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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
this was gripping and thrilling, and i genuinely cared about veronica and mick, but nico's story arc felt too far fetched, like the twists were there just for shock value
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I didn't know what to expect from this one other than that the characters would be queer and messy as hell. I had read Wendy Heard's other book The Kill Club and knew that she could write a twisty unpredictable thriller with queer characters and a fast pace and more depth than one might expect. But She's Too Pretty to Burn took that to another level.
Mick and Veronica were at times messy, at times selfish, at times sweet, and almost always way in over their heads. I thought their relationship developed way too fast and then I realized there was absolutely no other way for it to go. I knew going in that this was a Picture of Dorian Gray retelling (though I'll admit I remember very little of the source material, having read it almost 10 years ago), but I loved the choice to use social media and expectations rather than an actual magically changing portrait. The darkness we see is entirely of human making and it makes it so much heavier.
There's a "false ending" that kind of threw me off. It felt like the story had come to its natural conclusion and then there was a lull, and I looked down to see that there was almost an hour left in the audiobook. As the last pieces unfolded, I realized there's no other way it could have gone.
{Thank you Dreamscape Media for the ALC via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review; all thoughts are my own}
Mick and Veronica were at times messy, at times selfish, at times sweet, and almost always way in over their heads. I thought their relationship developed way too fast and then I realized there was absolutely no other way for it to go. I knew going in that this was a Picture of Dorian Gray retelling (though I'll admit I remember very little of the source material, having read it almost 10 years ago), but I loved the choice to use social media and expectations rather than an actual magically changing portrait. The darkness we see is entirely of human making and it makes it so much heavier.
There's a "false ending" that kind of threw me off. It felt like the story had come to its natural conclusion and then there was a lull, and I looked down to see that there was almost an hour left in the audiobook. As the last pieces unfolded, I realized there's no other way it could have gone.
{Thank you Dreamscape Media for the ALC via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review; all thoughts are my own}
Thanks to Fierce reads for my eARC
Too Pretty to burn is a psychological thriller that is said to be a gender swapped re-imagination of The Picture of Dorian Grey, while I am not too familiar with the classic, a quick google search taught me what an interesting read it was especially for that time period. While I personally do not think this as a retelling of the classic, I believe this to be heavily influenced by it
I haven't read a regular thriller in a hot minute so forget about psychological thrillers, to be honest I struggled to get into the book but the writing kept me going and I am actually glad I pushed through because I finished the book in a day. I really enjoyed how the author added layers to the plot with interconnected web of lies and deception, I sat there wondering how in the world will the MC's get out of this fine hot mess. I did experience an array of emotions because of the characters which always is a good sign. It is hard to review this book without giving out any spoilers because everything connects to everything like a string of actions that leads to a one fine epic disaster in the end. This will make a great movie script indeed!!
-What I liked- Sapphic representation, ambiance and aesthetics of the fine arts that are artfully integrated into the plot, the tension the plot carried until the very end
-What I disliked- Insta love but that's on me because this is purely subjective and lack of character depth for the antagonist because I was truly intrigued to peel the layers of their volatile personality!
Trigger Warnings- Murder, Arson,Physical abuse, Neglectful parenting and Psychotic behavior
Too Pretty to burn is a psychological thriller that is said to be a gender swapped re-imagination of The Picture of Dorian Grey, while I am not too familiar with the classic, a quick google search taught me what an interesting read it was especially for that time period. While I personally do not think this as a retelling of the classic, I believe this to be heavily influenced by it
I haven't read a regular thriller in a hot minute so forget about psychological thrillers, to be honest I struggled to get into the book but the writing kept me going and I am actually glad I pushed through because I finished the book in a day. I really enjoyed how the author added layers to the plot with interconnected web of lies and deception, I sat there wondering how in the world will the MC's get out of this fine hot mess. I did experience an array of emotions because of the characters which always is a good sign. It is hard to review this book without giving out any spoilers because everything connects to everything like a string of actions that leads to a one fine epic disaster in the end. This will make a great movie script indeed!!
-What I liked- Sapphic representation, ambiance and aesthetics of the fine arts that are artfully integrated into the plot, the tension the plot carried until the very end
-What I disliked- Insta love but that's on me because this is purely subjective and lack of character depth for the antagonist because I was truly intrigued to peel the layers of their volatile personality!
Trigger Warnings- Murder, Arson,Physical abuse, Neglectful parenting and Psychotic behavior
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Very fast paced and very nice :D
2.5 - the twists and all that were crazy they defo got me!!!!
couldn’t care less about kick or veronica neither had any redeemable qualities i cared about and they were both just annoying
also i don’t get the picture of dorian gray part of it but maybe im just stupid
great writing tho!!!
couldn’t care less about kick or veronica neither had any redeemable qualities i cared about and they were both just annoying
also i don’t get the picture of dorian gray part of it but maybe im just stupid
great writing tho!!!