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cxllie's review against another edition
- 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? No
4.25
Graphic: Addiction
Moderate: Mental illness
chilivanilli28's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Addiction and Alcoholism
Moderate: Mental illness
Minor: Suicide
loreleireads's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Grief, and Alcohol
Minor: Genocide and War
strawberrymivvy's review against another edition
- 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 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
Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use, and Mental illness
amandas_bookshelf's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
2.75
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Torture, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
Moderate: Mental illness
Minor: Police brutality and War
keelsrn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Addiction, Mental illness, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Drug use, Violence, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and War
kwmcm25's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
archaicrobin's review against another edition
- 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
2.5
If you want a fun, twisty thriller with weird characters, confusing storyline pivots, and a reveal so silly it works, then check out The House in the Pines. If you can’t ride with the turns though, I would highly suggest not picking this up because you have to suspend disbelief A LOT to get any enjoyment out of this one!
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
erisouls's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
Moderate: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, and Murder
Minor: Child abuse and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
minimicropup'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
4.0
Narration 🙂: Croaky in parts, especially with male voices, but not too distracting
An adult (late 20s ish) is coming to terms with past trauma and is further triggered by a social media video showing someone die in a similar way to their best friend.
We are following our MC in their contemporary era, spun out on self-medicating chemies unbeknownst to their partner and family. We also see their POV through flash backs from their senior year of high school and shortly thereafter ~ 7 years ago.
Set in Berkshire (I think?) Massachusetts, USA and surrounding regions.
-The transition between past and present wasn't necessarily jarring except for how it occurred so abruptly (even on audio). Based on the characters involved I figured out which era we were in, but maybe chapter/headings for those transitions would be helpful. It was probably easier with audio than text/digitial
-The ending just kinda happens. It's fast, all the Tea is spilled rapidly and feeling rushed, although I can also imagine complaints about this book being too long if it kept the pace (IOW maybe we could have cut down all the withdrawal/family drama bits since they're pretty much the same over time in the present day).
-Dark psychological mystery
-Guatemalan family history and experiencing culture from afar
-Unreliable narrator trope with contemporary fiction and mental illness elements
-Coming of age friendship drama
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Drug abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Alcohol
Minor: Mental illness