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luckythenoun's review against another edition
- 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
2.75
Moderate: Violence, Classism, and Murder
aliyachaudhry's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Sexual assault, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Classism, Sexual content, Violence, Suicide, Infidelity, Murder, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: Animal cruelty
zxphyrean's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Mental illness, Torture, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Murder
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Violence, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Alcoholism, Sexual harassment, and Child abuse
Minor: Abandonment, Classism, and Toxic relationship
iemilia's review against another edition
- 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
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
Graphic: Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Toxic friendship, Violence, and Vomit
Moderate: Suicide
caitdonlew's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Murder and Violence
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Vomit
sovner736's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Sexism, Violence, Misogyny, Murder, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Mental illness and Sexual harassment
Minor: Suicide
sarafinley's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Without giving anything away this is essentially a story of a group of unhinged women inflicting friendship on each other. I found it to be more of a slow burn suspense with clever writing that places you within the dark academia atmosphere in a bit of a disorienting way.
This book is told from the perspective of Claire, who is writing out the details of her time with her toxic group of college friends who called themselves The Shiver. This perspective provides peaks into the future, references to Claire’s own dark past, and some incredible insight into obsessive relationships.
This is one of those books where I could definitely see myself re-rating once I sit with it a little longer but for now it feels like a solid four stars.
Moderate: Violence, Murder, and Abandonment
Minor: Sexual assault
mothumn's review against another edition
3.0
A compelling and dark story of all consuming toxic female friendships set in an academic setting, with many twists and turns.
From the beginning I really enjoyed reading about the friendships between the girls, the depiction of toxic friendships between girls felt so eerily familiar, with the snide petty remarks, backhanded compliments, and yet a total obsession with each other. I thought it was so well done and was extremely realistic, however I felt like it was missing the part about why they were so obsessed with each other in the first place. I often felt like I was simply being told things without being shown it and just had to trust that it was true.
This friendship is the main driving point for the book, as you may have inferred from the books title, and although there is actually a plot outside of just there obsession with each other, I was mostly interested in them. Because there was so much focus on this other plot, especially in the last two parts of the book, it left me wanting more of the first part, and so the book did slowly lost my interest.
However, that's not too say I didn't enjoy it or that it was bad, it's just that I was wanting something different from the book, something that from the first part the author had shown she was capable of. It's an interesting literary thrilling with shocking twists that I didn't see coming and kept me hooked (even if I did lose some steam towards the end). As far as thrillers go, I actually liked it quite a bit and would definitely recommend. If you liked the group aspect of Mona Awad's Bunny but didn't enjoy the absurdity and also like thrillers, then this might be the book for you. However if you’re looking for a dark academia read as I’ve seen this grouped in with, you are going to getting much more dark than academia as only in the beginning there is only a few scenes that take place in that setting.
I am interested in what this author writes in the future and even though this wasn't necessarily for me I am looking forward to her career.
Please note content warnings for this book because there are definitely some that a lot of people may find difficult to read about.
Moderate: Suicide, Toxic friendship, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Murder, Sexual content, and Violence
Minor: Addiction, Confinement, Pedophilia, Stalking, Vomit, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Animal death
atsundarsingh's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
3.75
*Thanks NetGalley for a copy in exchange for review* This novel is due out 10 Jan 2023.*
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Chronic illness, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Torture, Child abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Violence, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Suicide
jos_haunted_library's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.0
The book for me was a slow burner for sure but it allowed to understand how Clare always had the need to re-invent herself and it increases how intoxicating it is as you read it. As she meets a new group of friends she tries to find her way to fit in despite the clear differences in lifestyles, and secrets…
The book is well written, I love how to gives the dark and gloomy ambience typical to Edinburgh. The characters are well written and the plot is nice and intense. An excellent debut!
I would definitely recommend checking for trigger warnings before hand as it has some heavy themes such as SA, m*rder and su*cide.
If you like the toxic friendship trope meets thriller I really recommend this book. Although if you don’t like slow paced books you might struggle a bit.
Thanks NetGalley and the author for this eARC.
Graphic: Death, Sexual assault, Murder, and Violence
Minor: Vomit