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nehaslibrary's review against another edition
- 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
I loved how not a single clue was given for how everything would unfold and the structure of the book is great, especially for parallel storylines. The only thing that I didn’t like was how quickly the book was wrapped up after the main events occurred.
Graphic: Alcohol, Rape, Sexual assault, Death, Pedophilia, Suicide, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, Infidelity, Murder, Sexual content, Vomit, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Grief, Alcoholism, and Child death
bea2001's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Murder, Cancer, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Child death
xkwright's review against another edition
- 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
3.25
Moderate: Abandonment, Murder, Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Cancer
marik0n's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
In the spam of the last week I have read three A.R. Torre books and for a person who is working full time and doing a master's, that's a lot. Okay, I am getting off track here. Back to the review.
For the first 1/4 of the book I was really worried, because the protagonist -Helena- stoke me as a severely misanthropic and annoying character. Of course I was intrigued, but with these characters it's a hit or miss and the possibility of this book becoming really boing really quickly if it didn't pick up the pace was getting very real.
[Side note: I can excuse a variety of things. JUST TELL ME WHAT IS IT. Also, what's Helena's problem with smut?]
However, as my reading progressed, I understood how complicated of a character Helena is; she is a truly multidimensional character. Some of the aspects of her personality I understand, some annoy me and some others hit too close to home and I am afraid that we share them.
Somewhere around here, it should be noted that this book, much like Every Last Secret and The Good Lie had a lot of suspense and was truly a page turner. The only difference is that book actually caused me emotional pain at the end, to the point where I started crying. Due to the complexity of Helena's thoughts and the submerging we experience in her own thoughts and experiences it's pretty hard not to get moved by this book's ending.
Overall, it was another great book by A.R. Torre and my obsession is holding strong. I shall continue with the rest of her book. Thank God this woman writes A LOT.
As always, check the trigger warnings before reading this book. A brief list of trigger warnings; child abuse, pedophilia, violence, murder, cancer, death.
Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Terminal illness, Murder, Cancer, Child death, Pedophilia, Death, and Violence
carleyanneh's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Child death, Grief, Cancer, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Sexual assault, Murder, and Death
Minor: Infidelity
sizzlesteaks's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Murder, Rape, Suicide, Death, Pedophilia, and Child death
pollyhall'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
This story is character driven. I liked the main character Helena she is a strong woman but not perfect. At times I would have liked to shake her and ask what the hell she was thinking but I would also like to give her a medal for what she did. Mark was also a well-developed character, I liked that he was strong but also had his faults. The relationship between Helena and Mark was done extremely well. There are other minor characters that I would have liked to see get hit by a bus. This is a fast-paced book with twists that I didn't see coming. After reading the story it felt like I got hit by a bus.
This book has some serious subject matter. CW- pedophilia, child abandonment, child neglect, rape of a child, death of a child, cancer, suicide, murder.
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Bullying, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Gaslighting, Grief, Infidelity, Mental illness, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Murder, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Violence
gabrielab's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Cancer, Child death, Domestic abuse, Murder, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Terminal illness