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shailydc's review against another edition
4.0
I liked it a lot. The dual storylines were both intriguing and I wasn't sure how it would all shake out. The ending was a bit rushed and I wanted a bit more detail to be fleshed out but overall, really good.
loganmay820's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
lehvv's review against another edition
tense
medium-paced
- 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
3.25
lavins's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed the majority of the book. The ending seemed to me farfetched and unrealistic, which was a pity considering how relatable was everything else.
The author is diving in easily and throughly in the life of highly paid employees working for major financial institutions. She is very well illustrating the good life, t the amazing salaries, benefits, bonuses, the endless perks and the not so fun side of what it really means to work 100 hours a week, why some people make astronomic salaries but they are still broke. The insane competition, the ruthlessness, the cut throat decisions that are made and so on.
It is a great book and I am looking forward to read the next written by Megan.
The author is diving in easily and throughly in the life of highly paid employees working for major financial institutions. She is very well illustrating the good life, t the amazing salaries, benefits, bonuses, the endless perks and the not so fun side of what it really means to work 100 hours a week, why some people make astronomic salaries but they are still broke. The insane competition, the ruthlessness, the cut throat decisions that are made and so on.
It is a great book and I am looking forward to read the next written by Megan.
meganmonique's review against another edition
4.0
Four of Wall Street’s most ruthless and ambitious workers are ordered to participate in a corporate team-building exercise - an escape room disguised as an elevator. Everything is not what it seems, however, and soon their dark secrets begin coming to light. When they are presented with the question “what happened to Sara Hall?” they realize this is no longer a game.. they are fighting for their lives.
An escape room gone wrong? Yes please! The plot of this one instantly intrigued me, and the story was definitely a wild ride. The story alternates between the four characters stuck in the elevator in the present and the past as told by a former employee from their company. I think a lot of the characters are unlikable, but the tension and high emotions between them still keeps you invested in the story. I was hoping for a little more action from the elevator scenes, but overall this is a quick, thrilling read
An escape room gone wrong? Yes please! The plot of this one instantly intrigued me, and the story was definitely a wild ride. The story alternates between the four characters stuck in the elevator in the present and the past as told by a former employee from their company. I think a lot of the characters are unlikable, but the tension and high emotions between them still keeps you invested in the story. I was hoping for a little more action from the elevator scenes, but overall this is a quick, thrilling read
millennial_dandy'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
If you're 'looking for a man in finance, trust fund, 6'5'', blue eyes', then you've come to the right place, and by all accounts your man's name is Vincent. Certainly, our ‘everyman’ POV character, Sarah Hall, seemed to think he was her savior when he plucked her out of oblivion to work on his hot-shot Wall Street team.
But working in finance is pretty brutal as it turns out (who'd have thunk?) and everyone is awful to each other, constantly trying to jostle for position on the top rung of the corporate ladder, stepping on whoever they have to in order to get there, be that a co-worker or some faceless blue-collar workers in a city they'll never visit that they've just forced to lose their jobs.
'Escape Room' isn't some hidden masterpiece of literature, but for all that it's more Christopher Pike than it is Vladimir Nabokov, author Megan Goldin had a fun, compelling tale of revenge she wanted to tell, and it worked.
For the most part, Goldin tries to ground 'Escape Room' in reality: the reality of working a brutal. pressure cooker job with punishing hours and uncaring higher-ups, the reality of being a woman trying to make it in a man's world, the reality of being groomed to be a cutesy little materialist within a hyper-capitalist system that you help uphold. These sections could sometimes be a little on-the-nose, but in the end it's not like Goldin is wrong about any of it, so she might be loud, but at least she's loud and right. And boy does she make you want to eat the rich by the time the whole thing is over. Or, at least, she makes sure you're not particularly sorry when a team-building exercise gone wrong (or is it?) leads four such deplorable people to be trapped together on an elevator over the weekend.
The mystery at the heart of 'Escape Room' turns out to actually be pretty heavy and horrifying, but is, alas, also representative of something I have no doubt could happen at a company like the one she builds this one up to be: a playground for overgrown frat bros.
That is to say: 'Escape Room' gets a big ole trigger warning for sexual assault in the workplace.
After that, the novel evolves from a 'what is going on?' type of thriller to more of the 'I Spit on Your Grave', feminist revenge plot.
Or is it?
Does <i>anyone</i> come out of 'Escape Room' looking good? Or is the one pulling the strings ultimately just as selfish and horrible as the four people they lock on the elevator? You decide!
Now listen: after staying pretty plausible for the first 2/3, for the climax Goldin just went 'fuck it' and let her imagination and love of heist movies run wild. And honestly, love that for her. Just know that after 'the big reveal' you're not supposed to go over anything else with a fine-tooth comb -- you'll only be stopping yourself from having fun if you do because none of it will stand up to scrutiny and that isn't really the point anyway.
It was a fun read, and my favorite part is that the puppet-master character's end game and what actually happens on the elevator aren't completely in-synch and I loved imagining them finding out what actually happened after the end of the book.
If you know, you know!
But working in finance is pretty brutal as it turns out (who'd have thunk?) and everyone is awful to each other, constantly trying to jostle for position on the top rung of the corporate ladder, stepping on whoever they have to in order to get there, be that a co-worker or some faceless blue-collar workers in a city they'll never visit that they've just forced to lose their jobs.
'Escape Room' isn't some hidden masterpiece of literature, but for all that it's more Christopher Pike than it is Vladimir Nabokov, author Megan Goldin had a fun, compelling tale of revenge she wanted to tell, and it worked.
For the most part, Goldin tries to ground 'Escape Room' in reality: the reality of working a brutal. pressure cooker job with punishing hours and uncaring higher-ups, the reality of being a woman trying to make it in a man's world, the reality of being groomed to be a cutesy little materialist within a hyper-capitalist system that you help uphold. These sections could sometimes be a little on-the-nose, but in the end it's not like Goldin is wrong about any of it, so she might be loud, but at least she's loud and right. And boy does she make you want to eat the rich by the time the whole thing is over. Or, at least, she makes sure you're not particularly sorry when a team-building exercise gone wrong (or is it?) leads four such deplorable people to be trapped together on an elevator over the weekend.
The mystery at the heart of 'Escape Room' turns out to actually be pretty heavy and horrifying, but is, alas, also representative of something I have no doubt could happen at a company like the one she builds this one up to be: a playground for overgrown frat bros.
That is to say: 'Escape Room' gets a big ole trigger warning for sexual assault in the workplace.
After that, the novel evolves from a 'what is going on?' type of thriller to more of the 'I Spit on Your Grave', feminist revenge plot.
Or is it?
Does <i>anyone</i> come out of 'Escape Room' looking good? Or is the one pulling the strings ultimately just as selfish and horrible as the four people they lock on the elevator? You decide!
Now listen: after staying pretty plausible for the first 2/3, for the climax Goldin just went 'fuck it' and let her imagination and love of heist movies run wild. And honestly, love that for her. Just know that after 'the big reveal' you're not supposed to go over anything else with a fine-tooth comb -- you'll only be stopping yourself from having fun if you do because none of it will stand up to scrutiny and that isn't really the point anyway.
It was a fun read, and my favorite part is that the puppet-master character's end game and what actually happens on the elevator aren't completely in-synch and I loved imagining them finding out what actually happened after the end of the book.
If you know, you know!
libraryforspooky's review against another edition
3.0
I was interested in the escape room because I read 'The Night Swim' by the same author, I had pretty high hopes. TNS kept me on my seat the entire time I read the book. With that in mind, I was intrigued enough to finish but wouldn't reread.
The story follows in present and past, I am an accountant so the characters intrigued me because we're in the same realm. I can understand the wanting to get revenge when your career gets blacklisted. I just thought it was too strung out. After a while, it became pretty clear what direction the plot was going. It also really didn't the characters a chance to experience the "escaping" of an escape room when all of the clues never really lead to anything. I would have been more invested in learning more about The Circle. Quick read, expected turns taken.
The story follows in present and past, I am an accountant so the characters intrigued me because we're in the same realm. I can understand the wanting to get revenge when your career gets blacklisted. I just thought it was too strung out. After a while, it became pretty clear what direction the plot was going. It also really didn't the characters a chance to experience the "escaping" of an escape room when all of the clues never really lead to anything. I would have been more invested in learning more about The Circle. Quick read, expected turns taken.
theiveyterry's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.0
alienhard's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0