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doodlebeanz's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
The characters, besides Daisy, Nana and Poppins, were all horrible people. Usually in these sorts of stories, at least someone in the family besides the main character is redeemable but there is literally no one redeemable to me in this story and that's kind of the point. Reading about how Daisy's sisters and her own mother and father would treat her and make her feel less than constantly without consequence made my heart physically ache for her. She was so young and already so broken and she didn't deserve any of that, I'm just lucky she at least had her Nana.
The whole Nana and Trixie killing everyone together was a bit out of left field. I was totally expecting Conor's dad or the agent, thinking maybe the agent was a secret child of nana's (at one point, Daisy describes that they have similar eye colors and smiles, but I guess that was to throw the reader off the scent). I did not think it would be Trixie and nana together, and that was just... a lot. Trixie is a 15 year old girl, why would she agree to murder her entire family? Also, why when nana died, did she not stay with Daisy? Why did none of them stay with her? If her soul is trapped in Seaglass, I can only imagine that so would Nana's and since the other people died there, wouldn't they also be trapped there? So why weren't all their souls just hanging out? Also, why was Rose the only one who saw Daisy right before they died? Because Daisy was in a different room? If Daisy's job in the afterlife is to usher souls into the afterlife (i.e., her job at the 'old folk's home') why did she not sense that the other family members were dead and go and usher them?? Is it only specific people? That part honestly seemed like lazy writing to me since it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. Why did Daisy have an entire dialogue about making her way to Seaglass when Trixie and nana make it clear at the end that she's never left. I get that Daisy is in some sort of purgatory, while the others have potentially moved onto hell most likely, but why did she act as if she left the house and Nana greeted her at the door? I don't know, just some things are unexplainable and I don't know if Feeney did a good enough job attempting to explain them. She left a lot of the supernatural questions unanswered... like how did Daisy manage to write a book and play Scrabble? It is just so... bizarre.
The whole Trixie being able to speak and play scrabble with Daisy is honestly terrifying. Imagine you see your daughter playing Scrabble and the other pieces are moving but no one else is there? Horrifying.
If you like American Horror Story: Murder House then go read this book! I didn't even put the correlation together until my fiancé mentioned that the premise was the same as that show.
One of my favorite things in stories is when you finish the book and realize you're reading the book that the person in the story had wrote. We were reading Daisy's book the entire time! The only hint is the note before the book, presumedly from Nana's agent who published the real Daisy Darker's story, but you're waiting the entire time for Nana's new book to make an appearance when it's actually Daisy's book all along! I really liked that aspect.
Since I can't say much without giving away the entire story, it was a solid 3 star for me. Too many things were unexplainable and confusing so that is keeping it from being a 4-5 star, plus it was draggy and slow up until the last 70%ish percent, at least imo. The videotapes didn't gel for me with the rest of the story, and after reading some of the flashbacks, it felt like I was reading different books. Some of the flashbacks didn't matter at all, giving nothing in terms of plot or anything to the story, and it was just a slog to get through sometimes. But overall, a solid, fun, edge of your seat, page turner thriller!
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Abandonment
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, and Car accident
Minor: Pregnancy
hsage21'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
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
samluh's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Alcohol
kezharri's review against another edition
- 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? No
4.5
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Violence and Grief
Minor: Addiction, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Pregnancy
masoncasper's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Blood and Murder
Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Pregnancy
passionatereader78's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol
Moderate: Physical abuse, Suicide, Grief, Car accident, and Pregnancy
mdavis26's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
corruptednatz'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: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Bullying and Suicide
Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Sexual content, and Pregnancy
greatexpectations77's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Bullying, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Blood, and Death of parent
Moderate: Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body shaming, Child death, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Suicide, Car accident, Pregnancy, and Classism
ejoymiller11's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I really enjoyed this book and found it entertaining, but I do think it could’ve been better. The flashbacks to Daisy’s childhood, while providing some nice context, dragged on a little too much compared to the rushed ending. I understand the author was trying to help us understand the characters and their flaws, but it was so slow and dragged the pace down from the present-day murder mystery chapters. I definitely think we could’ve had quicker summaries of character flaws and used those extra pages at the end of the book.
.
Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, Medical content, and Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Blood, and Car accident
Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Confinement, Gun violence, Infidelity, Sexual content, Pregnancy, and Abandonment