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aromarrie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
if there was a top three category of books i cherish with my whole life, this one is definitely it.
i loved nick & sam’s pov’s so much the first time and fell back in love with it again in this reread. and that bittersweet feeling pervaded throughout the whole story as always!! especially in all of sam’s terror disguised with wise cracks + nick’s awe of the mountains that veered into possessive territory.
absolutely wicked atmosphere, with so much striking detail, it made the horror hit harder (that and the love story that tangled in between). the vivid details would be a hit or miss for some, all of its long monologues and such, but i adored it.
i’ve always loved horror legends and sam’s childhood fascination with it made the events that unfolded feel even more surreal.
this story has stuck with me since 2021, and the numb feeling i felt at the ending was as strong as ever in 2024 and i feel relieved. because it confirmed how much nick & sam’s story has still stuck with me, that i could relive that first moment of grief with them :’)
Graphic: Grief, Body horror, and Death
Moderate: Suicide, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, and Violence
Minor: Sexual content
jane_moriarty's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Suicide and Self harm
torismazarine's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Mental illness, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Car accident, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit
liltakeawaygirl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, and Suicide
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Child death, Alcohol, Child abuse, and Sexual content
cosmicpanda's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Animal cruelty, Medical content, Murder, Suicide attempt, Ableism, Blood, Death, Death of parent, and Gore
svnsn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
1.75
I do wonder though, if the German edition, which I read, was somehow dragged out much longer than the english one for example - it has about 300 pages more I think.
The story jumps from here to there, it feels like it's lacking structure.
The first chapter was honestly the only time I was spooked, after that it was all sort of whatever.
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, and Death
Minor: Child death
shadowspinner's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Death, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Addiction and Violence
Minor: Death of parent, Child death, and Car accident
theremightbecupcakes's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Chronic illness, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Mental illness, Body horror, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Death, and Murder
marleens's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I like Olde Heuvelt’s writing style, but in this book it was a bit odd. Very stream of consciousness sometimes, and a strange mixture of first and second person, often switching mid-sentence. It made sense, because you could definitely feel the characters losing their grip on reality, but it did make it hard to read sometimes. Also, I think it was a bit longer than it needed to be. But I liked our main POVs and the weirdness did often work for me.
Still, that brilliant creepy opening paragraph might have been the best part for me…
Graphic: Suicide, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Car accident, Alcohol, and Self harm
Minor: Child death
falchionm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Body horror and Blood
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Stalking, Gore, Homophobia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Death, Dysphoria, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Medical content, and Medical trauma
Minor: Child abuse