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priceliketag's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Miscarriage
Moderate: Animal death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
bloo_0's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Car accident, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Infidelity
Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, and Violence
corriejn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Blood, Stalking, Car accident, and Death of parent
Moderate: Animal death and Alcohol
Minor: Suicide and Violence
bites_of_books'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? Yes
4.0
Near the end I did feel like there might have been an extra chapter or two that were not needed for me but I do appreciate the added information they provided.
I'd rather not say much about the plot but if you like mysteries about writers and novels then this might be for you. I also enjoyed the winter setting in a remote chapel and the epistolary format for some of the chapters.
Graphic: Infertility, Infidelity, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
ariannadanyel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
4.0
Graphic: Toxic relationship
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Violence
kktaylor11'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? Yes
3.5
IT GOT SO GOOD!! I was wrong! All the things I thought I had figured out were NOT figured out. It's still really more of a 3.5, but because it surprised me, I'll round up. It's a good escape book - not something I would put on my shelf or ever re-read, but one I'd recommend to someone who likes mystery/domestic drama.
That said, I do have a few frustrations (see spoilers)
Similarly, I think Robin's "oddness" is hyper-exaggerated when she is first introduced. She comes across as not all there mentally, her language and mannerisms are exaggerated to make her seem much older and out of touch with reality. Then at the end she's suddenly totally normal and just Adam's loving ex-wife. I think that was a touch misleading.
I also think the twist-twist-twist ending was too convenient, and left too many threads unexplained. The wife/ex-wife letter situation was enough -- it was VERY well done! Once it was made clear and I looked back I realized IT was done perfectly. At the very beginning there was a part where Amelia commented that Adam "never wanted to have a baby" because he couldn't imagine not recognizing its face...but then the early letters were all about IVF which didn't make sense....then suddenly it did. He didn't want to have a baby with AMELIA, but he was happy to with Robin. That twist was enough. We didn't need the "Amelia was the one who killed your mother" moment (which didn't really seem realistic, and didn't really explain why Amelia had to basically BECOME Robin in order to make Adam like her....and we REALLY didn't need the "Adam remembers killing his own mother and Amelia taking the blame" moment. That was just too much. Also, the memories of Harry and the hair cutting and the investigator...it was just overkill. Stick with Robin had a bad childhood and escaped as soon as she could and let Amelia die of her asthma.
I also thought the faceblindness aspect was fascinating, but inaccurate. I've done a lot of reading on this, and Feeney seems to almost abuse this trait as a justification for things in this story. Someone with faceblindness their entire life, like Adam, would not be as ABSOLUTELY CLUELESS as Adam is. It's definitely a justification for not being able to read emotions in people's faces, but faces are not "like a van gogh painting" -- the features are all there, and those with face blindness for their whole life (like Adam) have learned a million coping mechanisms and are MUCH more aware of things like tone of voice, body style, gait, mannerisms, etc. So the constant "I don't know what's going on because of my faceblindness" in order to move the story line along was frustrating. (Side note, if you're interested in this, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-MzNPcEh6M">HERE</a> is a great short video on it !)
Overall, though -- this was a good one, and definitely worth the 4-5 hours it took me to read it!
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Violence, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment
sierrabowers's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Cursing, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, and Murder
ihatecarlos8's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Blood, Stalking, and Car accident
Minor: Violence
tristapruridge'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? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Death, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, and Gaslighting
Minor: Violence, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
growintogardens's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Infertility, Toxic relationship, and Stalking
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Grief, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Alcohol