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fairestskyebooks's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
harmonj3's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
I didn’t dislike this book, but I agree with other reviews that it did almost seem like the front 87% was done really well and the last bit became underwhelming as a result. Sean just giving up for example, or Stephanie just letting herself essentially be dropped but Emily didn’t really make sense. Sean was afraid of her and didn’t feel it was safe for Nicky to be raised by her so hey would he have given up? Stephanie was obsessed with finally feeling accepted and cared for by Emily so why did she just move on?her also pathetically just following along didn’t make a whole of sense to me either once the illusion of Emily was shattered by all her lies. I haven’t seen the movie, but from what I’ve heard it sounds like it helps explain some of the parts I had trouble understanding a bit better and I wouldn’t recommend anyone picking this up unless they were looking for something with a couple exciting moments to easily read over a weekend. I think this could be a good book for someone looking for something to read on a road trip
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Addiction, and Incest
hopedihop's review against another edition
1.0
The basic story was okay I would say. Nothing new and nothing extraordinary though.
However, the writing is "maddening" (seriously, never heard of synonyms??). I cant connect to any of the three perspectives and most of the story just feels like.. lazy writing. Seans job for example. He has an importan job at wall street. I would say its okay to describe it like that from Stephanies perspective, and maybe also from Emilys, but from Seans own??
However, the writing is "maddening" (seriously, never heard of synonyms??). I cant connect to any of the three perspectives and most of the story just feels like.. lazy writing. Seans job for example. He has an importan job at wall street. I would say its okay to describe it like that from Stephanies perspective, and maybe also from Emilys, but from Seans own??
natasha_saidikowski's review against another edition
3.0
This novel was well plotted, at least up until the end. It got a little too twisty then, causing a slight plot whiplash. Up until that point, Bell had set up such a delicious tension between the three central characters. But right around chapter 36, it got a little too silly, and then it just tapered off. The denouement, considering how we got there, was rather anticlimactic. I expected more. Maybe it was just too drawn out over too many chapters. The ending was delightful, though, and 100% in character.
I thought Bell did a great job differentiating the voices of her three narrators, though I was annoyed by Stephanie’s continuing need to remind us that Sean is British and by Emily’s need to remind us that she controls information. I also didn’t think Sean sounded truly British - more like an American’s stereotype of what a British man sounds like.
As much as the tone of Stephanie’s blog annoyed me, I did think it was effective. She sounded exactly like an amateur writer who feels a little too self-important, even though she’s writing about a rather ubiquitous topic. (And why the hell did she think Prager’s reading her blog was a sign of “how far her message in a bottle had reached”? Of course he read it! It was evidence!!)
Stephanie was maddening and annoying, but she was also the most innocent and earnest of the characters. So I felt a little bad rooting for Emily to win and Stephanie to lose. But this is fiction, so it’s okay, right? :)
Anyway, this book is a fun one. I’d recommend it.
I thought Bell did a great job differentiating the voices of her three narrators, though I was annoyed by Stephanie’s continuing need to remind us that Sean is British and by Emily’s need to remind us that she controls information. I also didn’t think Sean sounded truly British - more like an American’s stereotype of what a British man sounds like.
As much as the tone of Stephanie’s blog annoyed me, I did think it was effective. She sounded exactly like an amateur writer who feels a little too self-important, even though she’s writing about a rather ubiquitous topic. (And why the hell did she think Prager’s reading her blog was a sign of “how far her message in a bottle had reached”? Of course he read it! It was evidence!!)
Stephanie was maddening and annoying, but she was also the most innocent and earnest of the characters. So I felt a little bad rooting for Emily to win and Stephanie to lose. But this is fiction, so it’s okay, right? :)
Anyway, this book is a fun one. I’d recommend it.
kaulhilo's review against another edition
1.0
1.25
so this was.. boring? flat? unsatisfying? the only reason i’m giving it 1.25 stars (as opposed to 1) is because at least the book gave emily a hea (possibly?) as compared to the movie where she gets hit by a minivan mean girls style.
a point to note, this book was my first audiobook and i’ve realized i genuinely cannot do audiobooks. so maybe that factored in to the low rating, but i doubt it. i’m honestly bored even thinking about the book enough to “review” it so i’ll just end this here.
ex: Not smthn to go for if you’re looking for a good thriller/suspense. oh and i forgot: if you are going to read this, tw/look out for: incest, cheating, violence, m*rder, white moms and men.
so this was.. boring? flat? unsatisfying? the only reason i’m giving it 1.25 stars (as opposed to 1) is because at least the book gave emily a hea (possibly?) as compared to the movie where she gets hit by a minivan mean girls style.
a point to note, this book was my first audiobook and i’ve realized i genuinely cannot do audiobooks. so maybe that factored in to the low rating, but i doubt it. i’m honestly bored even thinking about the book enough to “review” it so i’ll just end this here.
ex: Not smthn to go for if you’re looking for a good thriller/suspense. oh and i forgot: if you are going to read this, tw/look out for: incest, cheating, violence, m*rder, white moms and men.
robin_is_me's review against another edition
4.0
I saw the movie adaptation a long time ago, so when I came across the book recently I snatched it up. It started out a bit slow for me, I'm not a fan of blog posts being inserted throughout a narrative, but I got quite caught up in it, and since it's been so long since I saw the movie I didn't see the ending coming. Now I want to watch the movie again.
alayna017's review against another edition
3.0
Just watched the movie and enjoyed it. The book had more details, but I wish they would have redeemed the Stephanie character a little more (like the movie). She didn’t really change in the end, still being manipulated by Emily.
sucredidymus's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
I saw the movie a long time ago so when I wanted to read something easy and familiar I decided to try this book. It was mostly the same plot as I remember from the movie but with a lot more character development. Having different chapters for each of the main characters was a nice way to get into everyone's heads and really understand their thinking. Also the end was different than the movie, but in a more open-ended cliffhanger way. Normally I don't prefer that, but it didnt really bother me with this book. Maybe it would have if I hadn't seen the movie. Overall an interesting and easy read.