falon
i liked this way more than i thought i would! it's a very classic story that doesn't stray too far outside the box, but i really enjoyed the father daughter relationship, it had some great twists and i felt like i could see this whole story playing in my head. i had a really good time with this one.
this book was relentlessly boring and unoriginal. obviously, everything has been done before, but this book did absolutely nothing new in any sense. all of these characters, their relationships, how everything played out, i've seen it a hundred times. the writing of this was so boring and unimpressive. there were a few things i liked, but nothing that i'll remember in a month
i didn't really like anything about this. i think darcy coates books are just not for me. i read horror for an atmosphere and writing style she just doesn't have. i didn't like the sense of humor or any characters in this book, and this is now the second time i've read a memory loss plot line from her, neither of which i liked. not for me. i feel bad for the one star because i don't think it's necessarily objectively awful but i have nothing good to say about it, it all felt so recycled and cheesy.
despite the fact that this isn't a very memorable book for me, i really enjoyed my time with it. i liked everything it had to say about abuse and cycles of abuse, and it used the elements of the story to drive its messaging in a really interesting way. i actually think the set up vs the action was really well balanced, and i liked the characters well enough to be invested in what happened to them. this book also has a lot of elements i'm a sucker for.
everything about this book is poorly conceived and poorly executed. it undermines everything it intends to do. every decision made by every character (and i mean EVERY character) is completely nonsensical and only made to further the novels contrived plot. i was down in the beginning for it to be a bit predictable but dumb fun. instead, i got riley sager trying to convince me his dumbass characters had a good reason for anything they did, when clearly justified character motivations weren't even on his to do list. not to mention the beyond mishandling of psychosis and plot twists pulled out of his ass at the very end AND the worst fucking epilogue i've ever read.
this book wasn't bad by any means, but most of what i liked about it get reminiscent of other stories i've read. i definitely felt like there were too many characters and too much going on with each. while i recognize how that plays into the plot, it was just a bit frustrating to actually read. i also didn't like how pearls powers ‘evolved' so to speak. the horror just exited the realm of sense and i was more confused than scared. i really enjoyed the first half but the second half dropped the ball a bit unfortunately. it was a pretty solid book i'll probably never think about again.
this was a really well written, well executed book, just not perfect for my tastes. i wish the little speculative element had come into play more and at different points in the story, and overall i just think that entire element was under utilized. however, this is an incredibly smart novel. it knew what it was saying and how to say it and all of the impactful, emotional moments really resonated. i have a few nitpicky issues, but those could've been intentional, though still detracted from my reading experience.
i really really really enjoyed the first half of this book, the second half dropped down to like a 2.5, last couple scenes brought it back. i loved the blair witch, lost in the woods vibes of the first half, the scene in the house was definitely the creepiest of the whole book and had me absolutely unsettled. i really liked the tense dynamics of the characters, it made it so much more interesting. but the turn it takes at the 50% mark was a bit cliche and overdone for my taste. however, i did really enjoy the very ending so here we are.
wow. this book is Not Good. the only thing i can appreciate here is this attempted messaging, because i think if well executed, this book could have been a really good commentary on the way violence against women has become commoditized. however, this book was not well executed. for one thing, this book did to it's own characters the very thing it's trying to critique. i know nothing about any of these women, main character included, besides the bare bones of the details of their own horror story and one other character trait that's harped on relentlessly. one could argue for the flatness of the main character makes sense because the rest of her personality has been stripped in response to her trauma, but that 1. still makes her uninteresting to follow and 2. is not written in a way that makes that feels intentional. this book also felt more like a thriller than a horror, which is fine i guess but not what i was signing up for. this book also felt severely underwritten. there's something to be said for not being gratuitous with the character's backstories, but because their personal horrors were the only things i knew about the characters, the lack of almost any detail left me with nothing to grasp onto or any way to distinguish the characters from each other. there was also a few things (in regards to heather's character, if you know you know) that i literally have no idea what those scenes could have been even hinting at or what significance they were supposed to have because absolutely nothing was said about them. (does this mean a sequel? god, please no.) we literally never even heard chrissy's backstory. who was keith???? i guess it's not important? the writing was also not engaging in any way and the only thing i even mildly enjoyed were the sparse mixed media elements, however all the references to these fake franchises that were such obvious references to real life horror franchises was very confusing for me to keep up with and remember which girl belonged to which fake franchise, and then to remember which real franchise they belonged to. (ALSO BY THE END YOU REALIZE THIS ENTIRE FUCKING BOOK IS A SCREAM 4 RIP OFF?????) i could honestly go on even more but yeah, one star, don't recommend.
i really enjoyed this book!
as a true crime lover, hearing the stories from the parents of the victims perspective is something that almost always brings me to tears. perhaps because of that this book felt especially moving. so many of the passages diving into the rage gave me chills. i'm also an absolute sucker for revenge stories. camille wasn't the most compelling character on her own, but i think she carried the story in the way she needed to. the twists in this book were actually really skillful, but i think saving them all for the last 50-60 pages of the book made it feel just a little rushed. overall not an all time favorite or anything, but a super successful thriller. i devoured it in nearly one sitting and i'm just a big fan of what this book accomplished, even if it wasn't perfect.
there was a lot to like about this book. the main character eleanor was extremely compelling, the atmosphere was impeccable and the writing was really gorgeous. however, i think i just wanted to feel something more from this story. maybe it was the writing style or something but none of the moments felt particularly impactful and then it was over.
this book was fine i guess. pretty much nothing happens the first 50-60% of this book, when the action picked up it wasn't particularly scary, and i felt absolutely nothing for these characters. honestly, i would recommend this more if you're a romance reader and want to try some horror, but otherwise there's no real reason to read this over any other book with similar concepts.
a poor attempt at a texas chainsaw rip off. there was way too many characters and storylines introduced for such a short novel that were clearly attempts to make you care for the characters but i could barely remember who everyone was. the writing was so on the nose, and i swear to christ if i have to read one more serial killer who's whole motive is simply “mommy issues” i'm gonna have a conniption. not scary even a little bit. i need more than spraying blood and a gross over interpretation of how easy it is to kill someone to scare me. (for real tho: how is my man snapping bones like he's literally a mythical creature? and if he is, maybe have your shit together?) no thank you ma'am.