Scan barcode
ggcd1981's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- 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? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Animal cruelty
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Bullying
kellylikestoread's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death
Moderate: Mental illness
bookishgoob's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
“Sometimes a thought is closer to truth, to reality, than an action. You can say anything, you can do anything, but you can't fake a thought.” Slow burning and confusing, taking place over the span of 1 evening, this book will have you questioning things the entire time. is the main character being treated poorly? is she being gaslit? what is going on? why isn’t he telling her anything? why won’t he listen to her? those are all questions i had while reading this book. those questions didn’t get answered until the very end. it’s a very quick read but the slow burn aspect will make you wonder how long you’ve actually been reading. the conversations the main characters have can be incredibly dull and boring, but it really is kind of like that in a relationship. not every conversation is going to be interesting, and not every conversation you have will be interesting to others. this book ends sort of the way that the outsiders does, but that isn’t necessarily as clear, so i recommend that once you finish, you go back and re read the first couple pages. maybe even just the 1st page could be helpful, it really ties the story together completely. the imagery was unsettling and the story telling was great. all in all, 3.5/5 just because i was confused for a lot of it and it was too slow for my liking. but it is a good and suspenseful read good for a spooky season one-sitting book or even a cold and comfy evening when you’re in the mood to be unsettled.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexual content, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Violence
nitnatbug's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death
Moderate: Suicide and Suicidal thoughts
racheljones's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Death, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Confinement, Animal death, Death of parent, Animal cruelty, and Panic attacks/disorders
amna_a's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Mental illness, and Suicide
Moderate: Death of parent
jessspeake's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-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
2.0
I listened to this book as an audiobook. At first I wondered if the audiobook format was the reason I didn't like it.
However I've listened to other audiobooks I absolutely loved, and some reviewers of this book said they enjoyed the audiobook more than the physical book. I think it just comes down to the fact that I didn't like this book.
This book is a thriller, but it's the slowest thriller I've ever read. And the characters are unlikable. I found myself not rooting for anyone, and just wanting the book to either have something significant happen, or be done.
I want to talk about this book without giving anything away, so I'll talk about it in terms of "before" and "after" I found out the twist.
"before":
I felt a dull sense of dread during the book, because I knew something was going to happen. I didn't know what, at the beginning, but I knew it wouldn't be good. I liked how that feeling permeated the entire book.
However, I also felt frustration because it was so clear to me (and it seemed clear to the main character) that she should leave. There were many obvious signs that she needed to get herself out of this situation.
The characters weren't likable and even more than that, the characterization seemed hollow to me. I understood why it seemed hollow at the end, but it bothered me for the first 90% of the book.
The last 10-20% of the book is where things really start happening. Every time I listened to the book I kept wondering if I was going to DNF it, but something kept me reading, so it does have that going for it.
"after":
I read a lot of people didn't understand the twist. I definitely understood it, I just didn't like it. Furthermore, I don't like books/movies/whatever that suggest "you should read it again to really understand it". To me that comes off as too self-important.
I think you should understand it the first time, and then upon re-reading/re-viewing have your experience enhanced by the skill of the writing (The Sixth Sense is an example of a wonderful execution of this).
It was so unsatisfying to read a book where 90% of the book was not enjoyable to read.
Honestly, the last 10% wasn't enjoyable to me either. I thought, "oh I see what you're doing", but then wondered why it had taken so long to get to it.
I also wondered if it was a realistic portrayal of the topic of the twist. I think the topic of the twist was interesting, and I would be interested in reading a book it alone, but this book isn't that book. (Again, I'm trying to be vague so as not to spoil anything if you do decide you want to read it.)
final thoughts:
Not for me. Maybe for you? I don't know, but I wouldn't recommend it.
I'm aware this book has loads of good reviews, and I'm in the minority here, but I have to be honest. I wish someone had told me to skip this book.
However I've listened to other audiobooks I absolutely loved, and some reviewers of this book said they enjoyed the audiobook more than the physical book. I think it just comes down to the fact that I didn't like this book.
This book is a thriller, but it's the slowest thriller I've ever read. And the characters are unlikable. I found myself not rooting for anyone, and just wanting the book to either have something significant happen, or be done.
I want to talk about this book without giving anything away, so I'll talk about it in terms of "before" and "after" I found out the twist.
"before":
I felt a dull sense of dread during the book, because I knew something was going to happen. I didn't know what, at the beginning, but I knew it wouldn't be good. I liked how that feeling permeated the entire book.
However, I also felt frustration because it was so clear to me (and it seemed clear to the main character) that she should leave. There were many obvious signs that she needed to get herself out of this situation.
The characters weren't likable and even more than that, the characterization seemed hollow to me. I understood why it seemed hollow at the end, but it bothered me for the first 90% of the book.
The last 10-20% of the book is where things really start happening. Every time I listened to the book I kept wondering if I was going to DNF it, but something kept me reading, so it does have that going for it.
"after":
I read a lot of people didn't understand the twist. I definitely understood it, I just didn't like it. Furthermore, I don't like books/movies/whatever that suggest "you should read it again to really understand it". To me that comes off as too self-important.
I think you should understand it the first time, and then upon re-reading/re-viewing have your experience enhanced by the skill of the writing (The Sixth Sense is an example of a wonderful execution of this).
It was so unsatisfying to read a book where 90% of the book was not enjoyable to read.
Honestly, the last 10% wasn't enjoyable to me either. I thought, "oh I see what you're doing", but then wondered why it had taken so long to get to it.
I also wondered if it was a realistic portrayal of the topic of the twist. I think the topic of the twist was interesting, and I would be interested in reading a book it alone, but this book isn't that book. (Again, I'm trying to be vague so as not to spoil anything if you do decide you want to read it.)
final thoughts:
Not for me. Maybe for you? I don't know, but I wouldn't recommend it.
I'm aware this book has loads of good reviews, and I'm in the minority here, but I have to be honest. I wish someone had told me to skip this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Death, and Self harm
Moderate: Sexual content, Stalking, Blood, Animal death, and Animal cruelty
lindas_reads's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
My biggest mistake was putting off reading this book because all of the mixed reviews. Shout out to ___for putting this book back on my radar!
I don't want to say too much about this book. I think just going into this book complete blind is the best way to fully experience this book. First off, I cant just broadly recommend this book, I would encourage you to find a sample of this book and then see if this book is your cup of tea.i I would call this a book more of a literary mystery that will work for a certain audience and I am that audience! This book ticked off a lot of boxes for me and it scared me in a very unique way. The small draw back was I figured out the twist, but... reading how this author unfolds that twist was truly masterful.
Simply put, this book earned his rank as a new favorite book of mine. The writing was just (sigh) so masterful. Ian Reid writes in a way that captivates you, makes you ponder and just leaves you with such an intense feeling of melancholy and foreboding. I also want to say this book was not written for the masses as a lot of other books are. I respect that he wrote this and left everything as is. This book is clever, unique, fresh and unparalleled from other books I have read. In fact, I want to re-read this book and catch all the nuances I missed. This book resonated with me and left me in awe. Some people are going to love or hate this one. I'm just happy I loved it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Gore
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide
Minor: Animal cruelty
ishasbooks's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Grief, and Mental illness
ripxw's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Animal cruelty
Moderate: Mental illness
More...