Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - In My Dreams I Hold a Knife

I’m conflicted with rating this book because I absolutely hated the reveals near to the end and I hate most of the characters . On the other hand I can’t rate this less than a 3 because that’s unfair to the author. Her writing was good and I read this in a day, so clearly I didn’t find it boring. It was entertaining even though I disliked what happens. I’ll explain what I didn’t like (but it’s all spoilers so don’t read anymore of this review, if you haven’t read the book.

WARNING: RANT ABOUT EVERYTHING I HATED, INCLUDING SPOILERS.

Initially I wasn’t happy with who the murderer was because I kinda liked Mint, but I see how it makes sense for him to have done it. From the start I predicted Jess would be the killer. In fact she even thought she might be the killer, yet all she thought about was being popular at the reunion. She’s meant to be 30 so that’s pretty embarrassing and she should get more therapy if that was her priority.

I actually think that Jess was way worse than Mint. I don’t condone what he did but Jess was evil for cheating on him, even after what he told her. She didn’t express guilt once for being a cheater and her mindset throughout the book is disgusting. She really is a narcissistic sociopath, who doesn’t take accountability for anything. She was a horrible friend to poor Caro and an evil human being, to be honest. She seems like a psychopath because she didn’t care about the effects her actions have on others, she only cares about herself. As for Coop? He was likeable but he cheated on poor Caro. Also the fact that he loves Jess despite her evil doings isn’t cute to me, it’s weird. Caro isn’t completely innocent either, it’s kinda weird that she stalked her friends… There wasn’t really a single character who was likeable. The whole friend group was pretentious..

I feel like I read this all for nothing and I don’t recommend it tbh. It’s mainly because the ‘protagonist’ is so unlikeable, but maybe that was intentional and if so the author did a great job of portraying her as that.

TL;DR 3 stars is generous, main character is insufferable. It made me mad but I still wanted to read on, wasn’t worth the time though.

Content Warnings

mizzypf27's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense 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? No

4.5

Content Warnings

nadiajohnsonbooks's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

Content Warnings

aliyachaudhry's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

2.75

Content Warnings

rmnedder's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced

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

2.0

I was not a fan of this book.
The plot isn't half bad, and the pacing is actually pretty good; it really starts to move, and once it starts it doesn't stop. That's about all I can say for it, though.
None of the characters are likable. At all. It's more than being "morally grey;" these characters are all so fundamentally unlikable that it makes it genuinely difficult to root for any of them or get invested in their lives. The dialogue is stilted and unnatural at points, and the narration is far too padded for a first-person narrator; she feels less like a character and more like a mouthpiece for the author at times. Establishing the occasional switch from first- to third-person narration over twenty chapters in was also a jarring change. Many of the twists felt unearned or unpredictable, like there wasn't enough (or any) preamble or foreshadowing for us to reasonably figure out how or why we got there. The final chapter also really undercut the main character's entire narrative arc and it robbed her of what little impactful growth she could have had.
I wouldn't recommend this one. It's a quick read, but it's not terribly well done, and I really only finished it out of spite.

I was also not thrilled by the author's seemingly unconscious homophobia and internalized misogyny. It's all fine and good to critique the 00s brand of misogyny and homophobia, but to then fall into standard biphobic stereotypes (cheating bisexual) and rampant unironic "I'm not like other girls" characterization makes any real critiques ring hollow.

Content Warnings

vaguely_pink's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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