aprilblues348's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Stalking, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Self harm, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gore, Grief, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Violence, Gun violence, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Child death, and Death of parent
xmeganlowe'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? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Violence, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Pedophilia, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Abandonment and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Self harm
frekdal's review
- 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
2.5
Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Murder, Blood, Grief, Drug abuse, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Kidnapping, Mental illness, and Violence
secondhandbookshelves's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
I read the book in one sitting but ended up skimming the last half.
The way the book is written is repeative, drawn out, and purposefully sideways.
It's not always clear what the timeline is either because we fall into flash backs, flash sideways, and other POVs randomly & with no indication as to who we're hearing from.
I'm not super impressed with the book, but this was my first by this author so I'm unsure if this is just how she writes?
Might check out another from the library but not planning to uy any others (or revisit this one)
Spoiler
Is ot a twist if the character that ends up being the bad guy is barely in the story? I didn't see it coming because it literally came out of left field. The murderer has maybe two interactions with the main character before things are revealed.Graphic: Murder, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Drug use, Violence, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Addiction
aas's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Drug use, Grief, Abandonment, Blood, Death, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Kidnapping, Violence, Mental illness, Murder, Pedophilia, Alcohol, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts
vj_thompson's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Murder, Child abuse, Addiction, Drug abuse, Alcohol, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Death, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Vomit, Miscarriage, and Self harm
pinkpotayto's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Graphic: Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Drug abuse, and Violence
redefiningrachel's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Violence, Blood, Murder, Alcohol, Stalking, Mental illness, Gun violence, Drug use, Drug abuse, Kidnapping, Death, and Child death
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, Suicide, Self harm, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Eating disorder and Sexual content
chrstnlvly'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? Yes
2.5
…the past never stays where we try to keep it, stuffing it deep into the back of a closet and hoping to forget.
I feel bad for Chloe. She's surrounded by people who are either liars or immoral.
I did guess early on the plot twist, but I did not expect this to have many (minor) plot twists. Those little plot twists kept me engaged and made me skim this. However, I needed some help with this book.
Sometimes the transition of Chloe's thoughts from the present to the past (or vice versa) could be more apparent. It could have been more seamless. One minute we're reading about what Chloe was thinking about now/in the present, then the next minute, we're transported to her past, reading about what past Chloe was feeling at that moment. I don't know if this is intentional since Chloe is supposed to be an unreliable narrator, but it sometimes kept me confused. I've read enough thrillers to know there's a better way to do this.
Additionally, some parts are really repetitive. Since this is a first-person POV (Chloe's POV), we know her whereabouts and thoughts, so there is no need to recount what we read in the past chapters. We just read about 1 or 2 chapters about what happened over the weekend because we were "with her" as readers; there's no need to have 2 or 3 paragraphs of summary the chapter after.
It really bothered me how many times the words "flick," "flicker," "flicking," and "flicking" was mentioned (if you're curious: flick = 6, flicker = 13, flicking = 5, flickering = 9... that's a whole lot for a book less than 400 pages).
Overall, I did enjoy this book. I understand this is the author's debut novel. As she writes more books, her writing style will get better. It was okay, I'm glad I read it since it entertained me, but it had some problems. 2.5 stars.
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Self harm, Stalking, Blood, Death, and Mental illness
themoodreader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Death, Sexual content, Drug use, Child death, Stalking, Addiction, and Murder
Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Blood, Child death, Confinement, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Self harm, Kidnapping, Murder, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Stalking, Violence, Vomit, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Infidelity, and Sexual content