fictionaladventures's review against another edition
fast-paced
4.0
I devoured this in one day! Honestly it took me a bit to get into it because the writing style was much more simple than the beautiful writing of the book I read right before this one, but the plot and pacing hooked me and kept me glued to the page. I mean, 450 pages in a day is super rare for me. I love books this fast-paced! I found myself really loving the characters, especially VT. It was a good book to fill the A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder-shaped hole in my heart (not quite as good, of course, but lots of similarities!). My only gripe is THE ENDING. Everything resolved and then suddenly in the last two pages they decided to cliffhanger us which is ONLY OKAY IF THERE’S A SEQUEL. WHICH THERE’S NOT. As far as I can tell, there aren’t even PLANS for a sequel. I screamed when I finished the book and then ran to my sister to rant at her about it. Those last two pages SUCKED 😂
Spoiler
The only way that cliffhanger would be okay is if they had a sequel where it turned out the body they found wasn’t Valentine! You don’t end the book with another murder unless there’s a sequel where you solve it, especially not when it’s the wonderfully written love interest! Good Lord! How did they think that was a good idea to publish like that!alybug's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
brandolph's review against another edition
3.0
This book aggravated me to no end. It was fast paced and it held my attention HARD. BUT, the main character, ugh. And the ending! UGH!
Overall it was extremely well written, but there were just some overly dramatic, unbelievable moments. Also, I kept feeling like I was missing something, like this was the second in a series and I had somehow missed the first book.
Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for granting this ARC.
Overall it was extremely well written, but there were just some overly dramatic, unbelievable moments. Also, I kept feeling like I was missing something, like this was the second in a series and I had somehow missed the first book.
Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for granting this ARC.
lbacon315's review against another edition
5.0
I need a prequel. I need a sequel. I need 5 more books in this series. It can't end like that.
annsbibliotherapy's review against another edition
3.0
I liked the book, it just didn't have that something special that kept me hooked.
bambijuniper's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
slow-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
emmaward55's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I'm so torn with this book. On the one hand, I love the writing, themes, plot and characters: I'd absolutely snap up a whole Poirot-length series about them!
My only gripe comes with the ending, and I admit that it's more of a personal dislike than a flaw on Schachte's writing ability. I enjoyed the gritty and realistic take on the justice system and how unfair it is to girls like Ava and Lucy. What I didn't like is
The difficulty here is that a sunshine and rainbows happy ending would have been too unrealistic, but I think Schachte could have found a medium. Leave the fate of Ava's killers unknown, but have a scene with Flora reconnecting with VT and vowing to get through it together. In my opinion, books that tackle weighty subject matters like this need to leave the reader wanting to fight. We all know of girls and women brutalized in our real lives, and we need that hope to survive it.
Without that hope, how can we ever leave our homes again?
My only gripe comes with the ending, and I admit that it's more of a personal dislike than a flaw on Schachte's writing ability. I enjoyed the gritty and realistic take on the justice system and how unfair it is to girls like Ava and Lucy. What I didn't like is
Spoiler
how hopeless it all feels at the end. Yes, we the reader know who really killed Ava and why, but the book leaves little hope that her killer will ever face any real justice. Instead, the system failed Flora once again and she's left even more beaten than before, both physically and emotionally. The message seems to be "why try? Bad guys always win and the people seeking justice take all the damage".The difficulty here is that a sunshine and rainbows happy ending would have been too unrealistic, but I think Schachte could have found a medium. Leave the fate of Ava's killers unknown, but have a scene with Flora reconnecting with VT and vowing to get through it together. In my opinion, books that tackle weighty subject matters like this need to leave the reader wanting to fight. We all know of girls and women brutalized in our real lives, and we need that hope to survive it.
Without that hope, how can we ever leave our homes again?
Content Warnings
A sapphic character is murdered at the start, though it's never even suggested that her sexuality was the reason for it.
prettiestkitty_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
kaitumaneng's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
st4rgir1's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25