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ladymahesh's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
3.25
The writing is solid, some very interesting plot lines...but, while it started brilliantly, it began to develop into a typical Hollywood franchise-ish type of story about mid way into the book. That killed the mood for me. It became too unrealistic especially with the main character - Michael. I wished it focused on the cat and mouse chase rather than flipping between unnecessary dialogues and bizarre twists that didn't need to be there. The story is fast paced for sure but throwing in twists and turns everywhere disn't necessarily make it a great one. It just lost direction while switching between the past and present of Michael and Julian's lives. It got too repetitive and tired by the end. I might give the author another chance with his older books. I just feel this had potential but lost its way about 40% in.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Toxic relationship, Torture, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Grief, Gore, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Death, Confinement, Child death, Child abuse, Car accident, Bullying, Body horror, Blood, and Adult/minor relationship
cheye13's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This was an extremely well-written book – the writing was surprisingly beautiful and the constant rotation of perspectives pushed the story forward. I was also surprised by sexist tropes this story managed to avoid. The graphic nature of the violence was a bit hard to handle, more horror-style than thriller-typical, I'd say.
However the tropes it did fall into were underwhelming, and perhaps more suited to 2011. The mental health portrayal is cliche and, I believe, mostly incorrect. (And Julian is severely neglected as a perspective despite being such a central character). The ultimate "villains" are shallow, the potential for nuance completely disregarded.
This was an entertaining read and very well-told but the story itself was a disappointment.
However the tropes it did fall into were underwhelming, and perhaps more suited to 2011. The mental health portrayal is cliche and, I believe, mostly incorrect. (And Julian is severely neglected as a perspective despite being such a central character). The ultimate "villains" are shallow, the potential for nuance completely disregarded.
This was an entertaining read and very well-told but the story itself was a disappointment.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Gore, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Pregnancy, and Self harm
Minor: Cursing and Drug use
A small effort is made to normalize schizophrenia, but the overall portrayal is rather extremely and likely harmful. If sensitive to such content, I'd recommend looking for own voice reviews. Sex work/prostitution is mentioned, always in reference to "deplorable" or "evil" women.
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