The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
shelbym_reads's review against another edition
mysterious
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? It's complicated
3.0
Some of the events in the book are just unbelievable and had me rolling my eyes as I was listening, but I was already 40 chapters in by then so I kept going. I read a review saying this book was predictable and I don’t totally agree. It’s obvious from pretty early on that Brooke starts to doubt Shane was the killer. Being that there was only 1 other survivor, Tim, it could go either way on who the killer was . I’m not sure if that person finished the book, but there is a pretty big plot twist at the end that I think fits and was not at all obvious until you’re already in the moment. And the epilogue had me shook! All in all, I would not really consider this a thriller as I was rather bored until about 60% in- I almost just skipped to the end. If this was shorter, I would have rated it higher.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Death, and Blood
bookishchaos's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I binged this in one day, it was a fast read and I was pretty surprised by the plot twist(s).
This felt a little similar to Ward D, but I still enjoyed it.
This felt a little similar to Ward D, but I still enjoyed it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Gaslighting and Blood
Minor: Gun violence and Car accident
lanean's review against another edition
dark
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Death of parent, and Bullying
Minor: Kidnapping, Car accident, and Sexual content
nm_young's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-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? It's complicated
2.5
⭐️⭐️.5
2.5 Stars= It was an okay read
TRIGGER WARNING: VIOLENCE & MURDER
POV: Singular, first-person
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Part of an interconnected series: No
Safe or Dark: Dark (see trigger warning above)
First and foremost, the main female character, Brooke Sullivan, gave me a migraine. She was almost too stupid to live. It was painful. For a nurse practitioner, she seriously lacked intelligence.
I wanted to love this book so bad. So many people raved about how it was an amazing read. I wanted it to live up to the hype so badly. Sadly, it just didn't. It starts out strong. It had so much potential, and I was so excited to see where things went. But as the story went on, the plot got stupider and stupider. I just wanted the pain to stop.
Please allow me to list the issues I had with this story:
1) How Brooke was able to get into the prison system to begin with. She was intimately related to Shane Nelson. He had tried to murder her ten years before she got the job as a nurse practitioner at the prison he was incarcerated in. Her testimony helped land him a life sentence there. The judicial system would have had all the information to link the two. Any average person could have searched for the names Brooke Sullivan and Shane Nelson on the internet and would have seen the entire story. That would have been a huge red flag right away. There is absolutely no way a prison would allow someone who has a link to a prisoner to land a job at that institution, no matter how desperate they are.
2) The way Brooke second-guessed herself more than I did when taking a high school algebra test, and we had to hear her unbearable wishy-washy thoughts. Seriously, every two seconds, she was trying to decide if it was her ex-boyfriend Shane who tried to kill her that fateful night many years ago or her estranged best friend Tim Reese. I get it. There were factors that played a part in her mind, possibly playing tricks on her. BUT COME ON! One second, it might have been Shane, and the next, it might have been Tim.
3) The way Brooke practically swooned over Shane the moment she saw him for the first time since the night of her attempted murder. She has supposedly had nightmares about that night for the past ten years. Yet she isn't repulsed by the sight of Shane as soon as he steps into her exam room. Instead, she remarks on how he is still rather attractive (I believe she used the word hot to describe him). Maybe even more so than he was at eighteen. She also starts to divulge personal information to him. It comes out like a barf. She even worries about what happened to him and his wellbeing, and not just as a healthcare provider to the inmates. It made no sense.
4) The whole "I lope you" nonsense. That is all. What the hell was that? It was such an ick.
5) Brooke's son, Josh, got bullied at his old school because his dad wasn't in his life and was essentially a "bastard." What year is this? 1955?
6) The whole babysitter thing. I don't want to give too much away, so, that's all I'm going to say.
7)Josh was such a young ten-year-old. Brooke sheltered and coddled him. So, what he ended up doing in the epilogue was just not believable. There is no way he would be capable of doing that. He just didn't seem mature enough. It just wasn't believable. At all.
The author did a nice job of making us, as the readers, second guess ourselves when it came to the who-done-it (not nearly as much as Brooke, though). Once, I thought I had it all figured out, but I was wrong. The story flowed nicely between the past and the present. The two timelines were pieced together nicely. She also made it very clear that Shane was a walking red flag from the jump, while Tim was a green (although at times yellow) one.
This was the first book I have read by Freida McFadden, and even though it wasn't a great first impression, I will check out her other books in the future.
2.5 Stars= It was an okay read
TRIGGER WARNING: VIOLENCE & MURDER
POV: Singular, first-person
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Part of an interconnected series: No
Safe or Dark: Dark (see trigger warning above)
First and foremost, the main female character, Brooke Sullivan, gave me a migraine. She was almost too stupid to live. It was painful. For a nurse practitioner, she seriously lacked intelligence.
I wanted to love this book so bad. So many people raved about how it was an amazing read. I wanted it to live up to the hype so badly. Sadly, it just didn't. It starts out strong. It had so much potential, and I was so excited to see where things went. But as the story went on, the plot got stupider and stupider. I just wanted the pain to stop.
Please allow me to list the issues I had with this story:
1) How Brooke was able to get into the prison system to begin with. She was intimately related to Shane Nelson. He had tried to murder her ten years before she got the job as a nurse practitioner at the prison he was incarcerated in. Her testimony helped land him a life sentence there. The judicial system would have had all the information to link the two. Any average person could have searched for the names Brooke Sullivan and Shane Nelson on the internet and would have seen the entire story. That would have been a huge red flag right away. There is absolutely no way a prison would allow someone who has a link to a prisoner to land a job at that institution, no matter how desperate they are.
2) The way Brooke second-guessed herself more than I did when taking a high school algebra test, and we had to hear her unbearable wishy-washy thoughts. Seriously, every two seconds, she was trying to decide if it was her ex-boyfriend Shane who tried to kill her that fateful night many years ago or her estranged best friend Tim Reese. I get it. There were factors that played a part in her mind, possibly playing tricks on her. BUT COME ON! One second, it might have been Shane, and the next, it might have been Tim.
3) The way Brooke practically swooned over Shane the moment she saw him for the first time since the night of her attempted murder. She has supposedly had nightmares about that night for the past ten years. Yet she isn't repulsed by the sight of Shane as soon as he steps into her exam room. Instead, she remarks on how he is still rather attractive (I believe she used the word hot to describe him). Maybe even more so than he was at eighteen. She also starts to divulge personal information to him. It comes out like a barf. She even worries about what happened to him and his wellbeing, and not just as a healthcare provider to the inmates. It made no sense.
4) The whole "I lope you" nonsense. That is all. What the hell was that? It was such an ick.
5) Brooke's son, Josh, got bullied at his old school because his dad wasn't in his life and was essentially a "bastard." What year is this? 1955?
6) The whole babysitter thing. I don't want to give too much away, so, that's all I'm going to say.
7)Josh was such a young ten-year-old. Brooke sheltered and coddled him. So, what he ended up doing in the epilogue was just not believable. There is no way he would be capable of doing that. He just didn't seem mature enough. It just wasn't believable. At all.
The author did a nice job of making us, as the readers, second guess ourselves when it came to the who-done-it (not nearly as much as Brooke, though). Once, I thought I had it all figured out, but I was wrong. The story flowed nicely between the past and the present. The two timelines were pieced together nicely. She also made it very clear that Shane was a walking red flag from the jump, while Tim was a green (although at times yellow) one.
This was the first book I have read by Freida McFadden, and even though it wasn't a great first impression, I will check out her other books in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Violence
mikaylarupke's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, and Child death
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Medical content
Minor: Death of parent and Sexual content
medini_l's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Gore, Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Car accident, Death of parent, Drug use, and Stalking
mirandamess139's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This shit was crazy
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Murder
sierrabedwell's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This book was a good read. I could predict most of the ending, but not everything! I was surprised at a lot of things that happened! Especially in the epilogue! Wow. Will definitely pick up another Frieda McFadden book in the future!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Murder, Gun violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Violence, Death of parent, Death, Gore, Stalking, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief
ehamlett's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Physical abuse, Confinement, Police brutality, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, and Medical content
Minor: Sexual content and Death of parent
daniscorner's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Violence