Reviews

Run Time by Catherine Ryan Howard

mjsbooktopia's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

tandem_tricycle's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

tashreads2manybooks's review against another edition

4.0

This is book you will read about an actress who is reading a screenplay about a writer who is reading a book about a woman who get scared shitless in a cabin in the middle of nowhere. Have I lost you yet? Don't worry - it's not as complicated as it sounds. It's also probably not really a horror (although they address that in the book too).

I can see why this has received so many low ratings - it's very meta in its form - but I had a good time. I liked how the book (author) poked fun itself and the genre - almost like a 4th wall wink to the camera. Some people may call it pretentious and oh so blasé, but honestly I am not that clever - I kinda liked the story within the story within the.... well, you get what I mean.

Many thanks to Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

kerrig's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-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

4.0

pdestrienne's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

4.25

The creation of paranoia on the page was superb. I am a sucker for books on movie sets, especially horror movies. I did guess the villain partway through. I have become a fan of this author kind of without consciously thinking about it, but she writes great twisty thrillers with fast plots but are still a meaty reading experience.

sipsandspines's review against another edition

mysterious 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? Yes

3.0

Some of the tropes in this book were frustrating, but it did keep me on the edge of my seat and I enjoyed it for the most part. The gaslighting and naive MC made me cringe all the time, but I loved the book within a movie script within a book.

The isolated setting was really fun too. 

samanthatully's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

barbarabarbara's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

hannahandabook's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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

3.0

debs_shelves's review against another edition

4.0

This was a book within a book within a movie, which the story within a story seems to be popular right now. I sometimes find this style to be a bit confusing, and this was no exception. Until I finally got in the groove, I had a bit of trouble figuring out what was present time in the movie, what was in the book, and what was the book within the book.

Adele Rafferty was a popular soap star who, after 14 years, decides to pursue other acting paths. After some strange incidents on the set of her first post soap movie, she has struggled to find work.
She moves to the US and settles in LA where she works at a motel while continuing to audition for roles. She is contacted about being a last-minute replacement star in a low budget movie, she quickly agrees, hoping this will get her back in the groove and on th path to acting frequently again.
This is not what she got!

Strange things begin to happen. Adele is uneasy and tries to reason them away. She needs this job to pan out.

Here's where things for me got a bit confusing - things happen in the book in the storyline then happen to a person person reading the book and then Adele experiences things on the set that parallel these prior two.

It was interesting and intense. Adele seemed an unreliable narrator and as things come out about her last job, you begin to doubt if things a really happening the way she tells it, or if she's imagining things.