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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
besides this being overall horrible, plotholes automatically ruin a book for me
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Infidelity, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Body shaming, Alcohol
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
funny
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
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
This wasn’t great but I’m in a slump rn and managed to finish it quick so I appreciate that. This book was about a girl who witnessed her sister get murdered then goes back in time to see how it may have turned out differently, it was bad tho. The end was a lil cheap, we don’t really get to know the characters and it’s full of nonsensical twists. I understand the appeal and I think big fans of horror movies would really appreciate it. There were a lot of pop culture references that weren’t relevant anymore (riverdale was traumatizing) but there was some good swizzle rep which I appreciated but overall just read AGGGTM.
3.5/5
I have no idea how to rate this because I still can't decide if I loved it or hated it?? I vacillated pretty wildly back and forth at various points of the story. The beginning was rougghhhh. I almost DNFed this book because the first 20% is PAINFULLY, in-your-face high school. Almost like it was trying wayyy too hard to feel like high school. To the point that it was nauseating. It was shallow and juvenile, and I was starting to wonder if maybe I was too old for this book. I did a lot of 15-second skipping in the beginning, not gonna lie.
However, when it got to the whole Sidney Prescott scene where Alice goes back in time, to before the murder, everything changed. From that point on, I was hooked! It was a wild ride, to be honest. I knew from the beginning that Owen was innocent, that much was pretty clear.
Spoiler
I jumped back and forth to different suspects: first Wes, when he showed up right after a murder, until Alice started suspecting him immediately after; to her dad, as soon as she overheard the fight where her mom said "how many have there been?" and Alice assumed he'd been cheating (I really thought her mom found out he was a killer, and that's what she meant, and that she was going to die)...but that one went away too as soon as she suspected him, because it was still too early in the book for a solid suspect. At one point it actually did cross my mind that it could be Claire herself, but then I thought, No, that's silly, surely it wouldn't be something that crazy. WELP, lmao.For the most part, in the middle I really enjoyed it! I was super intrigued about the direction the book was going and wanted to know what was going to happen. At times I felt like the constant horror movie references were a bit over the top, like it was trying too hard. I mostly got tired of hearing "if this were a horror movie" and "in a horror movie, x/y/z" over and over and over again. I felt like that could have been dialed down a little bit. The narration was pretty good, too - in the beginning, her high school girl voice grated on my nerves, but in the more serious parts she was wonderful and really brought the book to life!
So, the identity of the killer. Hmm. I felt like it was a little bit wild and waaay out in left field. It was a good twist, for sure, but did it make sense?
Spoiler
I felt like Claire had no hints whatsoever to a psychotic personality. I could totally understand the motive behind killing the girls that her dad was cheating on her mom with, but the additional murders felt like too much for her personality. And she did it all for attention, basically? Just wow. I still am not thrilled about that, because I didn't think it made much sense for her to suddenly kill a whole bunch of people willy-nilly just to be the "final girl" and center of attention.BUT. How about that ending!?! Did the author really go there with that ending?! OH YES SHE DID. And I have no idea how I feel about it. Did I love it? Hate it? I'm honestly not really sure! It will definitely be a controversial ending, and I think I'm leaning toward the love team because it was so unconventional of an ending. I love when authors do something that readers may not like, and even though open endings are frustrating, I also kind of love them because it leaves it ultimately up to the imagination.
This review was originally posted on Novel Heartbeat. To see a breakdown of my assessment, please visit the full review here.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No