Reviews tagging 'Death'

How to Kill Your Family by Bella Mackie

231 reviews

aschmitttyy's review against another edition

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

4.0

I picked this book up on a whim from the bookshelf of the Airbnb I was staying at the time. Had no idea what I was walking into and was immediately hooked (it helped that I had a few long train rides where I needed to pass the time). It was witty, entertaining, and creative, unlike any book I have read before. Not saying that I liked the main character, or supported her mission or the reason behind it, but I sure did enjoyed reading about it.
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kateea7536's review against another edition

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dark funny tense medium-paced
  • 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

This is definitely a one of a kind read! A very dark plot but incredibly funny writing, with a complicated loveable main character (somehow!). Loved the twists and turns of the plot. Would have loved for Grace’s voice to be heard last in the book, but otherwise I was gripped! Really loved the takes on feminism and social issues and class dynamics that were weaved into the book. Very powerful
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bellsdixon's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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izzyheal's review against another edition

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dark 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? Yes

2.25

This was a chore to get through - the story had promise and I was gripped at points but the charm eventually wore off.

- The main character was insufferable (I know she wasn’t meant to be likeable), her rants became tedious and annoying instead of cool and insightful, and when a character was introduced in the last few chapters who was equally rambling I could not care. 
- The ‘class’ commentary was surface level
- The final act ‘twist’ was frustrating and immersion-breaking
- The formatting and chronology was all over the place I felt lost and was often checking to see how many pages I had left.
- I did quite like the murder chapters, they felt like the most thought out sections but I hated the jumping around when
Caro
was introduced - also I feel like I missed something cos
how did Bryony die???
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katbotelho's review against another edition

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dark funny medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

this book was captivating it was interesting reading from graces pov. thought it was very ironic how shes going around killing ppl bc theyre bad people while also being a super negative, narcissist and judgemental person herself. i feel like this book is comparable to yellowface in that both narrators in each novel are meant to be unlikeable/terrible people but the difference is in this book I didn’t want to gouge my eyeballs out every time the main character spoke.

i’ve seen a lot of people complain abt the ending but i kinda liked it and felt like there was something to be said abt
grace going thru all the trouble of killing her family to get back at an awful terrible privileged white man only to be screwed over in her ultimate goal by another privleged but slightly less awful white man
also i think its an acceptable ending bc did we expect a happy ending for someone who killed six people ?? no not really. 

i could maybe talk abt this book for hours but i’ll leave it there anyway would recommend 
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brooklynjane's review against another edition

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

3.75

Grace is a totally shitty, painful and despicable human, but I was somehow rooting her her success in her plans. I found her funny, and I found her inner mind intriguing: the way that she was able to manipulate the world to fit her views, and how she was able to look at other people's wrongs and often not her own.

I didn't love the ending, I appreciated what it was trying to do but it just left me furious on Grace's behalf.
I would've liked it if her brother had given her some money at least, but I guess it really shows that the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree.
I would've rated it higher with a different ending, but it was still enjoyable.
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sadiaa's review against another edition

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3.0

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inkspren's review against another edition

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dark funny inspiring fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was a very entertaining read, but the ending annoyed me to no ends. 
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annadiprimavera's review against another edition

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dark funny 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? Yes

3.0

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tashcullen's review against another edition

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dark fast-paced
  • 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? Yes

4.25

"Life is so short and we spend so much of it talking to terrible people about the minutiae of their nothing lives."
I enjoyed listening to the audiobook version of this and found it an entertaining listen. I can't quite make up my mind about if I liked the ending or not and I found the perspective shift quite surprising! I wouldn't suggest you rush to read this but I think its a fun read.
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