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vibingandy's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I received this as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I was super hooked on this concept, video games and murder mysteries with some queer relationships? Sign me up! It was not as gripping as I was hoping it would be, seemingly going back and forth between super high stakes to really low stakes which made it hard to stay feeling invested. The intensity of what happened/happens to our MC Marina is something that I think doesn’t match the stakes and tone of the rest of the book. It felt like there were two completely different books being written at times. While I enjoyed the friend group, we didn’t get to know them very well outside of the required portions for the telling of the story. There was a lot of telling and not showing when it came to some of the relationships. I think my favorite relationship was between Marina and the restaurant owners, the affections they showed each other were so wonderful.
Definitely check out the trigger warnings, most of them come up middle towards end of the book. An interesting read all in all!
I was super hooked on this concept, video games and murder mysteries with some queer relationships? Sign me up! It was not as gripping as I was hoping it would be, seemingly going back and forth between super high stakes to really low stakes which made it hard to stay feeling invested. The intensity of what happened/happens to our MC Marina is something that I think doesn’t match the stakes and tone of the rest of the book. It felt like there were two completely different books being written at times. While I enjoyed the friend group, we didn’t get to know them very well outside of the required portions for the telling of the story. There was a lot of telling and not showing when it came to some of the relationships. I think my favorite relationship was between Marina and the restaurant owners, the affections they showed each other were so wonderful.
Definitely check out the trigger warnings, most of them come up middle towards end of the book. An interesting read all in all!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Child abuse, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Self harm, Abandonment, and Death of parent
Minor: Stalking, Animal cruelty, Fire/Fire injury, Domestic abuse, Grief, and Medical content
I will say if you get freaked out by cuts or blood
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