Reviews with content warning for Violence - Hidden Pictures

I had a fantastic time reading this author's debut back when I read it in 2017, and I've been looking forward to read more of his writing ever since. I'm still not sure why it took me over two years to finally get to his second book Hidden Pictures... The blurb made it sound like a fitting read for Halloween month, and it was the perfect excuse to finally pick it up. Things started out well enough and I was really enjoying my time with this book despite some red flags. Sadly, the plot made a drastic turn around the 70-80% mark that completely ruined the story for me. Not only were the twists absolutely ridiculous, but they also left me with a bad taste in my mouth and the main gender-related twist was borderline offensive. Transphobia, racism, discrimination against atheists, fatphobia... This story seemed to have a particular right-wing political agenda, and this not only made me dislike certain characters but also ruined the reading experience for me. It's such a shame, because the premise itself is fantastic and I can't deny that I was really enjoying myself during most of the book despite the previously mentioned red flags present throughout the story. I also loved the illustrations, which really complemented the plot... I gave Hidden Pictures an extra star for them, but the rest pretty much ended in a trainwreck. I do hope his newest story has less of a political angle, because I will probably have to give up his writing otherwise.

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klpage's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This is such a good read for spooky season!

It’s tense, you’ve got the paranormal elements throughout, the pictures aswell just gave it that extra creepy factor too!

Thoroughly enjoyed it and I’d highly recommend.

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celestial_bookdragon's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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denisejochems's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Wow! This book really surprised me! 😱 I wasn’t sure what to expect, but this might be my favorite book of the year! I was completely hooked from Chapter one till the very end. So many twists and turns, it was amazing! Definitely recommend this if you like (to try) a paranormal thriller 👻

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steimerr's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I have been fluctuating between and 3/4 star rating for this book as I feel the rating depends on what you're looking for...

Being listed under the Horror genre, I was expecting a lot more than I was given. I have read plenty of other books that touch on the same "horrific" topics that are not considered to be under the horror genre. Some of which I think included much more graphic details than this so called horror novel. There was a lot of telling and not enough showing in this book (aside from the literal illustrations of course). I would certainly not consider this book a 4 star horror novel. That being said it wasn't a bad book by any means. I actually thoroughly enjoyed the story and how it was written, I found it easy to read and retain. The illustrations were a great addition and made it a quick read. There were a couple of unpredictable twists and many reaction provoking moments. I was satisfied with how the story unfolded and concluded but I found that the ending could have used some more detail and thought it felt a little rushed. The epilogue was great though!

Overall, this was a 4 star book for me because I actually did really enjoy reading it. It's a book I think many readers can enjoy, an engaging paranormal mystery.

But I would most definitely not recommend it as a horror novel.

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kary2012's review against another edition

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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

4.5

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