Reviews tagging 'Vomit'

Wonderland - Země divů by Jennifer Hillier

3 reviews

meeklovestoread's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Not gonna lie, I read this book four days ago and it's still living rent-free in my head. I've been a Jennifer Hillier fan ever since I read "Jar of Hearts" two years ago. I've been in a thriller mood lately but had no idea what to choose so I went through an old reliable and went to one of Jennifer's books. Just like with most books I went into this blind and my goodness was it a ride. Now, I'm not gonna knock this book down, it was good, however, for about the first 70%, I was entertained don't get me wrong, but I wasn't too connected to the story, and then I'd say the last 20%-25% I was soooo HOOKED. Lots were happening. Lots were going on. It was crazy. This book is pretty dark (which is how I like my thrillers; although some things that happen in here did make me grimace😖). After I finished, I was just left speechless. I wanted to talk about it with someone, cuz my goodness! I'm so glad Ms. Jennifer didn't disappoint. It scratched that thriller itch I've been having. I was so floored after I finished that it went from a potential 3.75 to a 4.5. I've never made that big of a leap for a book before. However, after reading some of the comments, it's really made me see that although I still enjoyed this book, I can admit that it's not very pragmatic. You really have to suspend your disbelief for the things that go on in this book. And even though I enjoyed it, I can only give so much leeway, you know. So, four stars overall.
was not a fan of the deadnaming in this book by Oscar; don't see how that was necessary of him to do😒


Spice Rating: 🌶️.5/5 (always gotta enjoy the subplots of romance in JH's books; although this one wasn't my favorite I still enjoy it for what it was; oh and yes, there is spice in this book if you were wondering)
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traa's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

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jasminealizae's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

In a book where everyone’s a suspect it’s hard to know who to trust. In this case, that also includes the author. She strung me along with her cohesive writing style and great dialogue and tricked me into believing she had a grand plan for this story. She did not.

This whodunit kept me hooked ALMOST until the very end. Author Jennifer Hillier threw practically every curveball she had in her arsenal into the final five chapters, and it came out exceptionally underwhelming. However, for the first 85% Jennifer had me thoroughly inthralled with her very well written and engaging mystery. By the last 50 or so pages, I was more so anticipating the book to be over than to find out who was behind all of Seaside’s Wonder Workers disappearances.

I was left with a couple of questions by the end. Some of which that were technically answered in a “this was necessary for the purposes of helping the characters solve the crime” and not in a sensical, realistic, kind of way. The others weren’t even set up for you to be able to form your own conclusions; they were just left open. Definitely would have benefited from having a couple additional chapters to properly wrap things up if not a time jump epilogue. 

Some characters were given back/side stories that offered absolutely nothing to the plot or to the character’s development. Oscar and his restaurant. Vanessa having an affair and murdering her husband. A security guard who killed his mother. Hovey and his gambling and porn addictions, to name a few.

The relationships evolved entirely too quickly and ended just the same. Most of those scenes felt like rough drafts. The instantaneous development between Vanessa and Tanner whose feelings for one another evolved “off screen”, and after only one interaction, was crazy. Not to mention the love octagon that involved everyone being infatuated with the “Dragon Lady” Bianca, for seemingly no reason whatsoever. Fourteen year old Ava and eighteen year old Xander? Vanessa and oozing red flags Oscar?

There is also a scene where a security guard attempts to rape a fourteen year old Ava, which was only a means to get said girl into the underground tunnel so that she can discover the hostages. This, amongst many other things toward the end of the book, inevitably led me to change my initial four star rating into a two. 

I would recommend this book to someone who is into murder-mystery and not so much horror/thriller. There were no jump scares or gore. The dialogue between most of the characters felt natural despite all the pop culture references. You genuinely won’t know who the villain is until the end, because you can’t trust anyone throughout the book. Lastly, this book is good as a buddy read to be able to share your predictions and bounce your theories off of someone else. 
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