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nbaker83's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Graphic: Eating disorder, Pregnancy, Death of parent, Suicide, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Blood, Murder, Physical abuse, Drug abuse, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol
shesflippinpages'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
2.75
Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Car accident, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Violence, Grief, Alcoholism, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Stalking, Drug abuse, Hate crime, Murder, Pregnancy, and Medical trauma
Minor: Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Cancer, Homophobia, Animal cruelty, Police brutality, Vomit, Addiction, Body shaming, Infertility, Outing, Car accident, and Eating disorder
flaminggecko's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Suicide, Death of parent, Drug use, Eating disorder, Infertility, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Addiction, Blood, Bullying, Car accident, Grief, Abandonment, Animal death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Miscarriage, Murder, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Gun violence, Police brutality, Stalking, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Classism, Terminal illness, and Medical content
Minor: Abortion and Cancer
depmythmoon'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
4.25
This book takes what would you do for the ones you love to a whole new level.
The story was told via a then and now timeline (which I used an unfortunate number of tabs to annotate), and it was interesting to slowly figure out who committed the 2 murders. I will say, the author does keep the reader waiting and questioning things until the very end. Too many times throughout the book, I found myself throwing out wild accusations between the sisters and others to the point I gave up trying to see where this book was going. The reveal ended up being both expected and unexpected in a way that left me feeling bested. I like it.
Ms. Marshall, the author, did a great job at creating characters that were layered and complicated. Being able to see how each layer was revealed as the story went on was enjoyable, and it made me feel like I didn’t really know any of them in a way that worked. It’s interesting to see how the sisters’ personalities shifted from then compared to now. It’s almost like they adopted each others personalities as a way to cope and rebrand themselves after their parents’ deaths. The parents… now they were just terrible and sick in such a careful way that I found myself disgusted with them at times… or pretty much every time they were mentioned. The abuse they put these girls through is something no one should have to experience, and it makes sense how the girls ended up the way they are. It leaves the reader wondering whether or not their death was for the best. I’m not one to judge whether or not someone deserves life or not… but I’ll say that the world did not lose anything with their deaths; I’ll be honest.
What did kind of frustrate me was how some questions remained unanswered to the very end. They’re not truly focused on and don’t impact the main plot that’s being told much, but I would have liked to know the answers regardless. The father had some deeper layers than being a terrible father, and I would have liked to know more about the secrets he was keeping. Also, the development between Emma and Gabriel didn’t feel fully developed as a subplot. They have a complicated past, sure, but how they move forward given this past felt a little… off.
Graphic: Child abuse, Death of parent, Death, and Drug use
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Addiction, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Murder, Drug abuse, and Infidelity
Minor: Eating disorder and Sexual content
astoriareader'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
- Due to their financial situation, Emma & her husband, Nathan, are forced to move into her childhood home in a small town. Someone murdered her parents 14 years ago inside the home, but the case remains unsolved. Many people assumed Emma did it.
- Since the murder, Emma and her two sisters, Juliette and Daphne, have been estranged.
- Emma’s homecoming stirs up questions, secrets, and searching for answers.
- None of these characters are very likable or interesting.
- Alternating POVs & timelines.
- This was a slow burn, and there was a lot of build up for the reveal. Ultimately, the ending fell flat & was anticlimactic.
- Story was somewhat predictable to me.
- This certainly wasn’t a bad book, but compared to all the others in the genre, it doesn’t stand out to me. It was a mediocre suspense.
Graphic: Gun violence, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Murder, Gaslighting, and Child abuse
Moderate: Drug use and Infidelity
Minor: Pregnancy and Eating disorder
ashleechmiel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Drug use, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Murder, Homophobia, Gun violence, Eating disorder, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, and Alcoholism