kerasalwaysreading's review against another edition
5.0
This had just everything I love!
Friend groups that were once solid but are now deteriorating. Unreliable narrators. Secrets and lies that you have to parse through in order to find the bigger picture. Haunted houses. Unexplainable things happening. Strange timelines that are difficult to understand until you reach the end.
This book was just amazing. The style of writing kept me guessing until the absolute end. You get so far into this book and you’re wondering where can it go from here? This book was just spooky enough to seat that love of horror that I have and twisty enough to fill that love of mystery/thriller.
I often find that the ending of a book can totally make or break my overall enjoyment. I am very happy to say that Dana Mele ended this book absolutely perfectly. I don’t think I could’ve asked for a better ending. Do I think this is some piece of incredible show stopping literature? Not exactly. But that doesn’t take away at all what I felt from this book. And that was just overall enjoyment. I want this to be a movie or a television series.
Friend groups that were once solid but are now deteriorating. Unreliable narrators. Secrets and lies that you have to parse through in order to find the bigger picture. Haunted houses. Unexplainable things happening. Strange timelines that are difficult to understand until you reach the end.
This book was just amazing. The style of writing kept me guessing until the absolute end. You get so far into this book and you’re wondering where can it go from here? This book was just spooky enough to seat that love of horror that I have and twisty enough to fill that love of mystery/thriller.
I often find that the ending of a book can totally make or break my overall enjoyment. I am very happy to say that Dana Mele ended this book absolutely perfectly. I don’t think I could’ve asked for a better ending. Do I think this is some piece of incredible show stopping literature? Not exactly. But that doesn’t take away at all what I felt from this book. And that was just overall enjoyment. I want this to be a movie or a television series.
iamthecampion's review against another edition
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
lemonadelizard's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
thestoryshire's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-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
morgan_champine's review against another edition
5.0
Genuinely what an incredibly eerie summer read this book is.
I found this book to be both gripping and terrifying, with such an incredible twist at the end. If you enjoyed The Haunting of Bly Manor, you’ll love this book. It was atmospheric, thrilling, and surprising in a lot of very fresh ways. It is a must-read for horror and thriller readers. Super spooky, and a lovely summer read.
Not to mention, the representation is a beautiful perk to this story.
I found this book to be both gripping and terrifying, with such an incredible twist at the end. If you enjoyed The Haunting of Bly Manor, you’ll love this book. It was atmospheric, thrilling, and surprising in a lot of very fresh ways. It is a must-read for horror and thriller readers. Super spooky, and a lovely summer read.
Not to mention, the representation is a beautiful perk to this story.
macabresloth's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
tarawade17's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
mfrisk's review
adventurous
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
3.0
This book is a cheesy young adult popcorn flick. The comparisons made on the book seem fairly accurate and it definitely blends reality with the supernatural. I struggle with how I feel about this book because it had an interesting premise starting out and then there were a lot of flashbacks and then when it ends you feel confused but can also piece some things together. I had trouble though differentiating the characters at times and felt like the book could have been far shorter to have more impact with its ending. I’m not sure we needed every single detail given.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Toxic relationship, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Medical trauma, Child death, Animal death, Toxic friendship, Murder, and Alcohol