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A review by abookwormwithwine
Reprieve by James Han Mattson
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Reprieve by James Han Mattson is one of those books where I don't really know what I just read, but I know that I liked it. It is described as social horror, which is a genre I had to look up to fully understand what it meant, and now that I do I can say that it is a clear representation. The weird thing is that I feel like a lot of this book went over my head and all of the characters were really hard for me to keep track of, and yet I can't say I didn't like it. I had no idea what to rate it, but the more I thought about it, the more I knew it deserved more stars than I was initially thinking. The plot ultimately leads to the murder and which contestant was killed, but the meat of this story is really about the different characters and a ton of various social stigmas. I really liked how the characters ended up tying together, but I am sure I missed some things as well.
The writing style Mattson uses in Reprieve is very unique as well, which I think is something major that will make it not for every reader. It was interesting to see how this translated into the audiobook, and I think if I ever do a reread, I would read the actual book and make a LOT of notes. The narrator of the audio is JD Jackson, and I'm not entirely sure how I feel about his narration. On one hand, I really liked it, but when I was looking at the book in comparison to how he was reading it, I think I missed out on a lot of inflections and emphases on certain words. This is a pretty long book, and the audio is at over 12 hours, so if you don't see yourself being able to sit down and read it, the audiobook would still be a good option. And do prepare yourself for lots of blood and gore. The Quigley House is downright terrifying, and I can tell you right now there is no way I would ever step foot in that place. I loved the escape room bit, but the things they had to do to get out are very graphic and disturbing. Reprieve is not a story for the faint of heart and that's for sure.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
The writing style Mattson uses in Reprieve is very unique as well, which I think is something major that will make it not for every reader. It was interesting to see how this translated into the audiobook, and I think if I ever do a reread, I would read the actual book and make a LOT of notes. The narrator of the audio is JD Jackson, and I'm not entirely sure how I feel about his narration. On one hand, I really liked it, but when I was looking at the book in comparison to how he was reading it, I think I missed out on a lot of inflections and emphases on certain words. This is a pretty long book, and the audio is at over 12 hours, so if you don't see yourself being able to sit down and read it, the audiobook would still be a good option. And do prepare yourself for lots of blood and gore. The Quigley House is downright terrifying, and I can tell you right now there is no way I would ever step foot in that place. I loved the escape room bit, but the things they had to do to get out are very graphic and disturbing. Reprieve is not a story for the faint of heart and that's for sure.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Racism, and Blood
Moderate: Homophobia and Violence