Scan barcode
wickedgrumpy's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Premise was quite good, but the execution suffered. It dragged in the middle and the wrap up at the end wasn’t very satisfying because it left so many questions unanswered.
Minor: Abandonment, Ableism, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Domestic abuse, Toxic friendship, Violence, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Misogyny, Murder, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Torture, Gore, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Blood, Body shaming, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexism, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Self harm, Cursing, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Bullying, and Alcoholism
star's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I found the relationships between the characters quite interesting, but unraveling it took quite a bit of time. Especially jumping between the hosts, I felt like I needed a huge wall of pictures and colorful yarn to figure that out.
I will say that the ending made the book very worth it for me. Between all the points being added and deducted in my brain for various things, I think I have settled on a 4 star rating. Good enough to finish, but not good enough to keep -- I will be donating this sometime soon. (Which is great, as I bought it at a half-price used books sort of deal, and I believe it was one of the donated ones (they also carry limited new selections).)
Now, for the spoiler portion:
I found the comparison of Anna to Hitler to be unnecessary, especially because Aiden just fucking ignored that anyway. I LOVED the twist ending, though - I did not expect for a second that Evelyn was actually Felicity, and that the REAL Evelyn was hiding. I also can appreciate how many of the characters died in various ways that WEREN'T Evelyn. I can't believe they wiped out the entire Hardcastle family in this book.
Finding out that Evelyn was to be married to Ravenscourt killed me though. And so many little plot points just stood out to me. It was a shame it was a bit of a slog.
I have seen a lot of complaints online about the descriptions of Ravenscourt in this book. Personally, the fatphobia was expected for me. As someone who is "medically obese" (a term I hate) it bothered me, but not enough to get me to stop reading. It was quite repetitive and gratuitous, as most of his descriptions of the characters "negative" traits are, but oh well. I do think that I would not have read this book if I had seen those reviews first.
Graphic: Murder, Gun violence, Abandonment, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Death, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Child death, Rape, and Fatphobia
bergha1998's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Murder Mystery, Slightly Fantastical, Lots of Violence/Murders
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Blood, Drug use, Bullying, Child abuse, Classism, Death, Drug abuse, Child death, Grief, Murder, Sexual harassment, Cursing, Gun violence, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Suicide, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Torture
Minor: Sexual assault and Rape
calicat42's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Most excitingly was that I constantly felt like I was the main character living each day as each new “host.” Since you only learn what the characters know, you have no choice but to get into the characters’ minds, experience what they’re each experiencing, and hope that the days aren’t wasted.
Incredibly immersive.
My only complaint is that the ending didn’t really feel connected to the rest of the book. Maybe if I went back to read it now I could see the signs and clues better, but sooo much information came out in the last few pages that I got a bit lost in how everything connected.
Graphic: Abandonment, Bullying, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Classism, Blood, Confinement, Medical content, Murder, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Drug use, Kidnapping, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Death of parent
greatexpectations77'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
2.75
Graphic: Child death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Death, Physical abuse, Stalking, Blood, Gaslighting, Suicide attempt, Confinement, Bullying, Classism, Toxic friendship, Violence, Torture, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Ableism, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Addiction, Chronic illness, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Abandonment, Mental illness, Alcohol, Grief, and Infidelity
Minor: Misogyny, Rape, and Sexual harassment
Avoid if you don't like: torture, trying to remember about 24 vaguely similar characters, or telling instead of showing.bealittlebrave'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
5.0
Moderate: Dementia, Suicide, Rape, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Death, Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Addiction, Classism, Confinement, Sexual assault, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Grief, Violence, Drug use, Torture, Suicide attempt, and Stalking
blueberryelf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Grief, Murder, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child death, Gore, Medical content, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Drug use, and Emotional abuse
leahrosiee's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Gun violence, Sexism, Addiction, Blood, Classism, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Alcohol, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Suicide attempt, and Child death
Moderate: Infidelity, Drug abuse, Sexual content, and Torture
Minor: Abandonment and Self harm
katrinasherise's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Murder and Fatphobia
Moderate: Blood, Gun violence, Alcohol, Drug use, Addiction, Child death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Suicide, and Violence
Minor: Abandonment, Ableism, Classism, and Infidelity
One character is a serial rapist. No rape happens in the book but is mentioned during his chapters. One character is FREQUENTLY described in fat phobic descriptors. The story is about murder and several occur including descriptions, blood, guns, drowning, injury, stabbing, etc. lots of drug and alcohol use. Description of a child’s murder. Things that will really spoil the ending/reveals:claudiamacpherson's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I could barely keep track of all the characters, let alone the twists and turns of the plot. Everything was a red herring, but also nothing was, because there were so many details and so many awful deeds and characters up to no good. This book reminded me a bit of <i>The Guest List</i> because both books consist of a group of unbearable characters trapped in one place. Both have dark, twisting plots and new details (and crimes), both past and present, are slowly revealed as the story progresses.
I think I’ve mentioned this in other reviews, but I’ll say it again: while it’s not a bad thing to have a male author, it is a red flag for me if I can tell that the author is a man from the writing alone. This was one of those books. I mean seriously, you’re going to have your protagonist jump between eight different bodies and not one of them is going to be a woman? I can’t put my finger on it exactly, but I could also tell from the way Turton described his female characters...so yeah, that rubbed me the wrong way on occasion. There was also some fatphobia in his descriptions of Ravencourt, so if that’s a trigger for you, I’d avoid this book.
Happy ending meter (no specific spoilers, just the vibe of the ending):
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Gore, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Vomit
Minor: Abandonment, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence