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jenndmitis's review against another edition
4.0
Love these books. The whole series has been exciting and gruesome all at once. This one was no exception. I can't wait to see where things start off in the next book.
quinnster's review against another edition
5.0
I love how freaking bad ass Susan has become. How grown up and amazingly tough she is now without losing her humor or vulnerability. And Archie, well Archie....it's simply amazing that he has survived as long as he has. It is unbelievable that his body can take so much trauma and still be here. Of course, it is the true earmark of fiction. It's crazy and heart-pounding. It doesn't matter how vicious or evil she gets, I always find myself rooting for Gretchen. Thinking it about it this time I realized that's probably why I love Alice on Luther so much. She is how I picture Gretchen even though they're not described physically similar at all!
We've delved deeper into the world that has already been laid out before us before, but not really examined this way. Most of our time is spent on the island where Jack, Leo's father and the father of one of the Beauty Killer's victims lives and conducts the business that Leo is trying to bring down. A glamorous party brings all the player to the island and Archie finds himself in quite over his head.
Gretchen is still out there, in the shadows, but she won't stay hidden for much longer.
We've delved deeper into the world that has already been laid out before us before, but not really examined this way. Most of our time is spent on the island where Jack, Leo's father and the father of one of the Beauty Killer's victims lives and conducts the business that Leo is trying to bring down. A glamorous party brings all the player to the island and Archie finds himself in quite over his head.
Gretchen is still out there, in the shadows, but she won't stay hidden for much longer.
petra_reads's review against another edition
5.0
Absolutely brilliant! Going to miss these characters. Hope there'll be another one at some stage in the future?!
emmasbookishself's review against another edition
3.0
My expectations for this book were not met. Between the description and the reviews, this should have been a book I loved. I think the author was more focused on the explicit content than the actual story-line. The explicit content was an important part of the story-line, however I wish the rest of the book had that same attention. I don’t think I’d read another of Cain’s books, unfortunately.
kelspe's review against another edition
5.0
A friend lent me a pile of books and this was one of them. I was about a chapter or two in when I realized that this must be part of a series. I checked and lo and behold it was 6 out of 6 in a series. I promptly ordered book 1 from the library but as hard as I tried I could not put this one down. When they talked about characters previous dealings, experiences, etc. I was lost but the story was so gripping I didn't care. I am now going to go back and start with book 1. Will be fun to read where the horribly dysfunctional relationship between Archie and Gretchen began.
jjsho77's review against another edition
4.0
It's a bit ridiculous how Gretchen is so perfect and brilliant and psychic and and and... But if you suspend that obnoxiery, this book is delightful. Entertaining and enthralling and a total page turner. Can't wait for the next one to come out!
abetterbradley's review against another edition
3.0
This is the latest Gretchen Lowell installment. Like The Night Season, Gretchen isn't featured as prominently as she is in the other books. Instead, we get to revisit Susan's boyfriend, Leo and his gangster father, Jack. I have to say I love the Leo character and I really want to see more of him.
woolpierogi's review against another edition
4.0
Genre: Thrillers and suspense
Character: Flawed; Twisted
Storyline: Intricately plotted
Pace: Fast-paced
Tone: Darkly humorous; Gruesome; Menacing; Strong sense of place; Suspenseful
Writing Style: Compelling; Gritty
Character: Flawed; Twisted
Storyline: Intricately plotted
Pace: Fast-paced
Tone: Darkly humorous; Gruesome; Menacing; Strong sense of place; Suspenseful
Writing Style: Compelling; Gritty
talismanlangley's review against another edition
2.0
I picked up "Heartsick" on a whim one day in the bookstore, and LOVED it. I was so excited when I found out there were sequels. I got each of them as soon as I could, and tried to ignore how strained the storylines started getting ...
And now we've gotten to this point, where Gretchen is now apparently Felicity from "Arrow" - she can hack security systems, computers, and even old cars! And she and Archie go crimefighting together!
Then we get to the most stunningly egregious part, the part where I actually questioned my sanity in sticking with this series ... the only reason that Chump Sheridan didn't die from being shot IN THE EXACT SAME PLACE that she stuck him with a scalpel was ... because she removed his spleen when she was torturing him back in the events preceding "Heartsick". That's right, ladies and gents, Gretchen Lowell SAVED Archie Sheridan by torturing him years earlier! She's really not so bad! /eyeroll into infinity
At that point, I decided that I'm not running to pick up any more of these ... if there are any more, which I really hope there aren't.
I also think it's ridiculous that Susan's apparent only romance choices are the drug lord's son (who's screwed up) or Archie (who I had sympathy for in the first couple books but at this point I'm just yelling WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU at the book) and jesus Susan come on. There is no way you should be considering Archie even remotely acceptable romance material.
This book was severely disappointing. I was interested in the series for Gretchen Lowell, and how Archie handled that entire mess in his life, not for Mary Sue Lowell And Her Perfect Adventures Of Why She's So Great. At this point, it's almost like Cain has run out of gas for "shocking" (ooh how edgy, we'll have them hook up at a crime scene that's SHOCKING) and so we just have to trot out more and more things that make Archie practically impossible to sympathize with.
I picked up "Heartsick" again, wondering if maybe I was giving it too much of a rosy glow because of how long ago I read it, but no, I'm flying through it again, and it's actually interesting ... unlike this book, which felt like a total slog, and by the time I realized I was sick of it, I was so far into it that I may as well finish it.
And now we've gotten to this point, where Gretchen is now apparently Felicity from "Arrow" - she can hack security systems, computers, and even old cars! And she and Archie go crimefighting together!
Then we get to the most stunningly egregious part, the part where I actually questioned my sanity in sticking with this series ... the only reason that Chump Sheridan didn't die from being shot IN THE EXACT SAME PLACE that she stuck him with a scalpel was ... because she removed his spleen when she was torturing him back in the events preceding "Heartsick". That's right, ladies and gents, Gretchen Lowell SAVED Archie Sheridan by torturing him years earlier! She's really not so bad! /eyeroll into infinity
At that point, I decided that I'm not running to pick up any more of these ... if there are any more, which I really hope there aren't.
I also think it's ridiculous that Susan's apparent only romance choices are the drug lord's son (who's screwed up) or Archie (who I had sympathy for in the first couple books but at this point I'm just yelling WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU at the book) and jesus Susan come on. There is no way you should be considering Archie even remotely acceptable romance material.
This book was severely disappointing. I was interested in the series for Gretchen Lowell, and how Archie handled that entire mess in his life, not for Mary Sue Lowell And Her Perfect Adventures Of Why She's So Great. At this point, it's almost like Cain has run out of gas for "shocking" (ooh how edgy, we'll have them hook up at a crime scene that's SHOCKING) and so we just have to trot out more and more things that make Archie practically impossible to sympathize with.
I picked up "Heartsick" again, wondering if maybe I was giving it too much of a rosy glow because of how long ago I read it, but no, I'm flying through it again, and it's actually interesting ... unlike this book, which felt like a total slog, and by the time I realized I was sick of it, I was so far into it that I may as well finish it.