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3.53 AVERAGE
3.53 AVERAGE
dark
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I liked the author's clever and original approach/environment in which to set the scene. The writing itself was good, and I really appreciated the way certain characters responded to the information. It flowed well and felt fairly natural.
And yet.. there were a lot of "but why couldn't she" type moments. They didn't prevent me from enjoying it while listening but took away some of my appreciation for the story when when looking back on it afterward. Tbh, I think a few of the one-liner attempts to explain away certain potential holes drew more attention to other possible holes.
Personal pet peeve: when multiple characters and/or elements are introduced that complicate a big arc or situation, but then all those new variables disappear completely for the duration of the conflict or the climax (or the entire third act). I end up feeling like, "ok but why tho."
Obviously it's appropriate in some contexts, and it's just my opinion, etc, but I'm reviewing this book, so.
And yet.. there were a lot of "but why couldn't she" type moments. They didn't prevent me from enjoying it while listening but took away some of my appreciation for the story when when looking back on it afterward. Tbh, I think a few of the one-liner attempts to explain away certain potential holes drew more attention to other possible holes.
Personal pet peeve: when multiple characters and/or elements are introduced that complicate a big arc or situation, but then all those new variables disappear completely for the duration of the conflict or the climax (or the entire third act). I end up feeling like, "ok but why tho."
Obviously it's appropriate in some contexts, and it's just my opinion, etc, but I'm reviewing this book, so.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Violence, Blood
Moderate: Death, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting
**Mental illness** includes the ex-boyfriend's psychopathy (strong & detailed) and some characters' trauma/PTSD (specifically, the main woman experiencing survivor's guilt, night terrors, hypervigilance, and exaggerated sympathetic nervous system responses, plus inappropriate anger/blame/sadness by grieving relatives) .. idek if that counts as a spoiler but whatever.
**Stalking** consists of strangers or townspeople/relatives of victims following her around. Her ex also writes her letters to indicate he's keeping tabs on her. That's the full extent I can recall.
While the story revolves around murder, death, and grief, none of them are described in explicit and/or egregious detail. However, various acts of violence and injuries are referenced/named, and a few occur in the course of the story. No gore or body horror. I don't recall any detailed descriptions of injuries either.
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
informative
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
I wanted to like this one more than I did. This is my first Kylie Scott book and I think her writing style is just not for me.
The plot had such promise, but I didn't feel connected to the characters, wasn't invested in the romance, and several phrases just took me right out of the story ("talk about serving cunty!" when talking about her boyfriend's coworker, and other phrases like that). Plus, listening to the audiobook made the writing harder to follow because there are no transitions between scenes, so it would sound like she ended a conversation with someone and then turned around to talk to someone else that wasn't there just a moment ago and launches into another conversation, with no indication that time had passed and this was a totally different moment/day.
Small spoiler: The main character's main mission is to get justice for the forgotten victims of her ex. Talk about a great woman! But the writing made it easy to connect with her mission, but not her.
Then the romance... the way he was written was too good to be true. And some random bits made me think he was set up to be a plot twist so I never really fell for him.
My overall feeling about this one is that other young readers may enjoy it, but with the lack of detail where I wanted it and just overall very immature writing, I couldn't get invested and I wouldn't recommend it.
The plot had such promise, but I didn't feel connected to the characters, wasn't invested in the romance, and several phrases just took me right out of the story ("talk about serving cunty!" when talking about her boyfriend's coworker, and other phrases like that). Plus, listening to the audiobook made the writing harder to follow because there are no transitions between scenes, so it would sound like she ended a conversation with someone and then turned around to talk to someone else that wasn't there just a moment ago and launches into another conversation, with no indication that time had passed and this was a totally different moment/day.
Small spoiler:
Then the romance... the way he was written was too good to be true. And some random bits made me think he was set up to be a plot twist so I never really fell for him.
My overall feeling about this one is that other young readers may enjoy it, but with the lack of detail where I wanted it and just overall very immature writing, I couldn't get invested and I wouldn't recommend it.
funny
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
dark
fast-paced
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I was mostly bored.
lighthearted
fast-paced
The suspense part of the book was much better than the romance part. I felt no gravitation towards their story. However I was hooked to find out how it all ended.