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bookishwyvern07's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-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
3.5
briarsreviews's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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? Yes
2.0
I love a good horror book, especially one by R.L. Stine. One of my goals is to read R.L. Stine's backlog of books, which is very daunting and going to be tough... but I'm down for the challenge.
I found The Boyfriend at a local used book store and picked it up to continue my reading goal. I needed something a little different, so I decided to pick it up. And man... I'm so torn on this one!
Joanna is going to break up with Dex. He's obsessed with her and she's... obsessed with herself. And then he dies and she doesn't help him. Life seems like it's going to be great - there's a new hot guy after her and life couldn't be better... until Dex shows up looking dead and destroyed. He's back... and he's ready to torture Joanna.
I absolutely hated Joanna and her personality. I very much felt she deserved every bad thing that came her way. I did enjoy the actual plot that went down, but listening to Joanna as the narrator... That was rough. She was too snobby, whiny, and down right annoying. Joanna was the mean girl we all hated in high school, so why make her the lead? She deserves the bad things but having to deal with her as the narrator didn't work for me. It was almost too much. I can see why R.L. Stine made her the narrator, but still... it was just a bit too much for me.
The actual horror was impeccable. I am impressed with the story as a whole and highly recommend it for someone looking for a short horror read.
Two out of five stars - Not for the plot, but for Joanna who made me want to DNF this quite a few times. I think if there was some sort of anthology television series with this as an episode, it would work so much better. The book just needed refining for me not to want to bash myself over the head as I listened to Joanna narrate her way through.
I found The Boyfriend at a local used book store and picked it up to continue my reading goal. I needed something a little different, so I decided to pick it up. And man... I'm so torn on this one!
Joanna is going to break up with Dex. He's obsessed with her and she's... obsessed with herself. And then he dies and she doesn't help him. Life seems like it's going to be great - there's a new hot guy after her and life couldn't be better... until Dex shows up looking dead and destroyed. He's back... and he's ready to torture Joanna.
I absolutely hated Joanna and her personality. I very much felt she deserved every bad thing that came her way. I did enjoy the actual plot that went down, but listening to Joanna as the narrator... That was rough. She was too snobby, whiny, and down right annoying. Joanna was the mean girl we all hated in high school, so why make her the lead? She deserves the bad things but having to deal with her as the narrator didn't work for me. It was almost too much. I can see why R.L. Stine made her the narrator, but still... it was just a bit too much for me.
The actual horror was impeccable. I am impressed with the story as a whole and highly recommend it for someone looking for a short horror read.
Two out of five stars - Not for the plot, but for Joanna who made me want to DNF this quite a few times. I think if there was some sort of anthology television series with this as an episode, it would work so much better. The book just needed refining for me not to want to bash myself over the head as I listened to Joanna narrate her way through.
bobbiejowoo's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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
2.5
Joanna was so horrible and unlikable rivaling Reva from the silent night books, but at least I live to hate Reva. Joanna was just a terrible character.
Over all I was just bored and annoyed.
ashlylynne's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
stagasaurus's review against another edition
2.0
I was kind of looking forward to this one, even though it is Stine who is probably my least favourite. I think it's because I really wanted this one as a teenager and never actually got round to buying it.
Reminds me of: Every Daily Mail headline ever - Loving Boyfriend "Haunts" Cold-Hearted Lover
"It was probably just a practical joke" moment: No one said this. Yet it was SO OBVIOUS - why would it not be your first thought?
"You probably just imagined it" moment: I probably just imagined that my boyfriends flesh was hanging off. Yeah, normal ditzy me!
Innocent victims?: She was pretty much the bitch. I wonder why Stine felt the need for us to feel that quite so strongly though? He totally wanted her to deserve it.
How blindingly obvious?: Yeah, I knew it would be the friend as soon as that phone conversation. And they had to all be in on it or it wouldn't work.
Plot holes / Unfinished plot lines: Shep was kind of a decent guy. I would have liked to have seen him a bit more. The ending was as insincere as a Hallmark movie.
Inappropriate happy ending: Not really.
I've realised why I don't like Stine. He doesn't give a shit about his characters. He doesn't love them or love to hate them. He's just writing books for money.
Reminds me of: Every Daily Mail headline ever - Loving Boyfriend "Haunts" Cold-Hearted Lover
"It was probably just a practical joke" moment: No one said this. Yet it was SO OBVIOUS - why would it not be your first thought?
Spoiler
I mean which is more likely? - Your ex boyfriend is a zombie, or your ex-boyfriend is a bit pissed that you left him at the bottom of a cliff and is pretending to be a zombie?"You probably just imagined it" moment: I probably just imagined that my boyfriends flesh was hanging off. Yeah, normal ditzy me!
Innocent victims?: She was pretty much the bitch. I wonder why Stine felt the need for us to feel that quite so strongly though? He totally wanted her to deserve it.
How blindingly obvious?: Yeah, I knew it would be the friend as soon as that phone conversation. And they had to all be in on it or it wouldn't work.
Plot holes / Unfinished plot lines: Shep was kind of a decent guy. I would have liked to have seen him a bit more. The ending was as insincere as a Hallmark movie.
Inappropriate happy ending: Not really.
I've realised why I don't like Stine. He doesn't give a shit about his characters. He doesn't love them or love to hate them. He's just writing books for money.
gamergirl77's review against another edition
2.0
Ugg.. Joanna is the worst main character ever. Would have given the book more stars if she got killed at the end!
belle_north's review against another edition
3.0
If I could give it two and a half, I would. Quite entertaining, a very silly ending that went on too long. Fairly typical Stine.
mochomito's review against another edition
3.0
This was actually pretty good, just like I remember reading when I was younger. The main character was blah, but the ending was nice.