Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Survive the Night by Riley Sager

8 reviews

meagalou's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Murder, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Death

Minor: Car accident, Terminal illness, Alcohol, Cancer, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Gun violence, Suicide attempt, and Suicide

emmysforeverbooked's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.5

I fear this book will now be taking up every inch of my brain for the next three business weeks.

Maybe it was just my own personal ignorance, but I truly don't think I saw anything that happened in this book coming. I felt so utterly engaged with every turn of the page that I truly felt whiplash every time something new would happen.

I struggle a lot with books that don't have romance. I just, I don't know, it's in my nature to just want a happy ending. Which I think is why I struggle with enjoying thriller/mystery books. But this one had a very tiny romance subplot and it was just strong enough to have me not caring that there wasn't a ton of romance in this book.

This review has been all over the place but I end it by saying this: pick up this book. The only negative thing I have to say is that the first 40% or so is very slow-paced. I stuck it out and I am so glad I did because this might now be my favorite read of the year. 

Riley Sager, I need you to make this book into a movie. It would truly and completely fix me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Murder, Sexual assault, and Mental illness

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Suicide, Cursing, Death of parent, and Car accident

Minor: Alcohol, Cancer, and Terminal illness

Don't let all the content warnings I have listed scare you off. This book to me was no scarier than your average Criminal Minds episode. If you can handle true crime shows, you can handle this book.

sib_reads's review

dark mysterious tense 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? Yes

2.5

I want to thank NetGalley, the author, Riley Sager, and Hodder & Stoughton for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first Riley Sager thriller. As expected, this was a very fast-paced novel with lots of twists and turns, increasing towards the end of the book especially. It is set over the course of one night and there is a lot to unpack in such a short space of time. I didn’t realise that the book is formatted like a screenplay (maybe because it was an ARC and on kindle) until right near the end, but it is obvious that the author is penning a love letter to movies.

Initially I did not enjoy the ‘movie in my mind’ trope of the main character Charlie. However, I warmed to the idea more as the book went on and it was undeniably gripping to read from the POV of an unreliable narrator. I also enjoyed that this book tied up every loose end uncovered throughout. Every question had an answer by the end of the novel, though maybe there was slight over-explanations at points. 

The ending of this book was full on crazy. There was so much action and drama, and so obviously it is easy to imagine this book as a movie itself. It was a very far-fetched concept but it surprised me how hooked I was.

In my opinion, you really can tell that this book was written by a man. The main character Charlie was so unlike any woman that exists in real life. She had no common sense and made some infuriating decisions the entire way through the book.

Even though this book did not blow me away (and even irritated me at points) I still could not put it down and read it all in one sitting. That is why I have gone with a mid-tier 2.5 star rating.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death and Mental illness

Minor: Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Torture, Chronic illness, Confinement, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Abandonment, Alcohol, Cancer, and Car accident

amandalorianxo's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

4.0

Wow This is my second book of Mr. Sagar’s and I didn’t think I could feel so discombobulated (but in a good way.) I didn’t see any of the twists coming, playing right along with the narrative thinking Charlie was going to wind up like the rest of the victims. Well written and at a pace that was manageable. I still have a few questions that maybe will never get answered but for the most part, well done. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, and Mental illness

Minor: Alcohol

ashleykayejournals's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Cancer

Minor: Suicide attempt and Alcohol

bookishgoob's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• 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

“People don’t want to admit that there are monsters in their midst, so the monsters continue to roam free and the cycle of violence and blame continues.” this is a story that takes place within 24 hours. the story kept me on the edge of my seat and i held my breath a lot. the story consumed me and made my heart race. such a great story told incredibly well. i don’t really like the way sager writes women, he writes them kind of dumb and sad but i enjoyed the way this book turned out. while i didn’t like the main character, or the way that she acted, i did think it added a cool element to the story, thinking about myself in the position and what i would do differently. the twists and turns of this story were so winding and confusing. i’m giving this a 4/5 for being such an interesting and fun book. the ending was super sweet and made me super happy. however, i can’t get over the way Charlie acted and was written. it just wasn’t my favorite thing. i do recommend it, though. it’s a great read and perfect for spooky season. TW// there is lots of gaslighting that happens in this book and can confuse you as the reader. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Body horror, Car accident, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Violence, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Torture, Suicide attempt, Sexism, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, and Mental illness

writtenbydnicole's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Car accident, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Murder, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Alcohol, Cursing, Emotional abuse, and Medical content

Minor: Cancer, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts

avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Blood, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Confinement, and Vomit

Moderate: Cancer, Death, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, and Torture

Minor: Alcohol and Terminal illness