Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

Last to Leave the Room by Caitlin Starling

12 reviews

panic_at_the_bookshelf's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

The whole concept of the book creeped me out. However when things got explained I felt as if I missed something or was too dumb to understand, which is not a nice feeling to end a book. In a way it is rather disappointing, because I still have no idea on what exactly happened. It was a rather fast read and I was eager to pick up the book and see how things would evolve.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Alcohol

kylosten's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-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? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal death

ivywwx's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Medical content, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

sylvestra's review against another edition

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Mental illness and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Confinement, Death, and Blood

theomancy's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A lot more of a psychological horror mystery than Starling's other books, in comparison to the action packed Jane Lawrence and the Luminous Dead. I really enjoyed this, and it may be the most well constructed of her books that I've read, but I'm not sure it tops the list as my favorite 🤔 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug use

Minor: Forced institutionalization

antimony's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

this started off as a 3 stars and i was really worried it was going to take me forever to read because i was SO confused....but once prime showed up and tamsin really started to lose it it got quite good and i couldn't put it down!! (<- was nearly late to class because i was late closing at work because i was reading and had to finish my chapter.) i still don't understand what she was actually researching pre-subsidience and pre-door though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

HUGE warning for unreality -- the main character is constantly questioning what she knows is real, she's forgetting bits of her life, etc

sarah984's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This took everything I liked about The Luminous Dead and dialled it up to eleven. Claustrophobic, tense, ambiguous, and the characters are great. It dragged a little bit about halfway through, but the ending was worth it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Medical content, Dementia, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Death, Gore, Blood, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal death, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit

caidyn's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.25

Another great book by this author! It was great and such a great mix of dystopian sci-fi and horror.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

jessereadsthings's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, and Gaslighting

Minor: Animal death and Suicidal thoughts

linguistique's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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? Yes

4.0

 In Last to Leave the Room by Caitlin Starling, the city of San Siroco is sinking. The basement of Dr. Tamsin Rivers, head researcher investigating the subsidence problem, is sinking even faster. One evening, a door appears on the basement wall that wasn’t there before, and out of it walks an exact copy of Tamsin. Who is she? Where did she come from? How did she get here? And how can Tamsin stop the subsidence from destroying the city? 

 

What I love about Starling’s style of horror is how psychological and character driven it is, and Last to Leave the Room is no different. Dr. Tamsin Rivers is, I believe intentionally, unlikeable as a character, narcissistic and self-serving and cruel. But Tamsin is, at her core, a scientist, and her obsession with the subsidence felt infectious. I appreciated the care Starling took to develop Tamsin’s character and show the research process, with Tamsin hyper-focusing on meticulously collecting data and measuring the progress of the sinking. I loved the way that Starling seeded doubt about whether Tamsin was a reliable narrator, allowing the reader to wonder what was real and what was an invention of Tamsin’s mind. 

 

While I eventually grew to sympathize with Tamsin, I loved Lachlan’s character even more. She is tough and intimidating, but her job as company muscle was portrayed in what felt like a realistic way, with excellent disability representation. 

 

Overall, I enjoyed this book, and at about the halfway mark it gripped me so tightly that I could not put it down until I finished it. I rated this book four stars because I was left wanting a little more from the ending. The resolution seemed rushed, and I am left with so many unanswered questions. However, I grew to love the characters, and it was great to be back in another unsettling world of Starling’s creation. 

 

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for gifting me a copy of this eARC!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual content