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kyeruhh's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I had a hard time getting into this book until about half way through, and then I sped through it. A lot of the story is told through flashbacks, but it’s not super obvious visually then they start and end (though that may have been bc I was reading largely on mobile) which made parts a bit confusing. I loved the dystopian/sci fi-ish aspects of the story and wish those had been explored a bit more, but overall I really enjoyed this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Gaslighting, and Stalking
peachani's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Infidelity and Kidnapping
miagw962's review against another edition
dark
funny
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
2.5
"What's it really like here? You can be real with me, sis."
Ahhh, really wanted to like this one more than I did. I think it was a combination of me having a really busy couple of months and taking ages to read this or just the writing style that I didn't gel with. The story just did not have me engaged most of the time. I liked some of the discussion on really prevalent societal issues such as the lack of diversity and systemic racism found in many industries such as the publishing industry which this book explores. I just don't think there was any real development of characters and thought the 'twist' was kind of weird (weird bad not weird good) and tagged on at the end. The lead up to it was a little monotonous (although I did appreciate the realism a lot of the time). I feel like I would have liked this more when I was younger, I can definitely think of some books I've given five stars in the past that are similar to this but maybe I've just grown to have different tastes.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Gaslighting, and Racism
juhlig's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
I love how they brought the reader along on the discovery and that we were able to put the pieces together before, and as Nella did. I wish we got more of the storyline from the ‘80s but regardless, I’m still thinking about the ending and will continue to do so long past the day I finished reading.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Gaslighting, and Stalking
laynemandros's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Hate crime, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Police brutality, Toxic friendship, Racism, and Stalking
kylieqrada's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Stalking, Gaslighting, and Racism
Moderate: Toxic friendship
Minor: Police brutality and Racial slurs
mengzhenreads's review against another edition
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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I really loved the synopsis and concept for this book, and thought the author had some really creative and interesting ideas that with more editing could totally transform this book into a genre-defying mindfuck. Once the plot started moving, it was really engaging and thrilling but it took a while to get to that point. Overall, not a bad book, but didn’t hit as hard as I wish it could’ve.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Gaslighting, and Stalking
Moderate: Toxic friendship
Minor: Police brutality and Racial slurs
ekmook's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Sexism
Minor: Police brutality and Gaslighting
hayleyholliday's review against another edition
2.75
Interesting plot. Some of the themes about micro aggressions, tokenism, colourism, white fragility etc seemed really well written. However, I think the conclusion of this novel was unsatisfying; the additional perspectives were unnecessary and I am still left with lots of unanswered questions.
The political conversations had in this book, particularly at the end - although important and relevant - didn’t feel very fluid. It came across as unnatural rather than aiding the storyline.
Had the ending been better and the other perspectives cut short, I think this book could have been a 3.5-4 stars.
I think the plot of this book was an interesting idea and had so much potential but unfortunately it was a bit disappointing and underwhelming.
the ending felt like the equivalent to “and then they woke up and it had all been a dream”. It was almost as if it ended with the mystery being solved by a little bit of magical realism when there was absolutely no other elements of magical realism throughout the book? Like there was a scary thing happening throughout the book and mysterious characters and what’s going to have happened for it to be answered with “it was the magic hair product all along!” I kind of feel like maybe the author just really rushed the ending.
The political conversations had in this book, particularly at the end - although important and relevant - didn’t feel very fluid. It came across as unnatural rather than aiding the storyline.
Had the ending been better and the other perspectives cut short, I think this book could have been a 3.5-4 stars.
I think the plot of this book was an interesting idea and had so much potential but unfortunately it was a bit disappointing and underwhelming.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gaslighting, Racial slurs, and Racism
franklola's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Stalking, and Toxic friendship