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A review by brighteyedbookworm
Sweet Revenge by Camilla Läckberg
3.0
The stories themselves weren't bad. In fact, I actually quite liked them, and I found myself really empathizing with the main characters of each one - the three women of "Women Without Mercy", and the four youths of "Truth Or Dare". Camilla Läckberg also knows how to write a DAMN GOOD ending; I was incredibly satisfied with the payoff for both stories, neither one dragging on too long or cut too abruptly short.
The main reason I didn't give this book more stars is because the translation was... disjointed at best, totally awry at worst. There were MANY instances where it felt like it was being translated one word at a time (Google Translate-style), as opposed to each sentence as a whole being translated to keep things in situ. I was generally able to use context clues to figure out what was meant, but I think this book would benefit from a much more thorough translation/editing job altogether.
I do also have some minor icks when it comes to Camilla's writing in both stories. Racism and sexism are prevalent throughout the book (though in her defense, these are ((mostly)) used for exposition, to purposefully paint characters in a negative light. There is, however, rampant fatphobia and slutshaming throughout both novellas, neither of which serves that same purpose of intentionally antagonizing a character. In particular, Camilla is oddly obsessed with the weights of her characters and uses them as tools to tell us just how desirable (i.e. thin) or disgusting (i.e. fat) these characters are. This was uncomfortable to read each time it popped up, and I think the stories would've been much better off without such judgments.
The main reason I didn't give this book more stars is because the translation was... disjointed at best, totally awry at worst. There were MANY instances where it felt like it was being translated one word at a time (Google Translate-style), as opposed to each sentence as a whole being translated to keep things in situ. I was generally able to use context clues to figure out what was meant, but I think this book would benefit from a much more thorough translation/editing job altogether.
I do also have some minor icks when it comes to Camilla's writing in both stories. Racism and sexism are prevalent throughout the book (though in her defense, these are ((mostly)) used for exposition, to purposefully paint characters in a negative light. There is, however, rampant fatphobia and slutshaming throughout both novellas, neither of which serves that same purpose of intentionally antagonizing a character. In particular, Camilla is oddly obsessed with the weights of her characters and uses them as tools to tell us just how desirable (i.e. thin) or disgusting (i.e. fat) these characters are. This was uncomfortable to read each time it popped up, and I think the stories would've been much better off without such judgments.