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bugaboobear's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Absolutely fantastic mystery. I loved the complex characters and the multiple POV's were perfect for showing how we bullshit and rationalize to ourselves.
This is very much a book for people who enjoy morally grey characters. If your main character has to be a good guy for you to enjoy it, give it a pass.
I also really loved seeing the complex workings of what running an Instagram account for a living is actually like. It seemed very realistic to me and I found it super interesting.
It had a fantastic ending but the last couple pages watered it down a bit in my opinion. I also thought that one particular scene went on excessively long.The scene in which the baby is found dead was really drawn out.
Overall, a fantastic book and I can't wait to pick up the next one!
This is very much a book for people who enjoy morally grey characters. If your main character has to be a good guy for you to enjoy it, give it a pass.
I also really loved seeing the complex workings of what running an Instagram account for a living is actually like. It seemed very realistic to me and I found it super interesting.
It had a fantastic ending but the last couple pages watered it down a bit in my opinion. I also thought that one particular scene went on excessively long.
Overall, a fantastic book and I can't wait to pick up the next one!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
Moderate: Suicide, Grief, Stalking, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Alcoholism, Death, Miscarriage, Excrement, Abortion, and Gaslighting
probably_confused's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness
Minor: Child death
syddey_syd's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Wow! That was a RIDE.
I give props to the authors for their handling of this topic. They were able to take something that (to me) seems so black and white—should we have influencer parents/families on the internet—and make it feel grey and murky. Even the mother herself, Emmy, seemed almost justified in her actions when you were reading from her POV. This made me think about the ethics and culture of influencing in a much deeper way than before.
I also must say that the ending surprised me. I won’t give any spoilers, but I thought it was a fascinating way to wrap up the story.
If you’re looking for something thought-provoking, relevant to our day, and fast-paced, this is the book for you.
I give props to the authors for their handling of this topic. They were able to take something that (to me) seems so black and white—should we have influencer parents/families on the internet—and make it feel grey and murky. Even the mother herself, Emmy, seemed almost justified in her actions when you were reading from her POV. This made me think about the ethics and culture of influencing in a much deeper way than before.
I also must say that the ending surprised me. I won’t give any spoilers, but I thought it was a fascinating way to wrap up the story.
If you’re looking for something thought-provoking, relevant to our day, and fast-paced, this is the book for you.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Kidnapping, and Stalking
Minor: Miscarriage, Suicide, and Abortion
stephaniezd's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I enjoy a good, tense, thriller. This wasn't exactly that. There was a lot of fluff in the middle and then all of a sudden at then end we had a thriller. I did enjoy that Jill was still lurking in the dark .
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Miscarriage, Kidnapping, and Stalking
Moderate: Suicide and Abortion
Minor: Pregnancy
mysterymom40's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Suicide, Torture, Stalking, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Bullying, Drug use, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship
rejstone_'s review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Suppose it kept me on my toes for a bit??? Bit savage??? Could’ve been told at a faster pace for defo, she was irritating and then he became irritating at the very end??? Wasn’t sure they’d learned anything tbh
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Abortion, and Murder
kitaface's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
This book was interesting but slow for the first 80ish% then goes insane in the last chapter and confusingly long epilogue. The CW for this book are very serious, make sure to check them!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Miscarriage, Kidnapping, and Stalking
Moderate: Suicide and Abortion
Minor: Pregnancy
millerralice's review against another edition
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death and Stalking
Minor: Miscarriage, Suicide, Kidnapping, Grief, and Abortion
kqk's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
Moderate: Miscarriage, Suicide, Abortion, and Pregnancy
lexistwick's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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
3.75
I'm rating this book lower than I should - I think because I can't quite shake my skepticism and bias against a "social media" story, although I was delightfully surprised at its insights and effectiveness! I'd like to read more books like this that are at least partially set in the internet - not unlike Patricia Lockwood's No One's Talking About This and just like our lives. Like, it's not just doing odd lip service to the fact that everyone has phones these days; it's engaging the fact that the venue for much of the drama and intimacy of our lives is technology and social media. An aside - I can get annoyed by writers like Ann Patchett, who never incorporates cell phones into her stories (a dead giveaway and consequence of never having owned one) because, I quote, they removed the tension from a story. You'd have to have never owned a cell phone to believe that's true...
So anyway, I really love psychological crime thrillers and stories about marital conflict, and it was very fascinating how this one commented on the present moment. The world it describes is in a way really obvious, it's the world everyone is immersed in when they click into social media. I think we often take for granted that representing our world as it is actually can be quite interesting. I wanted to have a book club discussion on this book; it would work how book clubs used to work! It would provide on ramps to talk about actual issues affecting our lives that we otherwise don't know how to discuss.
I thought it was especially interesting how many different players and villains were on the scene, which struck me as quite realistic. For example, there was almost no reason not to expect that Doreen was the stalker at first, and it even seemed implied. I ultimately took that to be a commentary on the enormity of it all, the anonymity and chaos.
So anyway, I really love psychological crime thrillers and stories about marital conflict, and it was very fascinating how this one commented on the present moment. The world it describes is in a way really obvious, it's the world everyone is immersed in when they click into social media. I think we often take for granted that representing our world as it is actually can be quite interesting. I wanted to have a book club discussion on this book; it would work how book clubs used to work! It would provide on ramps to talk about actual issues affecting our lives that we otherwise don't know how to discuss.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Suicide