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journeywithrosie'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
4.0
I wouldn't call this book a "horror" necessarily, and so I can understand why some people might not like it. Perhaps they went in expecting a fast pace thriller horror book. This book is slow and thoughtful, a tense psychological character study. Yes, there are some horror-filled scenes in the haunted house, but the majority of the book is detailing each character's life leading up to the event, their internal struggles and motivations, and ultimately how they all intertwined.
There are multiple timelines - before Quigley house, the court case after Quigley house, and the present day. There are also multiple POVs. That being the case, there are a lot of moving parts. You'll have to pay attention, at least I did! I usually don't like multiple timelines and POVs, but Mattson did an amazing job with it, I was hooked on each part of the story, and each character felt fully realized and developed, even the most heinous ones.
The reason I am rating 4 instead of 5 is that the more I think of it, the more I wish I got a bit more from the ending of the story. There are a lot of things I wished we were able to see that we never got to. Also, although I loved the social commentary aspects of the story, there were some scenes where it felt like it was a bit hand fisted, which made the dialogue feel forced and fake.
I'm a fan of Mattson, really looking forward to seeing what he publishes next.
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Body horror, and Racism
bebidocrimes's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Homophobia, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Gore, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Death, and Grief
Minor: Alcohol, Car accident, Death of parent, and Body horror
d3nim_diva's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Homophobia, Violence, Racism, Xenophobia, and Torture
jendif's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Homophobia, Racial slurs, Body horror, Racism, and Toxic relationship
solanacr'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? N/A
3.75
Graphic: Racism, Homophobia, Death of parent, Murder, Blood, Body horror, and Death
mxajlikesbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Homophobia, Violence, Body horror, Car accident, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Racial slurs, Sexism, and Sexual content
Minor: Gore, Infidelity, and Alcohol
apersonfromflorida's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Blood, Toxic relationship, Homophobia, Toxic friendship, and Racism
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Death of parent
Minor: Medical content
sunsetcity's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Racism, Violence, Stalking, Gaslighting, Gore, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Medical content, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, and Death
cocorenfroe's review against another edition
Graphic: Sexism and Body horror
cheyraisin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Body horror, Violence, Sexual content, Racism, Murder, Homophobia, Hate crime, Death of parent, Death, and Blood