Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

The Things We Do to Our Friends by Heather Darwent

17 reviews

madelinequinnee's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-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

4.0

I mostly enjoyed this book, but I think it could have gone further with what it was trying to do. It felt like it was building up to a big moment throughout the whole thing, but by the end there still wasn’t really anything? 

The writing was very beautiful, and I think this book definitely has a good idea to it, but I just would have liked to have seen more exploration of the characters and their actions. 
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naturally'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

4.75

the beginning was slow, and i wasn't convinced. nonetheless, this book is like treacle...i sank deeper and deeper into darwent's writing and i couldn't walk away. the things we do to our friends is a real page turner, despite the fact that all the characters are pretty indistinct. what sets each person apart, is their behaviour. clare's POV starts off as very boring, but she is highly oberservant and serves as an excellent narrator. i liked how underestimated she was. even though her secrets and origins were very twisted, heather darwent skilfully makes this heroine a relatable voice...?

i'm dying to read more feminist thrillers now!

(there were a few minor details stopping me from giving TFWDTOF 5 ⭐s...mainly that
there wasn't a full explanation for how ava knew about clare's past. also, i had a hard time believing that samuel, an 18 year old, had so many contacts.
)


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gbrolsma16's review against another edition

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dark mysterious 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

3.75

A dark and twisty mystery with a somewhat unreliable narrator, perhaps withholding or self interested is a better way to describe her. Relatively unpredictable and engaging. Slow at times, but I was interested enough to finish it. 
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tillie__'s review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

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aliyachaudhry's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense 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

3.75

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ingerlouise's review against another edition

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dark 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

4.25

Such an incredibly dark and twisted tale, so perfectly crafted that you don’t want to look away for an instant even though the characters and their actions are downright despicable. A horrific story told horrifyingly well.
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ashlislibrary's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious slow-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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iemilia's review against another edition

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

2.0

There were parts of this book I enjoyed and it was a nice fast paced read, however I expected so much more. The characters were bland and lacked depth - I didn’t really understand why Clare was so obsessed with Tabitha. 
It had an interesting premise and I was going into it  thinking it would potentially by a 5 star read but unfortunately it didn’t wow me and all in all fell a bit flat
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aileron's review against another edition

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dark tense 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

3.0

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vanillanightmare's review against another edition

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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? Yes

3.5

A well-plotted story set in dark and labyrinthine Edinburgh. With tension from the outset, it is wickedly gruesome and unhinged, with obsession, codependency, and toxic female friendships. The ending felt a little rushed in places and there were a few characters I’d have loved to learn more about but it all came together! An incredible debut.
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