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georgiahb's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abortion
ttumbletree's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-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
4.0
stargazer was a solid 4 ⭐️ read for me.
i was incredibly excited to start the book when i bought it on a whim in a bookstore after seeing it amidst the secret history, if we were villains, bunny and all the other dark academia favorites.
and in many ways it lived up to my expectations.
i have to say it wasn’t quite as addicting for me as i expected it to me. i didn’t mind putting it down for a couple of days and reading something else in between, but in some ways that might have helped my reading experience… i have learned from past mistakes and maybe it’s okay to not binge read certain books… and it probably helped my mental state to not binge the downward spiral that is happening in the book.
the story is dark, and enticing, and intoxicating in many ways. i loved the setting and the dark spiral that you can see from the beginning (or at least i could)
the twists of the story didn’t quite surprise me, simply because i already associated the book with the dark academia aesthetic, but i didn’t mind that either. it made it all the more heartaching to watch the characters drag each other down and to watch every twist and turn lead them to a darker place.
all in all it’s a wonderfully solid 4⭐️ read and i’m sure i’ll reread it within the next couple years
also: i very much enjoyed all the small pop culture tidbits, the 90s setting and the anne of green gables references :)
i was incredibly excited to start the book when i bought it on a whim in a bookstore after seeing it amidst the secret history, if we were villains, bunny and all the other dark academia favorites.
and in many ways it lived up to my expectations.
i have to say it wasn’t quite as addicting for me as i expected it to me. i didn’t mind putting it down for a couple of days and reading something else in between, but in some ways that might have helped my reading experience… i have learned from past mistakes and maybe it’s okay to not binge read certain books… and it probably helped my mental state to not binge the downward spiral that is happening in the book.
the story is dark, and enticing, and intoxicating in many ways. i loved the setting and the dark spiral that you can see from the beginning (or at least i could)
the twists of the story didn’t quite surprise me, simply because i already associated the book with the dark academia aesthetic, but i didn’t mind that either. it made it all the more heartaching to watch the characters drag each other down and to watch every twist and turn lead them to a darker place.
all in all it’s a wonderfully solid 4⭐️ read and i’m sure i’ll reread it within the next couple years
also: i very much enjoyed all the small pop culture tidbits, the 90s setting and the anne of green gables references :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Abortion, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
baratheonbooks's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug use, and Abortion
pilarlopezleiva's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cursing, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Stalking, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Alcohol
suchafunpaige's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This is the genre of book I can’t get enough of - unsettling and unhinged women’s contemporary fiction. The cover grabbed my eye, but the description on the back quite literally sold me. This story is a compelling, twisty thriller that’s less than 300 pages. I couldn’t put it down.
If you liked the movies Thoroughbreds and Jawbreaker (much moodier though), you’ll like this one!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Abortion
carlytenille's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Abortion, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
heatherwardlaw's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gore, Blood, and Abortion
plumdustsuns's review against another edition
dark
slow-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
1.0
The chapters of the book were extremely repetitive, especially the flashbacks, talking about facts and scenarios that were already established before.
I don’t know what I was expecting from the book. Perhaps I came in thinking it’ll be about friendship, which it is, in many ways. It ended up being a thriller but the pace of the book only lent to that in maybe the last 60 pages.
Diana, to me, is extremely unlikable. I know that’s the point of it. I don’t mind rooting for villains but there was nothing redeeming about her. She was simply petty and cruel, forcing her anger onto the wrong places. I would have liked to see Aurelle rise up to the challenges, and take Diana down a peg. I kept reading by the end only because I was hoping for Aurelle to make it out of this toxic, manipulative and abusive friendship. And the bisexual girl being killed doesn’t sit easy for me.
I just believe there was a lot of potential in Aurelle’s character and nuances that could have been explored to better complement and challenge Diana’s. But it was squandered in favour of her instead. In the end, it was a sheep being killed by a lion and there was no ‘thrill’ of reading a thriller. Just someone almost helpless being taken aside.
I also have questions about Diana doing the drowning painting before. It seemed as if she took Aurelle out because she was overwhelmed by her leaving. I would have liked it better that way:
In the end, what I have established is that Aurelle was the one in the friendship who genuinely cared about Diana as a person. Diana only ‘cared’ about Aurelle because she was a Taylor and she offered her what she was pining for through her windows. In the end, Aurelle was just an image and symbol to Diana as well, which she then tarnished once she was ‘betrayed’ by Marianne.
There’s just a lot of lost potential everywhere in this book. I don’t feel satisfied and feel borderline enraged.
I don’t know what I was expecting from the book. Perhaps I came in thinking it’ll be about friendship, which it is, in many ways. It ended up being a thriller but the pace of the book only lent to that in maybe the last 60 pages.
Diana, to me, is extremely unlikable. I know that’s the point of it. I don’t mind rooting for villains but there was nothing redeeming about her. She was simply petty and cruel, forcing her anger onto the wrong places. I would have liked to see Aurelle rise up to the challenges, and take Diana down a peg. I kept reading by the end only because I was hoping for Aurelle to make it out of this toxic, manipulative and abusive friendship. And the bisexual girl being killed doesn’t sit easy for me.
I just believe there was a lot of potential in Aurelle’s character and nuances that could have been explored to better complement and challenge Diana’s. But it was squandered in favour of her instead. In the end, it was a sheep being killed by a lion and there was no ‘thrill’ of reading a thriller. Just someone almost helpless being taken aside.
I also have questions about Diana doing the drowning painting before. It seemed as if she took Aurelle out because she was overwhelmed by her leaving. I would have liked it better that way:
In the end, what I have established is that Aurelle was the one in the friendship who genuinely cared about Diana as a person. Diana only ‘cared’ about Aurelle because she was a Taylor and she offered her what she was pining for through her windows. In the end, Aurelle was just an image and symbol to Diana as well, which she then tarnished once she was ‘betrayed’ by Marianne.
There’s just a lot of lost potential everywhere in this book. I don’t feel satisfied and feel borderline enraged.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Abortion, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
rashi's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Whew well hot diggity damn that was SO INTENSEEEEE JESUS I haven’t been so engrossed in a book in a while, I couldn’t put it down!! This was as messy as I wanted it to be, even more messy than I could have imagined!! just what I was in the mood to read, I wanted problematic and traumatised people, obsession, addiction, ego and that is exactly what I got. Diana definitely gave me black swan/whiplash perfectionistic tortured artist energy, I really didn’t expect it to devolve in the ways that it did, especially into MURDER LIKE DAMN poor Aurelle she never got anything she wanted lmao talk about an unlucky time, I wanted Aurelle to have a redemption ark full of anger and revenge and to get back and Diana with a taste of her own medicine, but she wasn’t strong enough… just like Diana said, she should never have had to be but… yeah I just wish there could have been SOMETHING redeeming but that’s the way things go I guess! Had a good time with it for sure, I’ll probably be thinking about them for a while
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Abortion, Murder, and Pregnancy
bethany_grace's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
4.5
maybe they're just gay...
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Moderate: Abortion and Abandonment