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minimicropup's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Energy: Vigilant. Sanguine. Ruthless.
Scene: 🇬🇷 🇬🇧 Private island near Mykonos, Greece; pubs and homes in London, UK.
Perspective: Our narrator is telling us the about their friend group and what occurred on their most recent visit to their friend’s island getaway weekend.
🐩 Tail Wags: The layering of light over-the-top drama with moments of depth and check-ins with the reader. The scheming, fake-outs, drama, back-tracking plot. Our morally grey narrator who I alternately felt horrified by and heart-broken for. The peripheral character arcs and development.
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🧐 Random Thoughts:
- If you are struggling to get immersed in the story and not feeling the feels, it could be hard to stay engaged.
- If you never feel empathy, sympathy (or even pity) for the narrator and dislike spending time with unlikeable characters this may be a struggle.
- Hard to read with long or frequent breaks. The way the story is presented works better when you remember which Act you’re in and are fresh off the previous one.
- If you’re an overanalyzer like me, hold off on that ‘til the end!
🎬 Tale-Telling: Direct, lyrical writing style. The story starts in the middle of the action.
👥 Characters: Complex. Manipulative but empathetic though I could be persuaded otherwise.
🤓 Reader Role: Meeting for a drink with the narrator who has a story to tell and being their anchor.
🗺️ World-Building: Atmospheric weather, sensory and visual details; cultural and emotional landscapes; body language and reactions.
🔥 Fuel: Who is our narrator? Who died? How? Why? Who did it? What will happen to everyone on the island?
📖 Cred: Emotionally hyper-realistic, situationally plausible with a touch of exaggeration for effect.
🚙 Journey: Quick drink with a potential friend turns into hours of sipping the tea with moments of reflection and soul searching.
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Mood Reading Match-Up:
- Spring. Wind. Waves. Sea birds. Clinking plates. Laughter. Whispers. Applause.
- Friendship-relationship drama murder mystery in an isolated setting where all is not as it seems
- Machiavellianism with Heart
Content Heads-Up: Gun use and violence. Bullying (recall; descriptive). Infidelity (brief; not sexually descriptive; on and off page). Alcohol use (partying, intoxicated; on page). Alcoholism (brief, recall; off page). Child abuse and parental neglect (brief recall; descriptive). Homelessness, financial insecurity (brief recall; descriptive). Sexual exploitation (implied; off page). Animal death (
Rep: Cisgender. Heterosexual. White British and American. Greek characters and experiences.
📚 Format: Paperback
🤩 Potential Fav of 2024
My musings 💖 powered by puppy snuggles 🐶 refined with my AI bookworm buddy ✨
Graphic: Gun violence and Bullying
Moderate: Infidelity and Alcohol
Minor: Murder, Blood, and Alcoholism
karly_ackley's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Mental illness, and Alcohol
katiejohns's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Murder, Death, and Infidelity
miggyfool's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, Alcoholism, Bullying, Death of parent, Classism, Alcohol, Blood, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Adult/minor relationship, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Body horror, Drug use, Addiction, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic friendship
cassiebartelme's review
2.5
Graphic: Infidelity and Gun violence
honeybeewitched87's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Moderate: Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Grief, Alcohol, Gun violence, Infidelity, Murder, Death, Gaslighting, Drug use, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Violence, Blood, and Stalking
Minor: Sexual content
bessadams's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, Infidelity, and Death
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Bullying, Mental illness, Drug use, and Adult/minor relationship
kelsylee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
This book kept me up all night, not because it was good, but because I couldn’t stop thinking about how stupid it was.
The narrator was awful, it took me so much longer to finish this than it should have because I just didn’t want to read the parts where he was talking. I had the ending figured out a few chapters in and the big reveal just wasn’t rewarding.
The entire book could be summed up in one sentence:
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Infidelity, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Drug use, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Bullying, and Child abuse
daniellereadslikealot_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Infidelity and Gun violence
Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Bullying
bri0987's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Drug use, Mental illness, and Infidelity
Minor: Murder