aliceandthegiantbookshelf's review against another edition
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
niharikashetty's review
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? It's complicated
2.0
elilhrairah's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- 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
lisapauwels's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
sad
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? No
4.0
hannekedethmers's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Frustrating subject at times, but easy to read, I wanted to keep reading. Repetitive at times.
quietblue's review against another edition
1.0
I got this book from the library, so I didn't read any reviews first. I was intrigued in the beginning, the premise had so much potential! But no, it just ended up getting more and more frustrating.
The main character, Miranda, was just so stupid. Her behaviour made no sense. She just let everyone walk all over her instead of telling them the actually really awful things that Brendan did. She let him and her sister move into her flat despite obviously knowing that would be a bad idea. She let her sister date this man that she knew was creepy and potentially dangerous. And why? Just to not upset anyone?!
All the other characters were just as annoying, though. They believed this virtual stranger over their own daughter/sister... because he was charming. Maybe if the family had been really distant and they didn't have a lot of contact for a while or something, but no, they were supposedly close. And yet they still didn't believe anything Miranda said - though she also didn't ever really say the worst things he did, just that he was being weird.
Everyone just sucked. Except Troy and maybe Don (though he also didn't really believe Miranda). The entire book felt bleak and hopeless, and the ending felt rushed and unfinished.
The main character, Miranda, was just so stupid. Her behaviour made no sense. She just let everyone walk all over her instead of telling them the actually really awful things that Brendan did. She let him and her sister move into her flat despite obviously knowing that would be a bad idea. She let her sister date this man that she knew was creepy and potentially dangerous. And why? Just to not upset anyone?!
All the other characters were just as annoying, though. They believed this virtual stranger over their own daughter/sister... because he was charming. Maybe if the family had been really distant and they didn't have a lot of contact for a while or something, but no, they were supposedly close. And yet they still didn't believe anything Miranda said - though she also didn't ever really say the worst things he did, just that he was being weird.
Everyone just sucked. Except Troy and maybe Don (though he also didn't really believe Miranda). The entire book felt bleak and hopeless, and the ending felt rushed and unfinished.
caterinaanna's review against another edition
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
usbsticky's review against another edition
1.0
GoodReads rating 1 star = I did not like it.
It started off pretty promising as the writing was easy to read and get into. But the problem is that there are several POV's going on at the same time and too many characters. I think a plot/story has to stay focused so the reader can follow along easily.
In this case one of the narratives was boring. Who is Diane McKinzie? Was she a character from book #1 I was supposed to know? But the characters were so flat and this narrative so unlikable that I just skipping parts of it.
The detective narrative looked like it was going somewhere but too many people got into it and became a plot mass instead of a plot line. Some of the characters felt promising but they were just discarded and this happened over and over again.
In the end I didn't care about any of the characters or whether even where the story was going. I often say: write this for the reader, not for yourself. Having 2 or more narratives at once is ok but in this case all 2 or 3 narratives were slow paced and uninteresting. I just didn't enjoy it.
I got this book free as a review copy.
It started off pretty promising as the writing was easy to read and get into. But the problem is that there are several POV's going on at the same time and too many characters. I think a plot/story has to stay focused so the reader can follow along easily.
In this case one of the narratives was boring. Who is Diane McKinzie? Was she a character from book #1 I was supposed to know? But the characters were so flat and this narrative so unlikable that I just skipping parts of it.
The detective narrative looked like it was going somewhere but too many people got into it and became a plot mass instead of a plot line. Some of the characters felt promising but they were just discarded and this happened over and over again.
In the end I didn't care about any of the characters or whether even where the story was going. I often say: write this for the reader, not for yourself. Having 2 or more narratives at once is ok but in this case all 2 or 3 narratives were slow paced and uninteresting. I just didn't enjoy it.
I got this book free as a review copy.
anoukjansen's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-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
3.75