Scan barcode
minimicropup's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
-Writing suffered from "the" syndrome, but instead of "the living room" "the house" "the car", we get "The (name of Cambridge building)", "the courtyard", "the main arch".
-The atmosphere and plot are driven by nostalgia, but we are seeing the University solely through the MCs eyes as alumni, so there is a lot of updating the reader about why certain buildings or characters are meaningful after the fact.
Main POVs:
-A Greek-born, Cambridge University educated psychotherapist specializing in group therapy. They are grieving the accidental death of their spouse while on vacation. They had an emotionally neglectful childhood, experienced a series of tragic losses of loved ones, and the only family left is their niece (who is currently studying at Cambridge University).
-Introspective-style journal entry or letter of an unknown character describing their life.
Cred Rating đ: Nonsensical to outlandish. This is not an absurdist/bizarre/speculative fiction, and it's not over-the-top/campy/satirical fiction. Yet somehow the writing manages to tip toe back and forth between those directions while aiming for realistic tragedy. It felt inconsistent and erratic, which kept pulling me out of the story and diluting the plot.
Growls and Howls đş (many...but I didn't dislike this book)
-A lot of the memory lane tellings didn't seem relevant to the plot, just something the reader had to know to explain the camaraderie (or lack thereof) between the MC and various characters. I wish we had another POV. Maybe from one of the 'Maidens' or the niece.
-I don't know much about Greek tragedy but the way it was presented felt more like explaining a religion? There is explanation given but it disrupted the dialog (almost like the MC had to turn to us to explain things to readers like me mid-sentence). Academic discussions went on for awhile, leaving me feeling lost. That's 100% on me for being ignorant, but I got the feeling that even if you were knowledgeable on the topic it may still feel forced into the plot sometimes?
-Lack of depth for the MC and their quirks. Why don't they lock doors?! Why do they put themselves so obviously in danger? Why are they so overconfident and skeptical and other times so blindly trusting? Were they always this way? Did this start after their spouse died? Why?
-The whodunnit may range from reveal to twist for you, but that wouldn't ruin the book. The whydunnit does though. It's a well done 𤯠unpredictable twist ruined by 𤨠"wait, whut? that makes no sense" motivation.
Reading Journey đŤ : Friend wants to take you somewhere via their scenic nostalgic route, but their memories are long-winded and totally lost on you. A lot of polite smiling to hide the "are we done yet?" thoughts.
Possible match if you like:
-Mysteries in academic settings
-Metaphors, similes, and archetypes from Greek literature
-Hyperbolic characters
-Descriptive, "telling"/exposition type narratives
-Incompetent police, pathologists, security
-Whodunnits and amateur sleuthing
Content Heads-Up: Death of a spouse and fertility issues.
Format: Library Digital via Libby
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Mental illness, Infertility, and Stalking
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Sexual content
literaryinluv's review against another edition
- 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
2.5
0.2 seconds after meeting her: "marry me"
the red herrings were just so... forced. like,
everything felt forced, and like the author was booping my nose and saying, "catch that? let me explain!"
despite all this, i enjoyed the pacing and the ending, as well as the
Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Murder, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Cursing, Physical abuse, Stalking, Adult/minor relationship, and Grief
Moderate: Death of parent, Incest, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Alcohol, Abandonment, Rape, Sexual assault, Car accident, and Infertility
thebookpaiges's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Self harm, Murder, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Blood, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Death of parent, Violence, and Grief
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual content
Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis
maralaene's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
If you want a quick, easy but intriguing thriller I would consider giving this a shot. It wasnât my favorite book, but I did enjoy it.
Moderate: Murder and Sexual content
joperceptions'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
3.75
twist. The writing style was easy enough to follow for me. The only comment on that is, I feel as though the character development for supporting characters (important ones too) was just not as strong as it should have been at points. I found myself confused on who certain people were once I hit the end of the book, but that could easily just be a me issue. Iâm not going back to check but I feel like it had some minor plot holes, or at least things that werenât wrapped up in a way that was at all satisfying, nor helpful to answering any questions that the plot twist may have evoked. I feel like the reveal was dropped and somewhere it was forgotten that weâd still want to hear the aftermath (beyond the few pages of whatever we got). And also understand more about wtf that plot
Line was even about and elaborating on it more?? But we got none of that. Itâs not a VERY BAD book, itâs actually a really good concept and I like the authors writing style in a general consensus, i just think this book could have been articulated a bit better and it would have been a really good read.
â ď¸SPOILER AHEADâ ď¸
Graphic: Blood, Death, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Medical content, Body horror, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Rape, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Incest, Grief, Medical trauma, Sexual violence, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Pedophilia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Violence
regent_ace's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I enjoyed the atmosphere of it and I liked the main character a lot and sympathized with her.
I thought the red herring in the book got repetitive after a while and I really disliked the twist at the end. I felt the ending left a bad taste in my mouth (metaphorically)
Graphic: Grief, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Death, Violence, Sexual content, and Murder
Moderate: Pedophilia, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Stalking
pomegranite's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Murder, Blood, and Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Sexual content and Sexual assault
amberjackonski's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Sexual content
taylorpg'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? No
3.0
The book was giving âI listen to a crime podcast so I know what Iâm an expertâ except our main character is a psychologist so she thinks she knows how murderers think. Although it is communicated with her many time to stay out of it she takes it upon herself to get involved and solve the murders.
Thereâs a very interesting
Overall I thought it was good for a semi-quick read, the audio book is only 9 hours long so itâs on the shorter end. But I really didnât think it got too interesting until the last 30 minutes. The twist was good but there wasnât really any suspense throughout the rest of the book. The red herrings were unnecessary and didnât blend into the story as well as they could have.
Graphic: Murder, Adult/minor relationship, and Sexual content
Moderate: Drug use, Stalking, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, and Mental illness
Minor: Animal death
wronglibrarycard's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Sexual violence, Blood, Gore, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Grief, Pedophilia, Stalking, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Sexual assault, and Sexual content