoyed it. Fast-paced, locked room, unpredictable and a unique plot. I really liked the addition of the script scenes, especially during the audiobook. I loved the multiple voice actors. It felt like an actual movie and I didn’t want it to end. I did see the twist coming towards the end, but I definitely enjoyed getting there and then after. Can’t wait to read more from this author!!
Thank you, Netgalley and Blackstone Publishing for gifting me an eARC and Blackstone Publishing - Audiobooks for the audiobook in exchange for my honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Infidelity, and Murder
Minor: Blood and Sexual harassment
thesapphiccelticbookworm's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting
Moderate: Mental illness, Misogyny, and Murder
cshcolson'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting