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kt2e56's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
This is the second book I read from this author and I have some of the same problems with this that I had with The It Girl.
Again, Ware is good at setting up a plot but she gets so wrapped up in making sure there are twists and turns that her details don’t always pan out and her characters don’t seem believable or worse, she makes up new traits or details that she mushes in last minute to fill in the holes but make zero sense with the characters we’re trying to get to know and invest ourselves in.
Speaking of the characters, all of them (sans Tom) are AWFUL. I really stopped caring about what happened to any of them because they were all just the worst.
Her writing of Flo also felt mean spirited and fatphobic. Like we get it. She’s wearing clothes that would only look good on apparent waif goddess Clare. You don’t need to keep talking about Flo’s “rolls” or “excess skin.”
Nora as a POV character was frustrating because she really wasn’t sympathetic. Yes, getting pregnant and having an abortion and being dumped all at once as a teenager but must suck but the author (I guess in an attempt to seem more progressive on her handling of abortion which I can’t fault her for, it IS a healthy attitude) kept insisting to us that the pregnancy and abortion weren’t a big deal, she was happy with her choice and had zero regrets about it so then why still fixate on a stupid teenage boy who did a stupid and cruel thing that teenage boys frequently do? For TEN years!? Like I could understand that level of trauma over a breakup of James was abusive but up until she believed he dumped her…he was fine? Annoying and a try hard. But fine. Again…just a typical “edgy” teenage boy who seemed to at least treat others very well.
I also don’t buy for even a second that Nora was ever an actress let alone the understudy for the lead role in a play like Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Whether she was up Clare’s ass as a teenager or not, there’s no way someone that shy and awkward and who HATED attention would have even auditioned. This sounds like a petty gripe but I’m pointing it out because it seems like the author liked the idea of Nora and James falling in love while starring in the school play together even if it made ZERO sense for the characters. This is far from the only instance of this but it’s a noticeable one. That’s a problem to me. An author should have a better grasp on characterization.
Another example is that Nora is supposedly a successful crime novelist. Okay, fine. But this is only briefly mentioned once at the beginning of the book (and again if she was so successful, you’d think the other characters would have heard of her or her books), she shows ZERO signs of being able to solve any kind of mystery or be good at reading people (or having really any other kind of skill that you think would make for a successful mystery author) until suddenly at the very end when the explanation for everything is shoe-horned in and the killer is revealed.
The “how” and “why” of the murder at the center of all of this also feel a bit messy. There’s some gaping plot holes in how the killer was able to pull everything off and the reasoning behind it just also feels weirdly childish and doesn’t line up with the character we met (despite the author insisting on it by having characters go “Ah, yes! Of COURSE!” again and again at each reveal).
I know it sounds like I hated this book. I really didn’t. It was entertaining and a breeze to get through. I just am disappointed when I see an author with such potential sort of flounder a bit. I’d say this is a good Beach read or cozy rainy weekend read but I don’t think this book was memorable enough or good enough for me to ever really think of again once I’m done posting this review.
Again, Ware is good at setting up a plot but she gets so wrapped up in making sure there are twists and turns that her details don’t always pan out and her characters don’t seem believable or worse, she makes up new traits or details that she mushes in last minute to fill in the holes but make zero sense with the characters we’re trying to get to know and invest ourselves in.
Speaking of the characters, all of them (sans Tom) are AWFUL. I really stopped caring about what happened to any of them because they were all just the worst.
Her writing of Flo also felt mean spirited and fatphobic. Like we get it. She’s wearing clothes that would only look good on apparent waif goddess Clare. You don’t need to keep talking about Flo’s “rolls” or “excess skin.”
Nora as a POV character was frustrating because she really wasn’t sympathetic. Yes,
I also don’t buy for even a second that Nora was ever an actress let alone the understudy for the lead role in a play like Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Whether she was up Clare’s ass as a teenager or not, there’s no way someone that shy and awkward and who HATED attention would have even auditioned. This sounds like a petty gripe but I’m pointing it out because it seems like the author liked the idea of Nora and James falling in love while starring in the school play together even if it made ZERO sense for the characters. This is far from the only instance of this but it’s a noticeable one. That’s a problem to me. An author should have a better grasp on characterization.
Another example is that Nora is supposedly a successful crime novelist. Okay, fine. But this is only briefly mentioned once at the beginning of the book (and again if she was so successful, you’d think the other characters would have heard of her or her books), she shows ZERO signs of being able to solve any kind of mystery or be good at reading people (or having really any other kind of skill that you think would make for a successful mystery author) until suddenly at the very end when the explanation for everything is shoe-horned in and the killer is revealed.
The “how” and “why” of the murder at the center of all of this also feel a bit messy. There’s some gaping plot holes in how the killer was able to pull everything off and the reasoning behind it just also feels weirdly childish and doesn’t line up with the character we met (despite the author insisting on it by having characters go “Ah, yes! Of COURSE!” again and again at each reveal).
I know it sounds like I hated this book. I really didn’t. It was entertaining and a breeze to get through. I just am disappointed when I see an author with such potential sort of flounder a bit. I’d say this is a good Beach read or cozy rainy weekend read but I don’t think this book was memorable enough or good enough for me to ever really think of again once I’m done posting this review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Gun violence
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Suicide, Gore, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Abortion, Fatphobia, and Pregnancy
boba_n_books's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I quite enjoyed this book! It kept me on my toes, and the twist paid off well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Gun violence, and Death
Moderate: Abortion, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Pregnancy
brookey8888's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
3.5
Honestly absolutely nothing was shocking and it was painfully obvious. With that being said I did enjoy this and like the atmosphere. It was interesting to see the relationship dynamics. I loved Nina she was honestly my favorite part of this book. It’s your newer to thrillers I would recommend this, but if your not and are looking for a big plot twist and not just a good time I wouldn’t recommend this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Drug use, Blood, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Vomit, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Outing, Suicide attempt, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, and Violence
hucksweet's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Suicide attempt
Minor: Abortion
mmadill227's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Alcohol, Gun violence, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Drug abuse, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Abortion
mandi_buelow's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
3.5
The story did keep me guessing and wondering what was going to happen. It kept me engaged enough that I wanted to finish and find out what happened.
The only reason I’m rating it lower is because the characters are in their late twenties but throughout the book, they were very immature in their words and actions towards one another. It was just very high schoolish to me in some points and the way they acted at the “hen”.
I can appreciate (since I’m 32) going out for a girl’s weekend and letting lose but some of the things they did just seemed juvenile especially Nora when she wouldn’t say no to doing something she didn’t want to do. I just feel at that age and having some life experience by that point that you should have enough self confidence to say no to things you aren’t comfortable doing.
Overall it was okay. I’m not mad I read it and I did find the story entertaining.
The only reason I’m rating it lower is because the characters are in their late twenties but throughout the book, they were very immature in their words and actions towards one another. It was just very high schoolish to me in some points and the way they acted at the “hen”.
I can appreciate (since I’m 32) going out for a girl’s weekend and letting lose but some of the things they did just seemed juvenile especially Nora when she wouldn’t say no to doing something she didn’t want to do. I just feel at that age and having some life experience by that point that you should have enough self confidence to say no to things you aren’t comfortable doing.
Overall it was okay. I’m not mad I read it and I did find the story entertaining.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, and Gun violence
Moderate: Car accident, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Drug use
Minor: Abortion
growintogardens's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I've read 2 other books by the author and loved them, but this one wasn't her best. I didn't like any characters, and Nora was not the smartest cookie. It was pretty easy to figure out the who/why of the mystery early on.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Gun violence, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Car accident, Mental illness, Grief, Medical content, Death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicide
Minor: Alcohol, Drug use, Pregnancy, Blood, Violence, Abortion, Cursing, and Vomit
kelley_beth's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
3.5
This was a great slow burn thriller up until about 75% of the way through and then it just screamed to a halt and I couldn’t wait for it to be done. It draaagggged out the last bits unnecessarily. But it was so good up until then!! I had the killer pegged early on. So the twist wasn’t really a twist for me. This could have been so much better with a cleaner and more efficient wrap up, and if the “twist” weren’t so horrifically predictable and flat.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Drug use
chris_reads's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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? Yes
2.75
Entertaining, if a bit predictable. The lead feels willfully ignorant. 2.75 ✰
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Murder, Toxic friendship, Death, Gun violence, and Medical content
Moderate: Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, and Alcohol
Minor: Abortion, Drug use, Outing, Suicide attempt, and Adult/minor relationship
belladonnashrike's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
okay this book was so damn good. I don’t know why it took me so long to pick it back up again, but i read a majority of it in one sitting - I couldn’t put it down!
reminded me a lot of of gillian flynn’s work.
reminded me a lot of of gillian flynn’s work.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Gun violence, Murder, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Car accident, Medical content, Pregnancy, Abortion, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Vomit
Minor: Drug use and Alcohol