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A review by inamerata
Last to Leave the Room by Caitlin Starling
dark
mysterious
tense
4.5
The only me is me, are you sure the only you is you?
Legit, a lot of fun. I enjoyed the messy characters and their batshit power plays for control -- both Tasmin/Lachlan, and Tasmin/Prime. The way Tasmin's growing paranoia mirrors the city/her basement's physical descent was great, and just all the ways lies/truth/control/sense of self are explored. There were soo many good conversations and I loved the title's source.
The ending was somewhat abrupt and I was left with some questions, although leaving them unanswered feels appropriate. Overall, a fun read, especially with the bestie.
Legit, a lot of fun. I enjoyed the messy characters and their batshit power plays for control -- both Tasmin/Lachlan, and Tasmin/Prime. The way Tasmin's growing paranoia mirrors the city/her basement's physical descent was great, and just all the ways lies/truth/control/sense of self are explored. There were soo many good conversations and I loved the title's source.
The ending was somewhat abrupt and I was left with some questions, although leaving them unanswered feels appropriate. Overall, a fun read, especially with the bestie.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Medical trauma, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Gore and Toxic relationship
Minor: Animal death and Suicidal thoughts
Characters experience memory loss, sometimes worsened by gaslighting. A character has agoraphobia and has panic attacks. A character loses an eye and the injury is described in some detail. There is amateur "surgery" done to prevent a character from being able to walk and move freely. All the main character relationships are controlling in some way.