Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes

61 reviews

hatchtag's review against another edition

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

3.0

Solid ⭐⭐⭐ it was just fine. I finished it. I looked forward to listening to it. It wasn't groundbreaking and I haven't thought about it since. It did keep me guessing, not in a stressful suspenseful way, but in a "what is going on here" and "how magical are they actually going to make this" way. I was actually hoping they'd lean even more into magical realism given it's cultural relevance to the character...I think the author missed an opportunity to tie a so-so narrative into a good genre piece that could have pushed it closer to four stars. I did enjoy the writing and the descriptions of the characters was clear, I'd read something else by this author for sure.

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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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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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