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halflingnana's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Fatphobia and Violence
redvelveting's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.0
Moderate: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gaslighting, and Murder
Minor: Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Grief, Violence, and Lesbophobia
fernandalaram's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Violence, Murder, and Blood
Moderate: Chronic illness, Death of parent, and Addiction
Minor: Infidelity
stacy_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Moderate: Violence, Murder, and Death
Minor: Fatphobia, Drug abuse, and Body shaming
agnesjlopez's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Violence, Emotional abuse, Drug use, and Infidelity
Minor: Fatphobia, Death of parent, and Kidnapping
nelesnotes's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Furthermore I thought most of the story was pretty slow and repetitive and the supposedly cozy food description just felt like straight out of a cookbook to me. After 5 hours when we finally got a bit more to the investigative part, it was already clear who did it and I mostly was waiting to finish.
One last major criticism I have: where was the sausage dog I was promised?! Got waaayyy too little presence in this story and would have surely made some things more enjoyable. But I feel it only existed to justify Lila checking her Instagram.
So yeah, background noise but not really a recommendation. Don't really feel like listening to the second book.
Graphic: Violence and Murder
Moderate: Body shaming
msteinhaus's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
The narrator is unbelievably self-centered. She has an agenda for every conversation in the book, ignoring or seeking out people only as they fit her investigative needs. She treats friends and family incredibly poorly, making up or seeking them out again only when she needs something else. And all of this happens in ways that, to me at least, go well beyond simple immaturity, especially given that she is supposedly in her mid-20s and has already lived on her own, learned some hard lessons in relationships, etc.
The narrator's emotional experience of events is also hard to understand. For example, she forgets finding the victim of a violent assault unconscious in a pool of blood, repeatedly. She also straight up ignores the victim's partner, with whom she was supposedly close, for an extended period of time after this traumatic event. This emotional disconnect combined with her self-centeredness makes her come across as almost narcissistic in her pursuit of her own agenda and ignorance of others' experiences.
Finally, whatever source recommended this book to me as a cozy mystery was misleading! There is intense on-page violence, racial and ethnic discrimination and exploitation, and the plot centers heavily around drug abuse and related violence/death. Oof.
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Hate crime, Murder, and Violence
ashwaar's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Death, Murder, Violence, Blood, and Grief
Minor: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Car accident, Fatphobia, Addiction, and Body shaming
ccrtb's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Anyway, this was a very easy read. It has a medium pace, but really things pick up quickly. There are just a lot of things that happen. Mostly predictable. But if you want to read a murder mystery that isn't complicated, then this one is a good choice.
Lila's reaction to these deaths are also strange to me. Is it really realistic that just because you had a busy day helping out at your best friend's cafe that you'd completely forget about seeing one of your schoolmates' bloody, assaulted body in her office? She's never really shaken, which I found strange for her character since she's pretty empathetic in other aspects. I don't think her characterization of being a person who makes a habit of running from her problems translates to "completely forgets about gruesome crimes."
Graphic: Murder, Death, and Violence
Minor: Fatphobia
kiala's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Violence and Murder
Minor: Homophobia