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arialovegreen's review
- 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
4.5
I'm not usually one for inconclusive endings, and I'm usually the first to sniff out and predict a plot twist in books but the twist in this one took me very much by surprise. I gasped out loud when the major story reveal occurred, I'll admit.
I took this book down in about a couple of hours of reading. I kept finding myself wondering about the world of Theo and Alicia until I finished. The mystery, the will-they, won't-they of it all kept drawing me in until I saw the story to it's conclusion. Michaelides did an amazing job of pacing the story, and I loved the transposed inclusion of Alicia's diary as the plot progressed to reveal more to us about certain characters and their motives as the story went on. I saw in the back that Michaelides mentioned this was to make the reader more invested/caring of Alicia and it definitely worked. I found myself sympathizing with her more and more as the story went on, despite her present lack of communication.
I could go on, but the bottom line is (haha): if you are even mildly intrigued by mystery or thriller novels, please pick this one up. It's worth it.
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Infidelity, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Murder, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide attempt, Stalking, Self harm, and Suicide
Moderate: Drug use, Death of parent, Drug abuse, and Grief
Minor: Vomit and Rape
jgillard4's review
- 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
4.5
Moderate: Death, Rape, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Infidelity, Mental illness, Suicide, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Self harm, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, and Gun violence
thekatlouise's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Murder, Rape, and Sexual assault
edoering'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Mental illness and Murder
Moderate: Addiction and Death
Minor: Stalking, Rape, and Car accident
brandywyne's review
- 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
5.0
Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Murder, Alcohol, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Death of parent, Mental illness, Stalking, Suicide, Car accident, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Grief, and Violence
saskiahill's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Blood, Car accident, Stalking, Murder, Violence, and Mental illness
Moderate: Drug use, Death of parent, Death, Fatphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Gore, Torture, and Gun violence
Minor: Addiction, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Eating disorder, Sexual content, and Rape
rodi_queen's review
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Also the leading female is considered beautiful and almost sexually referenced many times from the male’s perspective even though she is in a psychiatric ward due to killing her husband while she is in the main characters therapeutic care.
The story it explains is a 5, Alcestis is an under appreciated literary piece in Greek history. The stories use of common reconstructed modern greek religion was a surprisingly pleasant piece of the novel. The Arete with Alicia’s father and husband, Xenia in the process of ritualized friendship explored by the character Jean-Felix and a strong emphasis placed on the two main characters trying to achieve Eudaimonia through freedom mostly and a couple points in self-suffiency. If exercises Greek traditions in that way.
However, execution needs to be more direct in its timing of the story and the writing could be stronger on the female and male characters alike. In honesty, this book felt as if Alex was banking on the story of Alcestis and Greek culture to really sell his novel. In honesty that’s why I bought it so it worked, I was disappointed overall by how the characters were written and how the story was executed. Otherwise it’s a decent and interesting read.
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Misogyny, Violence, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
kat_0w0's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Rape, and Murder
Moderate: Stalking, Self harm, and Infidelity
anton13's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Suicide attempt, Violence, Infidelity, Death, Murder, and Stalking
Moderate: Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Car accident, and Self harm
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Sexual assault, Drug use, Vomit, Rape, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, and Domestic abuse
thebookpaiges's review
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Blood, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Stalking, Alcohol, Gun violence, Mental illness, Murder, Self harm, Cursing, Grief, Drug use, Emotional abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Sexual assault, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, and Rape