Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

The House in the Pines: A Novel by Ana Reyes

41 reviews

kristentee's review against another edition

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fast-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

2.0

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lilac_sparkle's review against another edition

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emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I really liked this book, especially since it is the first time I have read a book with a protagonist who is half-Guatemalan like I am. I found myself relating to Maya's struggle with connecting to her Guatemalan side. I like how this books leads you to beliving it will end one way, but then twisting in a way that still feels like it makes sense.
I think the mention of Maya's dad writing a Magial Realism book worked to trick the reader into believing that Frank was a supernatural being, but also allowed room for the more realistic ending to occur.
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chilivanilli28's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense fast-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

4.0

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laur_o's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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kshertz's review against another edition

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mysterious sad 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? No

3.75

It’s an interesting concept! I love an unreliable narrator. The author is going through withdrawal and has a problem with alcohol. Is she the problem or is Frank a killer? I liked following the ups and downs . The ending was just okay. I did not guess what would happen. 
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ellainalisa's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

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rachelle_reads's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

4.0

I couldn’t tell if this was going in a paranormal direction or not for most of the book. The author had me on the hook! Vivid imagery and strong character development for the protagonist. I could really feel her confusion coming from multiple directions. 
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mollywill's review against another edition

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mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Ending felt rushed and didn’t provide any real closure/resolution. I kept waiting for a plot twist bc I felt like surely if they’re not going to wrap things up (like who is Ruby, is Frank in jail, etc.) then something else is going to happen, but nothing. I did like the tie in to Guatemalan history and some new folklore I wasn’t familiar with, but I don’t think the connection between Maya’s life and the hymn/her dads book was as good as it was supposed to be.
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strawberrymivvy's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
A spooky, atmospheric and tense read.

A little confusing at times with the changing time line and no real differentiation in the chapters. 

At times I really wondered which way the novel was going, hard to believe this was a first book. Definitely an author to watch
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syazahaniss's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

I didn’t know what was going on for like 90% of the book.

The context-establishing part regarding Maya’s father’s book and his whole life growing up etc felt completely unrelated to the situation with Frank. The backstory in general felt like an unnecessary history lesson but somehow added no value to the story at all.

I think the author was trying to establish Frank as this sinister villain, serial killer type but he was very lacking and he wasn’t scary at all. The method of killing was also very questionable and I had trouble taking him seriously.
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