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shellbelle85's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
rileymsloan's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
constantlykingreadinggg's review against another edition
3.0
This one just didn't quite get there for me.
⭐⭐⭐
Run Time is a "horror lite" thriller about a young actress who spontaneously takes a role in a new film, "Final Draft", only to realize the small, all-male production crew may have other intentions with their final production.
I picked this up because who wouldn't want to read about the production of a horror movie. And I enjoyed it. But I didn't LOVE it for one main reason. It really teased me with the horror themes. We got a little flair of paranormal, slasher, and home invasion, but it never had the guts to really "go there" in any of those directions. Instead, it sort of just fizzled in the third act.
The feminist themes are very heavy-handed, but that's one of the things I liked about it! I also loved the screenplay within the story and the parallels that Howard played around with.
But the rest of it I thought was unfortunately really predictable and lukewarm. If you set your expectations right, I think you'll enjoy this a bit more than I did. But I enjoyed it enough that I would not dissuade anyone from reading it if the premise sounds interesting.
⭐⭐⭐
Run Time is a "horror lite" thriller about a young actress who spontaneously takes a role in a new film, "Final Draft", only to realize the small, all-male production crew may have other intentions with their final production.
I picked this up because who wouldn't want to read about the production of a horror movie. And I enjoyed it. But I didn't LOVE it for one main reason. It really teased me with the horror themes. We got a little flair of paranormal, slasher, and home invasion, but it never had the guts to really "go there" in any of those directions. Instead, it sort of just fizzled in the third act.
The feminist themes are very heavy-handed, but that's one of the things I liked about it! I also loved the screenplay within the story and the parallels that Howard played around with.
But the rest of it I thought was unfortunately really predictable and lukewarm. If you set your expectations right, I think you'll enjoy this a bit more than I did. But I enjoyed it enough that I would not dissuade anyone from reading it if the premise sounds interesting.
abbyhough's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-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? Yes
4.0
hilarymaloy's review against another edition
2.0
Set up:
Adele Rafferty is an actress who is down on her luck. She can’t seem to catch any breaks. After an embarrassing audition, she swears off acting. That DAY she gets a call offering her a lead role in a horror indie film, Final Draft. They need her to fly out tonight. Obviously, she takes it.
Quickly, Adele realizes that things are amiss onset, and she starts to see similarities between her life and the script of the movie she’s acting in.
Is she paranoid? Is the script haunted?
Review:
I thought the premise was catching. Howard is my favorite actor, so I was VERY excited for this book. Sadly, this book was not for me.
Keep in mind , the same things happen over and over and over. Book, movie, book. So it just got too trippy.
It was TOO much for me. I constantly felt like maybe I’m just too simple to keep up with what reality I was in. Was this the book? The movie? The other book? Cue: Michael Scott gif *I don’t know*.
Big sigh. I’m really sad because I think this did have good bones, but it really felt not ready to me.
I will still pick up Howard’s next book, but I hope I enjoy that one better than this.
Thank you netgalley for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Adele Rafferty is an actress who is down on her luck. She can’t seem to catch any breaks. After an embarrassing audition, she swears off acting. That DAY she gets a call offering her a lead role in a horror indie film, Final Draft. They need her to fly out tonight. Obviously, she takes it.
Quickly, Adele realizes that things are amiss onset, and she starts to see similarities between her life and the script of the movie she’s acting in.
Is she paranoid? Is the script haunted?
Review:
I thought the premise was catching. Howard is my favorite actor, so I was VERY excited for this book. Sadly, this book was not for me.
Keep in mind , the same things happen over and over and over. Book, movie, book. So it just got too trippy.
It was TOO much for me. I constantly felt like maybe I’m just too simple to keep up with what reality I was in. Was this the book? The movie? The other book? Cue: Michael Scott gif *I don’t know*.
Big sigh. I’m really sad because I think this did have good bones, but it really felt not ready to me.
I will still pick up Howard’s next book, but I hope I enjoy that one better than this.
Thank you netgalley for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
stephanieclaire's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
sunnys_shelf's review against another edition
4.0
After loving this author's previous book, The Nothing Man, I was really excited to get my hands on this audiobook!
Catherine Ryan Howard does such a great job of writing the "book within a book" concept, or in this case, "book within a movie within a book." The chapters in this book are mixed with pages of movie script, and within the movie script are chapters from a book the movie's main character is reading. Is your head spinning yet?
What I did like was the isolated setting (if you don't know this about me, you should. I am a sucker for an isolated setting thriller), I loved the creepy vibes in the book, and I loved the narrators' Irish accents (everything I read for about a week after this was read with an Irish accent in my head
Catherine Ryan Howard does such a great job of writing the "book within a book" concept, or in this case, "book within a movie within a book." The chapters in this book are mixed with pages of movie script, and within the movie script are chapters from a book the movie's main character is reading. Is your head spinning yet?
What I did like was the isolated setting (if you don't know this about me, you should. I am a sucker for an isolated setting thriller), I loved the creepy vibes in the book, and I loved the narrators' Irish accents (everything I read for about a week after this was read with an Irish accent in my head
horrendousreads's review against another edition
4.0
Adele was a semi-successful soap star once upon a time but after an incident on a film a year ago, the offers have dried up. That is until she gets a mysterious offer to do a horror movie, Final Draft, in the woods. This is a dream gig as Final Draft is predominantly Adele on the screen reading the book First Draft while the events of First Draft play out. Adele's dream becomes a nightmare, however, when the events of Final Draft starts happening to her.
This Inception-ass turducken of a plot is relatively easy to follow given how complex the story is. While I found the atmospheric build-up interesting, I can see how it would be dragging for others (or even myself if I was in a different mindset or not listening on audio). The first twist was pretty predictable and was even mentioned in the book as a possibility which was a ... bold ... choice. The second twist was less predictable but also because it didn't make too much sense. That being said, there were several red herrings which prevented you from knowing the ending for sure and made you as suspicious of the other characters as Adele was.
There's a possibility I liked this book so much because I read it the same month as I read The Plot which has the same plot-within-a-plot with a struggling artist story and I like Run Time far better. Maybe there's another turducken plot out there I'll like even more. In the meantime, would happily read another Catherine Ryan Howard.
This Inception-ass turducken of a plot is relatively easy to follow given how complex the story is. While I found the atmospheric build-up interesting, I can see how it would be dragging for others (or even myself if I was in a different mindset or not listening on audio). The first twist was pretty predictable and was even mentioned in the book as a possibility which was a ... bold ... choice. The second twist was less predictable but also because it didn't make too much sense. That being said, there were several red herrings which prevented you from knowing the ending for sure and made you as suspicious of the other characters as Adele was.
There's a possibility I liked this book so much because I read it the same month as I read The Plot which has the same plot-within-a-plot with a struggling artist story and I like Run Time far better. Maybe there's another turducken plot out there I'll like even more. In the meantime, would happily read another Catherine Ryan Howard.
wrenl's review against another edition
4.0
This is SUCH a trippy book. It goes beyond meta into something else. It’s a book within a movie within a book. Absolutely mind fuck.
But I adored the tense. I was on the edge of my seat throughout Adele’s harrowing experience by herself. And completely shocked by the twist and confused by the ending. This book is so many things, but it can simply be described as amazing and thrilling.
But I adored the tense. I was on the edge of my seat throughout Adele’s harrowing experience by herself. And completely shocked by the twist and confused by the ending. This book is so many things, but it can simply be described as amazing and thrilling.
blackbellum's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Got so convoluted