Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Survive the Night by Riley Sager

111 reviews

travelseatsreads's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Survive the Night follows film student Charlie as she flees college after the murder of her best friend. Naturally enough with the killer still at large you think the best idea would be to hitch a ride home with a stranger rather than wait for your boyfriend, obviously? And this my friends is only the absolute tip of the iceberg when it comes to the illogical and farcical rationale in this book. I love to hate a character but omg by the end of this book I wanted to kill Charlie myself. Don't get me wrong despite the avalanche of bizarre non sensical plot twists, I had to keep reading. 

What I Liked
• The constant bewilderment wondering wtf was going to happen next
• The 90s movie and music references
• The eerie creepy and ominous feeling

What I Disliked
• Charlie! This girl...I just can't
• The complete lack of sense or logic or believability 
• Author's use of mental illness 

I've read Home Before Dark and The Last Time I Lied and really enjoyed those, so I won't let it put me off picking up another Riley Sager book but this one was definitely not for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Mental illness, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

laceystairs's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Another great thriller from Sager.

After all the true crime I consume, this fiction felt really intense. I just kept gong because I knew Charlie was in danger and wanted her to be able to escape. 

This novel was suspenseful and dark. I really enjoyed it and so far it's my favorite thriller of 2023

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Kidnapping, Murder, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Stalking, and Gun violence

Minor: Death of parent and Cancer

fraise's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Death of parent, Mental illness, Fire/Fire injury, Self harm, Ableism, Death, Gun violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Car accident, Cancer, Torture, Terminal illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Rape

hotscarysummer's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Murder, Mental illness, Violence, Car accident, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Abandonment, Toxic friendship, Gore, and Medical trauma

Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, and Suicide attempt

eaviles's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Domestic abuse, and Mental illness

shelfofunread's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Violence, Death, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Drug use, Gun violence, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Injury/Injury detail

kayelina's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

How many times did the author use the word “movie” in this novel? My god it was like her entire personality this cinephile trait of her’s. The plot was predictable and the suspense was not suspense-ing like I know Riley can usually do and bring. Not his best.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood

Moderate: Torture, Violence, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Suicide, Panic attacks/disorders, Gun violence, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, and Mental illness

Minor: Blood, Mental illness, Suicide, Cancer, Death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Gaslighting, Car accident, and Death of parent

pulpandprose's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Murder, and Violence

elle_e_d_light's review

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

Charlie is by far the dumbest Sager protagonist—which is saying something because Jules (Lock Every Door) was actually shockingly dumb.

I've read nearly every Sager book, and his protagonists tend to follow a pattern: they lack a good support system, they make unbelievably stupid decisions, and they only get the man if the man is sketch. In this way, Charlie is truly the peak Sager Girl.

But hey, I guess not every heroine can be Sydney Prescott. Some have to be Tess from Barbarian, making the worst choices yet still making it out alive. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gaslighting, Car accident, Grief, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Murder, Toxic relationship, and Gun violence

katonthejellicoe's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

tier: liked it a lot

riley sager and i have a love-hate relationship and i've always been cautious when starting a book by his. after reading final girls recently, the bar was definitely low... lol. hence, i think this is why this one didn't disappoint me.

surprisingly, i enjoyed this book a lot. it gave me 'i'm thinking of ending things' vibe with all the movie delusions and 'no exit' feels while charlie and josh were driving in the dark. sager never disappoints with his atmospheric yet accessible writing. i also liked the multiple plot twists eventho i've guessed a few of them.

however, just like any book in this tier, i had some issues with this book. firstly, this didn't feel like it was set in the 90s. i often forget that this wasn't in modern day and the lack of advanced technology wasn't convincing enough. secondly, i didn't understand why charlie was overfixated on maddy. it was obsessive and unhealthy (not that i expect anything better from a sager main character lol)

overall, it was a nice thriller that made me excited and scared for a few moments.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Murder, and Mental illness

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts