meeshell89's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Ahhh this book was great! So creepy and messed up! Loved all the twists and turns and I really liked the alternating chapters from past to present. Definitely gave me Stephen King’s “It” vibes. Love the tag line of the book- “everyone has secrets” .. oh yes, yes they do!!! So glad I picked this book up! Now I feel like re reading it to pick up on all the little clues scattered throughout.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Bullying, Death, Murder, and Rape
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Religious bigotry, Blood, Animal death, and Dementia
Minor: Car accident
tayahmarie's review against another edition
dark
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? It's complicated
4.5
This book effed me up. It’s a lot darker and more gruesome than I originally thought. This is actually marketed as a Thriller and that’s where it went wrong because it should be classified as Horror IMO.
However, I did enjoy the story for what it was. I thought the plot was unique, I was invested in the characters/their fate, and it was insanely gripping. Like I mentioned in previous posts, I love dual timelines and Tudor executed it well here. My interest in wanting to find out everything I could about what happened in the past and the present day was equal.
The idea of some crazed killer drawing Chalk Men symbols around your hometown (much less a crime scene) is terrifying. Tudor is phenomenal when it comes to imagery and documenting some of the most gnarly and gruesome scenes, as well as just downright CREEPY (the church scene/one of Eddie’s nightmares towards the end? WTF!) There were a few paragraphs I had to bypass because I could actually picture what was going on and wanted to jump out of my skin and throw the book across my room. It was disgusting! That’s how you know someone’s a good writer in that realm, lol. Also, I definitely recommend looking up trigger warnings prior to reading this because there are A LOT. I wish I would’ve because I was completely caught off guard.
Final Thoughts: Overall, this was good. Really good. It was very reminiscent of a Stephen King novel (as if I read more than one book of his 😅). Lastly, this story has me looking at EVERYONE suspect 👀 - it’s pretty crazy when you think about how you don’t REALLY know someone. That goes for your family, your friends, co-workers, the person you’re sitting next to on a train/plane, etc. We all keep secrets, yes, but some are more dangerous, deadly, and downright depraved than others. The quote I chose, in the beginning, is a true sentiment to this little novel, especially the ending 😶!
However, I did enjoy the story for what it was. I thought the plot was unique, I was invested in the characters/their fate, and it was insanely gripping. Like I mentioned in previous posts, I love dual timelines and Tudor executed it well here. My interest in wanting to find out everything I could about what happened in the past and the present day was equal.
The idea of some crazed killer drawing Chalk Men symbols around your hometown (much less a crime scene) is terrifying. Tudor is phenomenal when it comes to imagery and documenting some of the most gnarly and gruesome scenes, as well as just downright CREEPY (the church scene/one of Eddie’s nightmares towards the end? WTF!) There were a few paragraphs I had to bypass because I could actually picture what was going on and wanted to jump out of my skin and throw the book across my room. It was disgusting! That’s how you know someone’s a good writer in that realm, lol. Also, I definitely recommend looking up trigger warnings prior to reading this because there are A LOT. I wish I would’ve because I was completely caught off guard.
Final Thoughts: Overall, this was good. Really good. It was very reminiscent of a Stephen King novel (as if I read more than one book of his 😅). Lastly, this story has me looking at EVERYONE suspect 👀 - it’s pretty crazy when you think about how you don’t REALLY know someone. That goes for your family, your friends, co-workers, the person you’re sitting next to on a train/plane, etc. We all keep secrets, yes, but some are more dangerous, deadly, and downright depraved than others. The quote I chose, in the beginning, is a true sentiment to this little novel, especially the ending 😶!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Gore, Body horror, Alcoholism, Religious bigotry, Murder, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Blood, Animal death, and Adult/minor relationship
that_bookworm_guy's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
fast-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? It's complicated
3.5
I want to start this review by saying that I enjoyed the book and I probably will reread this in the future. It just wasn't what I expected and that's okay.
The story is told through two time periods and sometimes I felt like the chapters ended very abruptly and sometimes the flick between the two just felt very choppy instead of flowing.
The plot was very weird and it seemed like the author was going more for shock factor with it. Every time it seems like the plot is getting close to being wrapped up, something else happens almost like the author was just trying to throw things in there and some of it disrupted the flow a bit.
For a debut, it's good and I'll be interested to see what the author does in the future. Overall a good book, but the flow and pacing fell a bit off.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, and Death
Moderate: Abortion
theblackswan's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- 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
4.0
Nenhum adulto pra olhar essas crianças fazendo merda e olha no que deu
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Car accident, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Murder, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Violence
More...