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lizziaha's review against another edition
4.5
Reading this book traps you in a spiral, coiling tighter and tighter until its inevitable end. The tension builds and builds and builds and builds and snaps in the most gloriously messy Shakespearean way. I actually wish I knew more about Shakespeare after reading this book. I feel like I missed references. Not just in the direct quotes, but in the roles the characters play, in the narrative structure, in relationships, in the ending. I suspect this book, as good as it is as a first read, will fare better for me as a reread.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Physical abuse, Blood, and Grief
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Bullying, Eating disorder, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, and Suicide
Minor: Vomit and Homophobia
adyn's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book is like if the breakfast club was made up of a bunch of pretentious (but loveable) Shakespearean theater nerds and also it was a murder mystery.
Vibes were exquisite, made me want to read shakespeare, loved the characters, plot made sense without being predictable. The pacing was also great, I think this would be a good book to get out of a reading slump. Only reason it’s not 5 stars is bc I’m stingy with 5 stars and it didn’t have a deep personal impact on me lol
The endingwas a bit confusing, but it’s kind of impressive if a book can make me do research on Shakespearean plays after I finish it, right?
Vibes were exquisite, made me want to read shakespeare, loved the characters, plot made sense without being predictable. The pacing was also great, I think this would be a good book to get out of a reading slump. Only reason it’s not 5 stars is bc I’m stingy with 5 stars and it didn’t have a deep personal impact on me lol
The ending
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Blood, Alcohol, Murder, Death, Drug use, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, and Violence
Moderate: Addiction, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Eating disorder, and Physical abuse
Minor: Transphobia
thequiltyreader's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
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
3.75
Compelling story and characters. I found the writing style a little verbose at times and must admit to skimming the Shakespeare quotes a few times which is the only reason it's been knocked down on review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Blood, Self harm, Abandonment, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Medical content, Death, Murder, Eating disorder, Suicide, Sexual content, Alcohol, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Bullying, and Suicide attempt
dpsmom's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-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
4.0
A group of thespian college students find themselves in impossible situations in this reflective novel told from the POV of the guilty party of a gruesome (or accidental?) crime. The writing was sophisticated, and interspersed with quoted Shakespeare lines from various plays. While that might bring some audiences out of the story, I personally felt it helped readers understand the intense fine arts program in which the characters are a part of. Being a former English teacher, I also found the Shakespeare quotes to be a fun nostalgic reminder of the past. The characters were all well developed, believable and different. The story was interesting and made me shake my head in affirmation at some of the dumb choices they make as college students. Overall, it was a quick and entertaining read, a bit predictable in some places, but also with a couple plot twists along the way to change things up. Would recommend.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Murder, Bullying, and Death
alicelalicon's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, Alcohol, Death, Grief, Suicide, Toxic friendship, and Violence
ellalillian's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
going to be thinking about this book for a long time for sure. thoroughly enjoyed it. dark academia always makes me feel weird/unsettled afterward... which is probably the whole point.
based on the reviews, i was kind of scared going into this book, but honestly, while i'm glad i knew it was going to be dark going in, i didn't think it was that dark - at least until the end. the epilogue honestly messed me up more than anything. (don't get me wrong, the whole book was still dark, just not as bad as i was expecting).
the biggest "twists" were pretty predictable, but i honestly didn't think that made it any less enjoyable in the slightest. i saw another review saying that how they're revealed is perfect; the point of this book wasn't plot twists, but almost character twists & oliver learning who the other characters, along with himself, truly are.
i wish i knew more shakespeare because i think that's the only thing that could've made this book more enjoyable.
definitely thoroughly enjoyed this book - if you ever want to feel unsettled & if you like shakespeare, this book it definitely for you!
based on the reviews, i was kind of scared going into this book, but honestly, while i'm glad i knew it was going to be dark going in, i didn't think it was that dark - at least until the end. the epilogue honestly messed me up more than anything. (don't get me wrong, the whole book was still dark, just not as bad as i was expecting).
the biggest "twists" were pretty predictable, but i honestly didn't think that made it any less enjoyable in the slightest. i saw another review saying that how they're revealed is perfect; the point of this book wasn't plot twists, but almost character twists & oliver learning who the other characters, along with himself, truly are.
i wish i knew more shakespeare because i think that's the only thing that could've made this book more enjoyable.
definitely thoroughly enjoyed this book - if you ever want to feel unsettled & if you like shakespeare, this book it definitely for you!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Bullying, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Addiction, Suicide, and Alcohol
Minor: Blood
mimpart's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
My favorite book of the year so far. Incredible suspense, fantastic characters, really amazing plot development and twists in the pacing, love the ending. I kept getting mad at myself for not finishing the story to see how it ends. A must-read for the poetic at heart, the Bard enthusiasts and the dark academics
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Addiction, Alcohol, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Murder, Blood, Cursing, Death, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Grief, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Confinement, Gore, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
theresa_timber's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Homophobia, Violence, Drug use, Murder, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Grief, Mental illness, and Vomit
fireforferrets's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Violence
Moderate: Physical abuse and Drug abuse
Minor: Eating disorder
athenian_frog's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Was the policework a little unbelievable? Yeah, maybe. And sometimes these guys felt a little pretentious with their reasoning. But I had a hell of a time reading about these nerds perform. And the relationship drama? My God. It was almost funny watching three characters do the emotionally strained tango on the last year of Shakespeare school.
The other thing is that I wish there was more to Richard. And that we got to hear more about Oliver's family. Oliver was alright but he really shouldn't have been so shitty about some things, like someone having an eating disorder. I could see why the other cast members liked him but he had some iffy moments. I found the twist culprit to be REALLY easy to predict, I literally put together EXACTLY what happened like a little bit post murder, but I still had lots of fun.
If youre scared about reading without knowing Shakespeare I think you'll be fine. I've read like ONE work and I was able to get through this p easily. Once or twice I googled some of the characters they mentioned that I wasn't familiar with.
Oh btw I rlly liked Fillipa and Oliver just being supportive friends to one another. Felt like a nice break every time I read them being kind to each other.
I liked having the ending feel a little open. But, again, I wanted the characters to feel a little more fleshed out before the end.
Overall I'd give this like a 3.8 but I'll round it to a 4. I got through it fairly quickly.
Some spoilery notes:
-Idk I feel like I would have understood Oliver taking the fall more if he spent more time with James. I know he already had James first before Merideth in his head but you have to have a GREAT explanation for me to understand you doing 10 years in jail for a guy...
-I wish Filippa and Wren had been written a bit better to stand on their own? Instead of just as supports to other characters.
The other thing is that I wish there was more to Richard. And that we got to hear more about Oliver's family. Oliver was alright but he really shouldn't have been so shitty about some things, like someone having an eating disorder. I could see why the other cast members liked him but he had some iffy moments. I found the twist culprit to be REALLY easy to predict, I literally put together EXACTLY what happened like a little bit post murder, but I still had lots of fun.
If youre scared about reading without knowing Shakespeare I think you'll be fine. I've read like ONE work and I was able to get through this p easily. Once or twice I googled some of the characters they mentioned that I wasn't familiar with.
Oh btw I rlly liked Fillipa and Oliver just being supportive friends to one another. Felt like a nice break every time I read them being kind to each other.
I liked having the ending feel a little open. But, again, I wanted the characters to feel a little more fleshed out before the end.
Overall I'd give this like a 3.8 but I'll round it to a 4. I got through it fairly quickly.
Some spoilery notes:
-I wish Filippa and Wren had been written a bit better to stand on their own? Instead of just as supports to other characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Alcohol
Moderate: Sexual content and Suicide
Minor: Eating disorder