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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
I went into this expecting to be more scared or disturbed based on the synopsis. While there were definitely moments that made me uncomfortable (seriously read the content warnings), Maeve didn’t end up being as terrifying as I expected. She’s a psycho who does some seriously weird shit. Still, it was a fun and bizarre read, and definitely scratched the itch for some strange, offbeat lit
dark
funny
mysterious
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
This book felt so 90s with how the fmc spends so much time on the Strip and doesn’t have to worry about cameras and never mentions gps. I did do some skipping in this as I didn’t care for the movie and music trivia along with some other repetition. Otherwise a fair book in a genre I don’t normally read.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
challenging
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
There was an immensely visceral part in the middle of this where I almost came to loathe it. It felt like Maeve was turning into a "not like other girls" shitposter who was so deeply committed to her own outsiderdom that she would block out anything that contradicted that.
Now, that didn't necessarily change so much as I began to contextualize it more. Yes, Maeve is annoying, cringey, self-righteous, and deeply dour. Her witticisms are fun at face value but begin to grate on you the deeper in you go. All of that is true, and I think it actually works.
When I allowed myself to step back from my knee-jerk reactions to her abhorrent and irritating behavior, I saw a person who decided early on that the only way she would ever find meaning in life and worth in herself was to be as "different" as possible. She tried to mask it behind literary prowess and feminist intentions, but the fact remains that she is a deeply unhappy character who needed to feel special in order to feel worth anything. She's a control freak with immense self-loathing, and the only way she wanted to work on that was to read about a bunch of other control freaks with immense self-loathing and emulate whatever the hell they were doing.
There are those people who are just committed to their own suffering, and she fits the bill. On the most extreme end of the spectrum, sure, but she still does.
Being able to parse all of that actually warmed me up to the book as a whole. I liked its commitment to the bit, and I liked how unapologetic it was for it.
Overall, the book is super gorey, pretty distinctly nasty, and not something you should have playing in the drive-thru line (for you fellow audiobook sickos out there).
Check the content warnings, proceed with caution, but don't write it off completely.
Now, that didn't necessarily change so much as I began to contextualize it more. Yes, Maeve is annoying, cringey, self-righteous, and deeply dour. Her witticisms are fun at face value but begin to grate on you the deeper in you go. All of that is true, and I think it actually works.
When I allowed myself to step back from my knee-jerk reactions to her abhorrent and irritating behavior, I saw a person who decided early on that the only way she would ever find meaning in life and worth in herself was to be as "different" as possible. She tried to mask it behind literary prowess and feminist intentions, but the fact remains that she is a deeply unhappy character who needed to feel special in order to feel worth anything. She's a control freak with immense self-loathing, and the only way she wanted to work on that was to read about a bunch of other control freaks with immense self-loathing and emulate whatever the hell they were doing.
There are those people who are just committed to their own suffering, and she fits the bill. On the most extreme end of the spectrum, sure, but she still does.
Being able to parse all of that actually warmed me up to the book as a whole. I liked its commitment to the bit, and I liked how unapologetic it was for it.
Overall, the book is super gorey, pretty distinctly nasty, and not something you should have playing in the drive-thru line (for you fellow audiobook sickos out there).
Check the content warnings, proceed with caution, but don't write it off completely.
dark
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Blood
Moderate: Death, Gore, Cannibalism
Minor: Sexual assault
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Sexual content, Torture, Violence
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
fast-paced
Disney Princess releases her inner Patrick Bateman.
Cool idea, bland execution.
Cool idea, bland execution.
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Liked, didn’t love. Strong FMC development/psyche exploration, but other characters fell flat. I was intrigued by the story, definitely kept me engaged from start to finish. Not totally sold on the relationships between various characters and MC, plus Maeve’s internal dialogue was super annoying and repetitive most of the time. Also, the grandma backstory and the whole doll thing felt a little half-baked to me. That said, the writing was fun and the pacing was on-point. I actually kinda liked the ‘trying too hard to be edgy’ cringe vibe, it brought some (probably unintentional) levity to the book that just worked for me. The final twist at the end was both shocking/heart-breaking yet totally predictable, but I really enjoyed it.
Overall, probably not for everyone, but definitely worth a read.
Overall, probably not for everyone, but definitely worth a read.