lukewhenderson's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
This book also really wants to be gothic but doesn’t do enough, in my opinion, to make the setting a character like great gothic stories do. The apartment and location could have been switched easily without it affecting the story, so it didn’t feel vital enough.
Overall, it was a kind of boring book with good ideas, that if written differently could have been satisfying.
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Trafficking, and Sexism
Minor: Suicide
sharkemoji's review against another edition
3.0
but the twist was actually a bit exciting and the actual writing was really good.
Spoiler
the nick being gay thing / them hooking up was so predictable from page 1 that I was actually disappointed. the Camille/Dominique thing fell super flat and I was not impressed by the "shock" it was supposed to provide. Camille could have moved in with some random dude that we never learned the name of.the date rape-esque scene in the middle was literally awful. i dont care that she didn't actually get date raped it was just so out of place and unnecessary. would have liked to see mimi do something more in line with anything she had already done (as she isnt a drug girl...so it was just...weird) to show her being like. crazy. idk.
i liked the twist of jaques being buried in the garden!!!! that was super exciting i loved nick's reaction to the initial body and then the reveal that it was his father. amazing
Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Sexual harassment
Minor: Sexual assault and Rape
kkopacetic327's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Death, Addiction, Drug abuse, Blood, Body shaming, Cursing, Drug use, Gun violence, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death of parent, and Bullying
Moderate: Abandonment, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Mental illness, and Misogyny
lwoolfolk's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Moderate: Sexual assault, Infertility, Trafficking, and Stalking
kimberleysreading's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Death, Alcoholism, and Murder
Moderate: Death, Slavery, Alcoholism, Blood, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, Rape, Alcohol, Cursing, Death of parent, Vomit, Abandonment, Car accident, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Drug use, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Torture
melliebean28's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Moderate: Violence and Murder
Minor: Domestic abuse, Trafficking, Child abuse, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Suicide, and Sexual assault
wylda_bee's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Grief, Blood, Death, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Incest, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Rape, Infidelity, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Suicide, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Confinement, Self harm, and Violence
knkoch's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
The main issue is that I find her characters are near universally grim, shallow, and slimy. They’re the sorts of people I don’t want to understand better. And none are clever! None of them show presence of mind, resourcefulness, or intelligence. I found myself almost rooting against positive outcomes for any of them because it would have been more interesting than watching them slowly plod towards the truth.
I think what drew me to these books were the settings, emphasized by gorgeous cover design. But that’s not enough to sustain a whole story, unfortunately.
Graphic: Sexual assault, Trafficking, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Addiction
There are lots of other CWs to note for this book, but the casual ranging to obsessive alcohol consumption bothered me particularly.midnightbelles's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Confinement, Addiction, Blood, Car accident, Child abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Cursing, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Death, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Gore, Infertility, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
meaghanslibrary's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
3.75
The way I realized the author writes mysteries is with light cliffhangers. The chapters are short and alternate points of view. Each chapter ends with a bit of a longing for wanting more but it’s not so much that you’ll get nightmares or stay up all night thinking about it if you don’t read the whole book in one sitting.
To some extent, I enjoyed that for the health of my sleeping habits. But on the other hand, I think the best mysteries on the ones I couldn’t put down.
Spoiler
The big twist that they were a family really got me that had a lot of shock factor. But after that the subsequent twists I semi expected. For instance the connection between the housekeeper character and the granddaughter seemed the most obvious. The wine cellars being used as a way to pay for women was not surprising. The fact that Ben was still alive was kind of shocking although I did suspect the dad was in fact killed but that Ben probably also was killed.Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Classism, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Infertility, Alcoholism, Blood, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Vomit, Alcohol, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, and Trafficking