Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

Final Girls by Riley Sager

72 reviews

romorel's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Finals Girls was my first experience with Sager as an author. My time was well spent on this book, recommended by a friend, and consumed at pace. The language is uncomplicated and descriptive, Sager paints a clear and compelling image with his prose. 

Some may find the characters lacking depth. My friend stated, “Quincy is the least anxious anxious person to ever have a Xanax prescription” which rings true as a reader with understanding of mental health. I personally found the representation of Quincy’s PTSD to be somewhat lacking, but good for the layman reader. 

The pacing lagged for me in the beginning, my curiosity for the outcome only just sustaining my momentum. 

Upon learning the twist, I found myself trying to find the hints/foreshadowing in retrospect and couldn’t rightly identify anything off the top of my head. I felt as though there was a lost opportunity regarding a key detail (

eye colour

), and that some traits are told to the reader and aren’t shown to be relevant.

Despite these technical criticisms, this was one of the first stories I got excited about in a while and I will be reading more of Sager’s work going forward.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Blood, Violence, Suicide, Stalking, and Alcoholism

Minor: Drug use

itsheyfay's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Murder, Blood, Drug use, and Addiction

Moderate: Alcoholism, Sexual content, Stalking, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Vomit

aseel_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

• 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? It's complicated

3.0

I thought this was going one way, which had me concerned, but then it went a different way and I was pleasantly (and horrifyingly) surprised. I thought the plot was well done and very suspenseful. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Grief, Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Sexual assault, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Addiction, Blood, Gun violence, Violence, Medical content, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Kidnapping, Death, and Injury/Injury detail

cerealceec's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

2.5

ehhhh. found the whole thing extremely bland and uninspired. characters are flat and just feel like puppets used for the plot. quick, fairly gripping read but no real substance.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Violence, Addiction, Gun violence, Suicide, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual assault and Pedophilia

leeghlee's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Violence, Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Infidelity, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Blood, Mental illness, Drug use, Grief, Kidnapping, Murder, and Sexual content

Moderate: Cursing, Gore, Rape, Self harm, and Suicide

Minor: Vomit and Car accident

chasingpages1's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, Gore, Grief, Drug use, Infidelity, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Death, Addiction, Blood, Drug abuse, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Stalking, Violence, Alcoholism, Medical trauma, Kidnapping, Medical content, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, and Vomit

Minor: Eating disorder, Rape, Self harm, Suicide, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicide attempt

kyriannaj's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Alcohol, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Toxic friendship, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Violence, Blood, Cursing, and Grief

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Confinement, Eating disorder, Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Stalking, Suicide, Mental illness, and Sexual harassment

rockyc5's review against another edition

dark inspiring mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

FUN!!!
I had a great time with this and would recommend to anyone who loves the Final Girl concept or Final Girls. 

Interesting that a man wrote it...would love a similar story from a girl's perspective.

I'm not the best predictor but I thought the twist(s) were good.

I'd like it as a movie too!

Kind of unfortunate so much of it had to do with sex and then the whole virginity question, especially because it didn't seemed framed in the fraught context of final girls' sexuality. Still had 'sluts for first' trope but it was nice that the weird kid wasnt a killer. The two explicitly or diagnosed mentally ill charcters were great

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Blood, and Vomit

Minor: Addiction, Suicide, Violence, Child abuse, Gun violence, and Eating disorder

jaymerrick's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Suicide, and Addiction

Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

ohyeahshebomb's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? No

5.0

Definitely kept me guessing up until the very end! Successful first Riley Sager book and I was not disappointed! Riley's writing style was absolutely perfect for a gooey thriller such as this. IT felt like I was truly watching a movie. He did a great job of giving descriptive without outright telling you everything you needed to know. You had to piece it all together. And just because you know something in the beginning, doesn't mean it's exactly as it seems...

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Alcohol, Addiction, Body horror, Vomit, Gore, Murder, Eating disorder, Blood, Cursing, Police brutality, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Violence