Reviews with content warning for Infidelity - The Project

I loved the relationship between the sisters. It was complicated, and I think it really captured the tensions that can arise when you feel you have to choose between helping someone you love and helping yourself. I felt for Bea because she was so young and so emotionally traumatized but was expected to be the support system for her even more traumatized younger sister. The author did an excellent job of showing that internal struggle.

The final chapter was absolutely stunning. A total gut punch. Tragic and hopeful at the same time: a deadly combination.

I loved Lo as a character. I understood her. I got where she was coming from. Until I didn't. To be more specific, once Lo starts palling around with the cult, I intellectually understood what the author was trying to do, but I don't think the execution was successful. Lo went from being supremely distrustful of every member to trusting them so quickly it gave me whiplash. It started out as the members slowly wearing her down and winning her over and then BLAM she's convinced her sister was a manipulative liar the whole time. The groundwork was there for another 50 or so pages of her struggling with herself and
being manipulated into the position she ended up in, but it moved too quickly and ultimately felt cheap and rushed.

The climax was simply not good. I'm not sure if you can even call it deus ex machina because the character doesn't even remember how they got out of their situation. It is textually written off as god intervening? Which I guess means it literally is deus ex machina...... Which is to say: lame. And this is coming from someone who LOVES a Greek tragedy.

Ultimately, I didn't realize this was YA, and I don't think I would have picked it up if I had. I only mention this because I think many of the issues I had could have been fixed by adding more pages and diving more into the characters' internal worlds, neither of which are fair expectations for a YA book, imo. The adult and YA markets have different expectations, and when expectations don't match reality, it's tough for the book to make up that ground.

The audiobook was good. The narrators were distinct enough for me even when I cranked it up to 2x speed for the last quarter or so.

Overall, I enjoyed this read (mostly) and don't regret picking it up. It was a quick listen that I got through in a single work day, so I can't complain.

Content Warnings

rhguerrero's review

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dark sad 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

2.5

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sunsetcity's review

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adventurous dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.5

Content Warnings

hestapleton's review

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dark emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

SADIE gripped me and wrecked me and Summers’s latest followed in the same vein. I’m a sucker for a good cult story and I love how well Summers can put together a believable and yet, unresolved, ending. She’s officially an auto buy author for me. I can’t remember the last time I devoured a book like this. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ #netgalley

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vlntnmz's review

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Content Warnings

magsapt's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

2.0

I was the first person that wanted to like this book. Unfortunately, it let me down.
Summers' wonderful words still seduced me and kept me gripped to the story. Her prose is simple, yet she manages to involve you in her narrative. Her books are very plot-driven, and she only writes descriptively when necessary which makes her books fast to read, even though the usual themes are dark and heavy. I think that's Courtney Summers' true power: her ability to write about tough subjects without making the book too dense. She writes what she must - there are no unnecessary scenes or long detailed pointless moments. Summers' gives you enough freedom to imagine things on your own, leaving you clues to solve the mystery, every gap intentional.
However, on this particular occasion, she made the plot too predictable. Nothing was surprising or unexpected. In the beginning, I saw the whole story unfold and unfortunately, all my hunches came true. Adding this to the fact that there was barely any character development equals a two star read for me.
Lou started as this fierce character who was willing to do everything to find her sister and then becomes her sister. One might've thought that one woman's actions were another's lesson, but I was wrong. I kept being naive and thinking Lou has something up her sleeve, but it turns out she was just an ignorant brat who always makes the worst decisions available. Her lack of progress and improvement baffled me, and the only two things that kept me going were: a) Courtney Summer's marvellous writing; and b) my hope that the author would redeem herself. Thing b) didn't happen, so here I am, hea

Content Warnings

librarianmichelle's review against another edition

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dark 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

5.0

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