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A review by carina_dreamer
In My Dreams I Hold a Knife by Ashley Winstead
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
✂️ We have a college that is not Ivy League but is famous for its old look and for attracting rich families. Our narrator is named Jessica and she wanted to enter Harvard to please her dad, and when she failed she applied for this college, which she can't pay for. That's how her life of pretence starts and things get easy when she meets: Heather, Caro, Coop, Jack, Frankie and Mint. The seven of them will become The East House Seven, a nickname that would follow them throughout their popular college life.
✂️ Their appearance-focused daily life, mean girls' behaviour, sorority/fraternity crazy shenanigans... All that comes to a halt when one of their friends is murdered and the group falls apart. Ten years later, the crime is still unsolved and the little brother of the victim organizes a college reunion to antagonize the group for answers.
✂️ We have two timelines, I enjoyed the back and forward because it felt like an episode of HTGAWM since every time a secret was revealed in the present we got a flashback about it. And there's a feeling of thriller and anticipation when we start to get closer to the truth and I enjoyed that a lot.
✂️ Unfortunately, for me, I couldn't stand the characters! They're awful people, the high school stereotypes but make it college-centered, their friendship and love affairs are revealed to be full of lies... It's toxicity over and over again. I can't say it doesn't go well with the plot of the book, cause it does, but I couldn't enjoy their self-centred minds to the point I had to DNF my next read the book "Asking for it" by Louise O'Neill because the characters were also awful people.
✂️ The revelation of the true killer was satisfying and the motive was valid, I liked it. The ending I wasn't such a fan, didn't want a happy ending for them...
✂️ Their appearance-focused daily life, mean girls' behaviour, sorority/fraternity crazy shenanigans... All that comes to a halt when one of their friends is murdered and the group falls apart. Ten years later, the crime is still unsolved and the little brother of the victim organizes a college reunion to antagonize the group for answers.
✂️ We have two timelines, I enjoyed the back and forward because it felt like an episode of HTGAWM since every time a secret was revealed in the present we got a flashback about it. And there's a feeling of thriller and anticipation when we start to get closer to the truth and I enjoyed that a lot.
✂️ Unfortunately, for me, I couldn't stand the characters! They're awful people, the high school stereotypes but make it college-centered, their friendship and love affairs are revealed to be full of lies... It's toxicity over and over again. I can't say it doesn't go well with the plot of the book, cause it does, but I couldn't enjoy their self-centred minds to the point I had to DNF my next read the book "Asking for it" by Louise O'Neill because the characters were also awful people.
✂️ The revelation of the true killer was satisfying and the motive was valid, I liked it. The ending I wasn't such a fan, didn't want a happy ending for them...
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Infidelity, and Outing
Minor: Gore, Homophobia, Rape, Grief, Stalking, and Injury/Injury detail