Reviews tagging 'Gore'

A ​lányok, aki vagyok by Tess Sharpe

40 reviews

thefebruaryfriday's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense fast-paced

4.0

This book surprised me in a really good way and I think
I never read anything like that. The writing is so
stimulating, it makes you want to read nonstop, the
chapters are easy to go through because they're short
and with clean writing even though it brings heavy
subjects. I loved how each character had a backstory of
their own and how it makes them perfect together.
liked their dynamic so much and their dialogue and the
way Nora narrates the whole book. The conclusion
really felt like the ending and it made justice to Nora's
own story and the book itself.

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maaikereadsbooks's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5


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caregorman's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • 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

So I kinda unexpectedly loved this!? It has everything I could want: a fun twisty heist, an epic gay scammer morally grey protagonist, emotional found family… um yeah!!! 

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puddleshoes's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense fast-paced
  • 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? No

3.75


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tessakm's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0


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malloryfitz's review against another edition

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

4.75


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make_believer's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • 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

5.0


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yvonne_cl's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25


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anika222's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced
  • 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

3.75


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outcrye's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • 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

3.75

The plot was...okay, for me, there were a few suspenseful moments, but I felt that the strength of the book lay with its characters and relationships, and the underlying plotline kind of took away from that. I suspect that if the overall arc of
the stepdad
had ended in the past and there was more focus on the current situation and the skills she learned coming to use as her peers gradually saw her with new eyes, I would've found the book more solid.

That arc set up a satisfyingly badass final scene with
her abusive mom
, though.

The thing I love most about this book is how Nora, the main character, lived so many lives with the intent to fool but still managed to make real, meaningful relationships in the present. None of those connections are perfect, because Nora sure isn't, but throughout the book, I could see how the past shaped her and how her current relationships developed as she did in order to process it.

In my opinion, The Girls I've Been is primarily a story about trauma, recovering from abuse, and letting go of the toxic habits one would get from having experienced said abuse. To see this victim love and be loved in whole, healthy ways despite all that baggage is interesting as well as heartening.

The only specific criticism I have is about Nora's relationship with Wes, her best friend. All of her other relationships felt very fleshed out and real to me, despite her past and present being so vastly different from mine, and probably most readers'. I would include Wes in this too, but to a lesser degree when compared to the other characters.

All throughout, we are told that Wes and Nora love each other deeply (explicitly platonic, despite Wes also being an ex-boyfriend) and this love is rooted in their shared childhood trauma. I don't doubt the existence of this love. But what I can't understand is why they connected in the first place, what caused that initial draw—how was young, reclusive Nora, fresh out of an abusive situation, able to open up to this stranger, thus beginning their lifelong friendship?

In contrast with her other connections (her sister, her mom, her girlfriend), we don't see how they meet nor do we have key scenes in their relationship that wasn't
related to Wes' abusive father
. The effect to me is that I felt told about their closeness and even though I loved that and wanted to believe in it wholeheartedly, it just couldn't sink in as much as the other relationships. 

In my opinion, the story placed Wes on the same level as the other key figures in her life but held back for whatever reason... perhaps because, again, there were so many things grappling for the reader's attention.

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