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siesiss's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
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? Yes
This book is so bad on so many levels. The main character has no personality at all, except for being an orphan since her adolescence - trait that is dealt by the author in a tedious and nauseating way, being brought up with overly dramatic passages that are meant to be deep and sorrowful in almost every page. Of course, every other character has even less personality that her. The antagonist's identity is given away within a handful of pages after being introduced, as if they had multiple flashing signs pointing toward their head. The fun of solving the riddles is denied by the author, who makes the main character resolve them thanks to information that the reader does not have. Almost every single phrase in the book is written in either poor, pompous, or unsettling and embarassing language. To top it off, the italian edition is full of orthographic errors, even in the characters' names. The very last chapter is not terrible, but the book is so flawed that it fails to be even remotely enjoyable.
Content Warnings
Minor: Incest
cindytheskull's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
I was given this book by my auntie, but it would have never been something I would have bought for myself.
All in all it’s a too easy and predictable read with a cast of absolutely annoying characters that keep acting like no human being would ever act in similar situations.
I finished it just to be sure my prediction, which happened by 20% completion of my reading, was actually correct.
All in all it’s a too easy and predictable read with a cast of absolutely annoying characters that keep acting like no human being would ever act in similar situations.
I finished it just to be sure my prediction, which happened by 20% completion of my reading, was actually correct.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Incest, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting
khakipantsofsex's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Incest, Suicide, Death of parent, Murder, and Classism
Moderate: Biphobia and Homophobia
Minor: Self harm
whirl's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Murder and Pregnancy
Minor: Incest
midmomo's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest and Violence
readsacb's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.0
I did not enjoy the mystery plot in this book & did not end up liking most of the characters. Though to be fair, some of them you are not supposed to like. The book was a tedious read to me, & I saw the ending coming for the most part. However, I did appreciate how much effort was put into the puzzle aspect of the book. It seemed to be a focus for the author.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Incest, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy
stephabee_reads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Incest, Self harm, Suicide, and Pregnancy
scribblinginthemargins's review against another edition
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Incest, Grief, and Gaslighting
chloe_marshall's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Incest
sweekune's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
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
3.5
3.5/5
Audiobook narrated by Laura Costello.
Lily Armitage returns to her childhood home, Endgame House, following the death of her aunt. To everyone else, she's there to play a game of riddles to win the rights to the house, but secretly she's also there to find out what happened to her mother.
- Originally I thought this was a cosy Christmas murder mystery, sort of a modern Agatha Christie-esque story. However, it was definitely more of a thriller. Yes it had the trappings and decoration of a lighter story but actually things ended up being pretty dark by the end.
- I liked the fun of the riddles and clues both to The Christmas Game and to the mysteries within Endgame itself. they were lyrical and fun but did always make sense. I think it would have been better to read them in the physical version as in the audiobook, you couldn't literally see the clues hidden in them.
- The setting was both festive and creepy. An old manor house with a maze, ice house and chapel really was an amazing place to weave a mystery.
- This book was actually amazingly queer with multiple characters being queer in some way, shape or form. I also liked how this wasn't forced, it was just there and who the people were, not necessarily their entire personality. And as a bisexual, I'll always appreciate a bi main character.
Dark, eerie but festive. For those who want a Christmas read with a bit of a puzzle and a side of murder.
Audiobook narrated by Laura Costello.
Lily Armitage returns to her childhood home, Endgame House, following the death of her aunt. To everyone else, she's there to play a game of riddles to win the rights to the house, but secretly she's also there to find out what happened to her mother.
- Originally I thought this was a cosy Christmas murder mystery, sort of a modern Agatha Christie-esque story. However, it was definitely more of a thriller. Yes it had the trappings and decoration of a lighter story but actually things ended up being pretty dark by the end.
- I liked the fun of the riddles and clues both to The Christmas Game and to the mysteries within Endgame itself. they were lyrical and fun but did always make sense. I think it would have been better to read them in the physical version as in the audiobook, you couldn't literally see the clues hidden in them.
- The setting was both festive and creepy. An old manor house with a maze, ice house and chapel really was an amazing place to weave a mystery.
- This book was actually amazingly queer with multiple characters being queer in some way, shape or form. I also liked how this wasn't forced, it was just there and who the people were, not necessarily their entire personality. And as a bisexual, I'll always appreciate a bi main character.
Dark, eerie but festive. For those who want a Christmas read with a bit of a puzzle and a side of murder.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Biphobia, Cursing, Homophobia, Incest, Car accident, and Alcohol