loversliterary's review against another edition
2.75
Spoiler
even though i predicted the murderer early on, i was still going to give this a 3 star but then incest ?? was very unnecessarily!! mentioned ??maggiementions's review against another edition
5.0
When Lily’s aunt last wish is for her to return to her childhood home that haunts her, Lily feels obligated to play the Christmas game one last time for her aunt. But there is more to the clues and the game, specifically for Lily in the last messages from her aunt. Once Lily and her cousins all convene at Endgame to play the game, murders begin to occur and a winter blizzard makes escape is impossible. One by one family members are eliminated until the one who remains standing earns the deeds to Endgame house. I enjoyed all the riddles for each clue and the pacing was good to keep the story and plot moving forward. I really wasn’t sure how the ending would turn out, making it all the more fun to read!
gaynor's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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? Yes
5.0
tivara101's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.5
starryeyesali's review
The plot seemed too wishy washy, the characters weren’t appealing to me and the narration wasn’t for me.
kimmiereadsalot's review against another edition
1.5
1.5 stars
I did not enjoy this one. It did not work for me. I’m no writer but ima try to contain my thoughts.
- the author was way to into her game. She set up two games for the reader to play while reading. This didn’t work for me. I couldn’t read the story and look for anagrams and title deeds. But no biggie. I don’t need a game. I’m here for the story anyway. Only the story didn’t work either.
- the novel is billed as clever and quirky but it was neither of those things imo. It was rather depressing too. I get it’s a murder game. But I was expecting more Knives Out level of quirk. But there was none. People just kept dying. And they just continued the game. And it just was all very weird.
- the characters were super one-dimensional. They had no depth and no development. They were described one way and never deviated. And don’t even get me started on Lily. She had no courage and was such a boring fmc. Seriously zero main character energy. She should have been a side character at best. But it didn’t matter because none of the characters were particularly interesting
- the whodunnit aspect also wasn’t a big surprise.
- And the reason for the game was just dumb. Aunt liliana apparently knew the family was nuts and decided to bring them all together for a deviceless game even knowing knowing all the things she knew or strongly suspected? It just didn’t make sense.
Basically nothing about this novel worked for me. The author cares more about her anagrams and trying to be clever her words that she neglected to tell a clever story.
I’m rounding up to 2 stars but could almost talk myself into just 1.
I did not enjoy this one. It did not work for me. I’m no writer but ima try to contain my thoughts.
- the author was way to into her game. She set up two games for the reader to play while reading. This didn’t work for me. I couldn’t read the story and look for anagrams and title deeds. But no biggie. I don’t need a game. I’m here for the story anyway. Only the story didn’t work either.
- the novel is billed as clever and quirky but it was neither of those things imo. It was rather depressing too. I get it’s a murder game. But I was expecting more Knives Out level of quirk. But there was none. People just kept dying. And they just continued the game. And it just was all very weird.
- the characters were super one-dimensional. They had no depth and no development. They were described one way and never deviated. And don’t even get me started on Lily. She had no courage and was such a boring fmc. Seriously zero main character energy. She should have been a side character at best. But it didn’t matter because none of the characters were particularly interesting
- the whodunnit aspect also wasn’t a big surprise.
- And the reason for the game was just dumb. Aunt liliana apparently knew the family was nuts and decided to bring them all together for a deviceless game even knowing knowing all the things she knew or strongly suspected? It just didn’t make sense.
Basically nothing about this novel worked for me. The author cares more about her anagrams and trying to be clever her words that she neglected to tell a clever story.
I’m rounding up to 2 stars but could almost talk myself into just 1.
sapphic_book_dragon's review against another edition
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
putalilstardust's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
hammrdown's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- 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? Yes
4.0
Another interesting British manor murder story. Very Good, not great. Ties to Christmas are plot driven, not needed to read it over the holidays specifically.
tiffanielle's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Car accident, Blood, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, and Pregnancy