Reviews tagging 'Death'

Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney

60 reviews

aoliv__25's review

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

First time in a while I've not anticipated the twists in a thriller. I was very happy when the initial tropes started to fall away. I get that some people don't like how complicated the plot gets but I much prefer a thriller that verges on unbelievable than something mundane! 
Not sure it needed such graphic depictions of SA, and personally didn't love a little cliffhanger ending for a stand alone. Otherwise, very strong 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Rape, Death, Toxic friendship, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, Medical content, Miscarriage, and Sexual assault

frances_frances's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This book had a ton of flaws and at times was laughably over the top. The Madeline plot felt haphazardly thrown in and Jo felt totally unnecessary. And there's a rape scene that I found gratuitous (especially after the ending was revealed). This book was also fast-paced and the prose flowed easily. I do appreciate Alice Feeney's writing style. Once I surrendered to the ridiculous/over the top aspects of the book, I actually enjoyed the ride. Far from perfect, but certainly engaging and entertaining. (Although I still feel icky about the way sexual violence was used)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Infertility, Medical trauma, Sexual violence, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Medical content, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, Car accident, and Death

amccurley's review

mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Murder, Pregnancy, Stalking, Child death, Death, Rape, Death of parent, Infertility, and Sexual assault

snoopyfanclub's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Um…. Huh???? Did I devour this book in 1 day? Yes. Did it keep me engaged and wondering? Yes!! Was it unhinged? 1,000x yes!!! I don’t even know where to start. Like, I think it’s one thing to throw some doubt into the plot but the ending was so confusing I immediately googled it and nobody else understood it either. 
It was not satisfying. I think there were too many elements that are left open, some of which just seem unnecessary. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Stalking, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Car accident, Pregnancy, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, Murder, Rape, Animal death, Miscarriage, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Vomit

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Fatphobia

alekz's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Insaaaaaaaane!!! Sharp objects kind of twists, kept me on my toes the whole time, and the narration was stellar. 
TW: abt ¾ the way through, there is an explicit depiction of r*pe. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Rape, Murder, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death, Toxic friendship, Violence, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Child abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, and Stalking

yeetith_and_yoinketh's review

dark mysterious tense fast-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

3.0

Pretty disturbing, good for someone who enjoys thriller and mildly disturbing books. SEE CONTENT WARNINGS PLEASE! I read this book w/out checking content warnings and I'm regretting it. Fans of graphic mysteries will like it tho

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Miscarriage, Murder, Violence, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Medical trauma, and Grief

Moderate: Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Blood, Alcoholism, Death, and Infertility

cc_shelflove's review against another edition

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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Wow. I’ll be honest; I definitely thought I had this one all figured out. This doesn’t happen often, but I didn’t see most of this book coming. Told in three separate timelines, Feeney gives us a look at Amber’s mind while she is in a coma, the events leading up to her accident, and her childhood. I went back and forth with my rating because there was a lot of ambiguity in the ending, but the more I thought about it, the more I recognized that that’s what made this book so clever. The reader is given the freedom to form his or her own hypothesis as to what is “real.” After all, Feeney gives you a warning with the title, Sometimes I Lie… I would recommend this to the sophisticated thriller reader who loves to wear a Sherlock cap. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Rape, Car accident, Death of parent, Violence, Alcoholism, Death, Blood, Pregnancy, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Bullying

Minor: Infertility and Infidelity

pageafter_paige's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-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

3.0

This was a super quick read that kept me on my toes! I loved how the chapters jumped between diary entries from childhood, present time, and the week leading up to her coma. Even though the title is called Sometimes I Lie I was still fooled a few times hahaha but overall I felt the ending was predictable once a certain big secret was revealed. I do love Alice’s writing and I find it super engaging. I’m not a huge fan of how it all ended in the last chapter but overall I enjoyed the story! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Car accident, Child abuse, Classism, Cursing, Miscarriage, Murder, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Infertility, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Violence

coffeebookssleep's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Car accident, Bullying, Addiction, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Alcohol, Rape, Abandonment, Murder, and Stalking

harper_simmons's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I really enjoyed this book and the way it’s written. It has separated chapters from when the character is in the coma, before she got into the coma, and when they were younger. 

The whole book I was questioning who actually did it and I was shocked with what happened. The ending left me confused and wanting more.

I had moments where I had to go back and reread with more information that I was given so it made me take longer to read. 

Overall, amazing read. Would recommend. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Murder, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Death and Toxic friendship

Minor: Alcohol, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, and Mental illness