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jennifermreads's review against another edition
1.0
Received advance reader’s copy from publisher through Baker & Taylor book supplier.
I stopped reading this twice. Finally, after reading the review of a book blogger I admire, I hunkered down and told myself I was going to finish this book because she really liked it. I finished, using many Post-Its along the way as I tried to pick up clues and figure out where this story was going.
I sat on writing this review for two weeks. I wasn’t sure how I felt about the story and I was even more unsure how I was going to rate it. But, in the end, the yank of a twist near the end was just too much. It not only turned the story on its head, it pulled it from one genre (horror) to another (sci-fi). I just couldn’t stomach being led down one road and having the pavement ripped out from under me. If this had stayed solidly in the horror genre and surprised me there? The rating would have been higher.
I stopped reading this twice. Finally, after reading the review of a book blogger I admire, I hunkered down and told myself I was going to finish this book because she really liked it. I finished, using many Post-Its along the way as I tried to pick up clues and figure out where this story was going.
I sat on writing this review for two weeks. I wasn’t sure how I felt about the story and I was even more unsure how I was going to rate it. But, in the end, the yank of a twist near the end was just too much. It not only turned the story on its head, it pulled it from one genre (horror) to another (sci-fi). I just couldn’t stomach being led down one road and having the pavement ripped out from under me. If this had stayed solidly in the horror genre and surprised me there? The rating would have been higher.
elsepopelse's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
2.0
tlefler's review against another edition
4.0
A ghost story with a twist.
Some reviewers are not a fan of the twist ending but I liked it.
Some reviewers are not a fan of the twist ending but I liked it.
czoltak's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This had potential, but that ending…😬
sarag19's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 out of 5 Stars
I won this book as a free giveaway through Goodreads, thank you!
This book describes itself as a gothic psychological thriller with a haunting twist. I'd say for half the first half of the book it somewhat delivers on that until you hit around the 100 pages to go in the book when you hit the twist and everything the book was building up goes off the rails.
Mavi is chosen to be a teacher at a school for daughters of the world elite that is reopening with a questionable history. Mavi is young, running away from a government that took her mother away. She is a compassionate character for the girls that she is caring for and for the most part I liked her. It is in her chapters that the majority of the psychological thriller parts take place. She seems to not be fully affected by it like the other students and teachers are. Digging through the mystery to try and solve whether it is the curse or something more simple of people trapped far away with the weather slowly closing in on them.
The unfortunate part is that there is another character, Angel, who we also get chapters from their point of view. Angel is one of the others and during their chapters we get insights into how the others are haunting the school. Any tension and suspense that gets built up during Mavi's chapters immediately disintegrates once we switch over to Angel. Not only that, Angel's chapters just don't work with whatever the book was trying to do. Mavi is in the 1970s while Angel is a modern character with modern pop culture references that bleed over into Mavi's chapters when the characters interact with each other. Everyone about this two point of view style just doesn't work for what the book wants to be.
Speaking of, what the book wants to be seems to be all over the place. The twist is laughably out of place with the rest of the book. It takes it from being a thriller with possible ghost stories and haunting to something that feels more like a Black Mirrors episode or wants to be another version of Westworld. Instead of being one or the other it tries to be both and fails to execute on both levels. Its a shame because there are quite a few good and interesting bits within this book.
I won this book as a free giveaway through Goodreads, thank you!
This book describes itself as a gothic psychological thriller with a haunting twist. I'd say for half the first half of the book it somewhat delivers on that until you hit around the 100 pages to go in the book when you hit the twist and everything the book was building up goes off the rails.
Mavi is chosen to be a teacher at a school for daughters of the world elite that is reopening with a questionable history. Mavi is young, running away from a government that took her mother away. She is a compassionate character for the girls that she is caring for and for the most part I liked her. It is in her chapters that the majority of the psychological thriller parts take place. She seems to not be fully affected by it like the other students and teachers are. Digging through the mystery to try and solve whether it is the curse or something more simple of people trapped far away with the weather slowly closing in on them.
The unfortunate part is that there is another character, Angel, who we also get chapters from their point of view. Angel is one of the others and during their chapters we get insights into how the others are haunting the school. Any tension and suspense that gets built up during Mavi's chapters immediately disintegrates once we switch over to Angel. Not only that, Angel's chapters just don't work with whatever the book was trying to do. Mavi is in the 1970s while Angel is a modern character with modern pop culture references that bleed over into Mavi's chapters when the characters interact with each other. Everyone about this two point of view style just doesn't work for what the book wants to be.
Speaking of, what the book wants to be seems to be all over the place. The twist is laughably out of place with the rest of the book. It takes it from being a thriller with possible ghost stories and haunting to something that feels more like a Black Mirrors episode or wants to be another version of Westworld. Instead of being one or the other it tries to be both and fails to execute on both levels. Its a shame because there are quite a few good and interesting bits within this book.
michellajd's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
merissac's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
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? It's complicated
5.0
I absolutely loved this book. Mavi and Angel's Characters are so relatable. The duel POV between was done so well. All the twist and turns were paced out just right for me. The end floored me!
cailynem_k's review against another edition
adventurous
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? No
4.0