courtwalter7314's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Minor: Mental illness, Eating disorder, Body shaming, and Dysphoria
kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Not my favorite of Hoover’s by far, this novel was just okay for me mainly because of how unbelievable the plot was. Hoover even writes characters who can’t believe the plot so I don’t know how the reader was expected to. I felt like Leeds was kind of an unredeemable character in that he validates his behavior against Layla by using information he didn’t have before he did the thing. This makes me uncomfortable because the thing was still wrong because he didn’t have all the pertinent information when he did it. I did like how intense the writing was — it made you want to get to the end to know what was happening — but I wouldn’t want to read this for the first time again, like I’ve wanted to with Hoover’s other novels.
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Torture, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Injury/injury detail, Medical content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Self harm, Confinement, Cursing, Body horror, Death, Eating disorder, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Sexual content, and Gun violence
bella_01's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Absolutely incredible book!! If you can, I'd totally recommend reading it. The plot was totally unpredictable and super interesting. The book immediately hooks you in by presenting the 'storyline' as a flashback to some extent, with every couple of chapters jumping back to the present. This book is completely different to anything else I've ever read, and not at all what I expected from reading the blurb.
Graphic: Dysphoria, Confinement, Death, Toxic relationship, and Eating disorder
Moderate: Physical abuse, Injury/injury detail, Torture, Gun violence, and Gaslighting
Minor: Gore, Murder, and Blood
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