lehine's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This was an EXTREMELY slow burn. It reads more as a workplace drama than a thriller. I don’t mind waiting for the latter part for action, but there really wasn’t a sense of tension for the vast majority of the book. I think the music is going to have to do a lot of heavy lifting in the TV show.
If you read it as a fun if fucked-up workplace drama, there are some interesting observations and interactions that will make up for a lot of what’s missing. There’s loneliness, jealousy, ambition, failure, success, and annoying coworkers that seemed truer to life than attempts at tension. If you read it as a thriller you’re likely to be disappointed. The ending was extremely predictable and a huge let-down.
Nella as a character confuses me. At times she has strong principals, at others she folds like a lawn chair. This serves a purpose eventually, but seemed like poor character building for most of the book. She’s also a really shitty friend, and ashamed of her boyfriend so that’s not healthy.
The way she was brought up making her feel “not black enough” vs being the only black girl in the office felt like the most authentic struggle in the book. Imposter syndrome of sorts.
A glance at the reviews on Goodreads shows that the majority of 5-stars came from white readers, the majority of 1-stars from black readers. Criticisms seem to center around the lack of good editing (ironic for a book about an assistant editor at a publishing company) and who exactly this book’s audience is.
If you read it as a fun if fucked-up workplace drama, there are some interesting observations and interactions that will make up for a lot of what’s missing. There’s loneliness, jealousy, ambition, failure, success, and annoying coworkers that seemed truer to life than attempts at tension. If you read it as a thriller you’re likely to be disappointed. The ending was extremely predictable and a huge let-down.
Nella as a character confuses me. At times she has strong principals, at others she folds like a lawn chair. This serves a purpose eventually, but seemed like poor character building for most of the book. She’s also a really shitty friend, and ashamed of her boyfriend so that’s not healthy.
The way she was brought up making her feel “not black enough” vs being the only black girl in the office felt like the most authentic struggle in the book. Imposter syndrome of sorts.
A glance at the reviews on Goodreads shows that the majority of 5-stars came from white readers, the majority of 1-stars from black readers. Criticisms seem to center around the lack of good editing (ironic for a book about an assistant editor at a publishing company) and who exactly this book’s audience is.
hannahsoothers's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
bbboeken's review against another edition
1.0
This is one of the worst books I have ever read. It (f)actually made me not want to read and stole my whole reading month of July. I loathed picking up the book to continue reading it, and I didn't want to start a new book before finishing this one, which was quite silly on my part, and something I utmost regret.
Oh, and please stop comparing it with Jordan Peele's "Get Out".
Oh, and please stop comparing it with Jordan Peele's "Get Out".
crondeau1n_yvr's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Meh… definitely not as good as get out. The chemist in me would have liked to know more about that ingredient list.
trinidaddy's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism
villis's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
martynahanna's review against another edition
2.0
Nearly gave up 300 pages in. I get what she was trying to do and the 2 stars go for the concept, but the execution was just so poor. The ending felt abrupt and rushed and the whole story just needed to be shorter. I also didn’t connect with any of the characters.
deedeegib's review against another edition
3.0
This book sat on my shelf for so long and I finally picked it up. The Devil Wears Prada comparison made no sense to me. I literally kept coming back to the cover to confirm that’s what it said, and shook my head every time. It took until the last 100 pages to figure out what was happening. I did not like this book.
Reminds me of They Killed Tyrone.
Reminds me of They Killed Tyrone.
doctabird's review against another edition
2.0
2.5
I think I had this on my to read list for so long, that when I did finally start reading it, I completely forgotten the premise. It was absolutely not what I thought it was going to be. I'm not sure if it's supposed to be a thriller, horror, sci-fi?? I see the comparison to Get Out now, and I get it, but that is absolutely not what I thought I was going to be reading when I picked it up.
Despite all of that, I probably would have given it at least three stars if there weren't so many plot holes and loose ends. There were too many side stories and characters that were given some attention, but either not enough to attention to understand the relevance, or not enough context, or no conclusion to how it fits into the overall story.
I think I had this on my to read list for so long, that when I did finally start reading it, I completely forgotten the premise. It was absolutely not what I thought it was going to be. I'm not sure if it's supposed to be a thriller, horror, sci-fi?? I see the comparison to Get Out now, and I get it, but that is absolutely not what I thought I was going to be reading when I picked it up.
Despite all of that, I probably would have given it at least three stars if there weren't so many plot holes and loose ends. There were too many side stories and characters that were given some attention, but either not enough to attention to understand the relevance, or not enough context, or no conclusion to how it fits into the overall story.
caleykapowski's review against another edition
I put this book down months ago with a plan to return… I then didn’t think about it since. I think this is a sign that I’m not going to continue with it