Reviews with content warning for Death - Você

So good, insanely tense. As a fan of the show I had high hopes for the book, and it did not fail me. The book was a bit hard to follow at times and the main characters were both a bit much at times but the descriptive imagery was phenomenal.

The biggest downfall of this book for me was the seemingly endless amount of sex. It was as if every other page was sexual in nature and many of the comparisons were uncomfortable and unnerving. Some of the book seemed to be glamorizing gaslighting and toxicity in relationships.

Overall a very good book, but could be very triggering if not in the right head space.

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paigemistler's review against another edition

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dark emotional fast-paced

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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whrohala's review against another edition

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dark sad tense medium-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

5.0

Dark. Fascinating. Terrifying. Terrifying in a - "My God... I could know someone like this, but not even know it."

The writing is great, and I will likely need to read again to catch all the small, subtle things that provided insight into the way that Joe's mind works. The inconsistencies in his mindset, the depravity, the twisted way he views the world becomes more and more obvious the longer you are reading (from his POV) and almost makes you sick to your stomach.

There was a moment towards the end, maybe 75-50 pages left, when I was reading Joe contradic himself in his own mind multiple times on a single page about what made Beck "perfect" that it really hit me - There was always only one way the story could end. With Beck dying. Because Joe doesn't know what he wants from a women, yet she needs to meet his expectations constantly or be met with intense criticism and suspicion and hatred. She is perfect for being bold, but also perfect for being shy. Perfect for being independent and strong, but also perfect for being obsessed with him 24/7. Perfect for looking down on fluffy books, but perfect for not being a snob like all the other bitches she goes to school with who also look down on fluffy books. Perfect for being daring and sexual, but a slut because that sexuality hasn't been solely focused on him since the beginning of time. And it's hot when she doesn't wear a bra... except for when someone else looks at her of their own accord, because she likes the attention - slut.

She can't be a person, she can only be his. She has to always be the version of her that he created in his mind the first second he saw her, but she can't be that person. Because that person doesn't exist. She never did.

Also... FUCK JOE. He acts like his dick cures the flu. It doesn't, it's a dick and he probably has good days and bad days like every other person. He's a bad boyfriend. He isn't cool for hating everything - he's a cliché. And he's cliche that he doesn't know he's cliche.

Joe is a human embodiment of the way society as a whole treats women - puts them on a pedestal, treats them like shit, doesn't understand why they are upset and tells them to not be so sensitive, calls them ungrateful, praises the "not like other girls" girls, but they shouldn't stray from the ideal beauty standard or feminine clothes, interests, characteristics...

Joe doesn't know what he wants because the world tells him to expect everything and nothing and whatever is in between from the woman he honors with his love... (give me a break.)

Already bought book 2.

FYI - If you came to this book due to the show (like I did), this is way darker, dirtier, and grittier. The show makes the characters more likeable (on purpose, obviously), but I think the story told in the book is more believable. You will not finish this book liking the characters - certainly not Joe. Thank God.

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ging090803's review against another edition

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dark funny medium-paced

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

3.75

I loved the TV show and since I knew it was a book first, I wanted to read it to compare.

I liked how it was written. Not a lot of sentence but a lot of and, I felt like I was in Joe’s head all the time.

However, I found it pretty slow.

Not a lot happened. I mean, yeah, murder and shit but it was mostly sex, sex and sex. Joe has a big sex obsession. Then, bam, a dead person just to spice things up.

So, yeah, great book. The story is good, it is, however, pretty slow.

Content Warnings

taelights's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-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

3.5

As a big fan of the show I loved getting to listen to the audiobook version. Joe is somehow even worse in the book than in the Netflix show which shocked me a bit because I didn't realize he could get any worse lol. I look forward to reading more of the series.

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