mollygross's review
dark
fast-paced
2.5
ehhhh…. i was intrigued to see where the story was going but the main character was insufferable. i felt like her thought process jumped around way too much and honestly it was hard to follow along. a quick read that kept me interested enough to finish it but I didn’t really like it that much
cucumberghosts's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Felt like the MC went back and forth wayyy too much to the point that it got aggravating 😭, it was actually fairly interesting when the plot was focused on Either way yea i didnt rly enjoy this book too much once the truth came out about the family. Pretty sad cuz it had a solid first half!
Spoiler
the datura/the family potentially killing the old man, however once the incest thing got revealed it was kind of a let down. It feels like so many Japanese mystery/horror stories always end with the evil creepy people being products of incest/into incest in general (from what i’ve noticed). I wonder if maybe there’s a cultural difference? Like, as in perhaps it’s their version of ‘extreme’ shock horror the same way weird & graphic murders typically are in American horror stories.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Incest and Ableism
darialane's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
4.0
heidireads0latte's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Didn’t really enjoy. Found the characters unlikeable and was not drawn into the story.
claudiamcclure18's review
dark
tense
medium-paced
3.0
I initially found it hard to get invested in this book until about the last 150ish pages which I flew through. The buildup felt worth it though and my jaw was kinda on the floor at the end ngl
hali's review
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Spoiler
um… ew.i guess it’s pretty easy to convince someone to join a cult when you’re nice and have copious amounts of hallucinogens. this book was so weird. the plot was predictable. noriko was a frustrating protagonist. she would talk herself in circles, tell people to THEIR FACE that she suspected them of murder, and was just terrible at sleuthing. her eventual acceptance of everything can be passed off as indoctrination but damn. idk what it would’ve took for her to get out of there by the end (maybe live murder?). her friend believing that the family was chill after one visit felt unrealistic too. and shouldn’t noriko’s mom give a shit that her daughter has practically cut off regular contact ???
this gets a 2.5 because i did find the first half of this to be genuinely tense and it leaned more into gothic horror. but the second half was repetitive and not scary. instead it was just…GROSS 🤮
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Drug use, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Ableism
carleylightfoot's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Gaslighting
Moderate: Incest
raemelle's review
2.0
I’m not entirely sure what the point of this novel was. I still don’t entirely understand the reasoning behind anything... other than everyone involved just being nuts. There wasn’t any logic regarding certain relationships. I couldn’t even tell if this was supposed to be supernatural in any way. I kept waiting for a big reveal, but nothing arrived that hadn’t already been slowly exposing itself throughout the whole story.
2.5 stars.
2.5 stars.
sunshine_honey19's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-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? Yes
5.0
This book excellent. I picked it up because I had heard it described as a gothic that took place in 90's Japan and I feel like that is a great descriptor. The author gives clues so that the reader has an idea of what the "big reveal" will be before it happens, but I still found myself shocked.