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weekatsie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
Many thanks to NetGalley and Sian Gilbert for sharing this e-arc with me. The following review reflects my honest reading experience.
She Started It by Sian Gilbert is a psychological thriller set at a hen party on a remote, private island - the height of absolute luxury. But from the start, things seem a little odd, as it turns out the guests at this getaway weren't exactly the bride-to-be's closest friends, and in fact, they haven't even seen each other in 10 years. As you may expect, things soon start to turn ugly.....
I was hooked by the premise from the start, and the author does a great job of making the characters deeply unlikeable people but also very intriguing. However, I did find it a little tricky to distinguish between the four main ones, as their voices were a little too similar in my opinion.
I really enjoyed the tropical island location and the action had me completely gripped - I was impressed by the high standard of writing, which really made me feel like I was right in the heart of the story. Although I figured out the twist, it took me a while to do so, and the reveal was satisfying.
Despite the fact that this is a psychological thriller, it also tackles some deeper issues, such as bullying and mental health. It dealt with both sensitively, though I found one element of the bullying backstory rather unbelievable (don't want to give any spoilers, so won't give any more details).
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it.
She Started It by Sian Gilbert is a psychological thriller set at a hen party on a remote, private island - the height of absolute luxury. But from the start, things seem a little odd, as it turns out the guests at this getaway weren't exactly the bride-to-be's closest friends, and in fact, they haven't even seen each other in 10 years. As you may expect, things soon start to turn ugly.....
I was hooked by the premise from the start, and the author does a great job of making the characters deeply unlikeable people but also very intriguing. However, I did find it a little tricky to distinguish between the four main ones, as their voices were a little too similar in my opinion.
I really enjoyed the tropical island location and the action had me completely gripped - I was impressed by the high standard of writing, which really made me feel like I was right in the heart of the story. Although I figured out the twist, it took me a while to do so, and the reveal was satisfying.
Despite the fact that this is a psychological thriller, it also tackles some deeper issues, such as bullying and mental health. It dealt with both sensitively, though I found one element of the bullying backstory rather unbelievable (don't want to give any spoilers, so won't give any more details).
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Mental illness, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Suicide
charink's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Self harm, and Murder
hmstumfoll's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-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? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Murder
Moderate: Infidelity
Minor: Domestic abuse, Drug use, and Homophobia
kaylamoran's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Very predictable, none of the twists were shocking at all. And none of the characters were likeable so there was no one to root for. Pay attention to trigger warnings on this one
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Murder, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Gore, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Addiction, Biphobia, Domestic abuse, and Drug abuse
kermcnally's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicide, Murder, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Addiction, Domestic abuse, and Infidelity
10lewis2011's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Blood, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
mandajo's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
4.25
I enjoy having plot twists I didn't see coming. This book is not like that; it was pretty easy to figure out what was going to happen early on. My mom and I read it together and we guessed everything right.
Even with the predictability, I still really enjoyed this book and it kept my interest. It gives me if Mean Girls was a thriller vibes. Look for trigger warnings though before reading.
Even with the predictability, I still really enjoyed this book and it kept my interest. It gives me if Mean Girls was a thriller vibes. Look for trigger warnings though before reading.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Murder, and Toxic friendship
molhog93's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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
2.5
The characters were all similar so the point of view switching was confusing. None of the characters had any lieable characteristics. 2 stars for wanting to keep reading just to find out what happened
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying and Murder
Moderate: Self harm and Suicide
erinmichele_reads's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Fatphobia, Gore, Homophobia, Infidelity, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, and Excrement
amberslibrarycard's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-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? Yes
2.75
In "She Started It" by Sian Gilbert, a group of friends embarks on an extravagant bachelorette party for an old "friend", only to have hidden secrets and betrayals emerge, turning the trip into a perilous ordeal. As the suspense builds, they are forced to face their past and the unsettling truths that threaten to unravel their lives. I found this book to be very middle of the road. The concept was very fresh, but the execution was a little bit of a miss for me. I found the foreshadowing to be too much, I knew the big twist before they happened which destroyed most of the excitement for me. For example, the big reveal by Poppy was very obvious to me As soon as Poppy mentioned in diary that Wendy wanted to pursue medicine, I know that it was Wendy and not Poppy on the island. Also, the lack of a body made it obvious to me that Poppy wasn't dead. . Also, the "accomplice" revealed at the end was not a surprise. For me, it took too long to get some of Poppy's perspective through her diary entries. I was initially turned off by Poppy's behavior at the island because I didn't have the right connection to Poppy's character at that point. I will say that I really liked the end of the book, starting around chapter 32 it picked up in quality to me. I thought the final chapters were really good, even if the initial story was too drawn out for my taste. Not bad if you want something mysterious but easy to read.
Be warned, this book does tough on some sensitive topics! I didn't know that but thankfully they were not triggers for me.
Be warned, this book does tough on some sensitive topics! I didn't know that but thankfully they were not triggers for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Murder