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nikki_dun's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Oh gosh, where do I start with this book? My feelings are very conflicted, but allow me to start at the beginning. For some context, I listened to the audiobook, and TBH, I would only recommend reading this book if you were going to listen to the audiobook.
TL;DR: Great premise, not-so-great execution. Listen to the audiobook if you must read this story...
From the start, I was very impressed with the audiobook. The podcast format is super cool, and a few times, I momentarily forgot I was reading a book and wasn't listening to an actual podcast. The voice actors are so good, and the number of actors cast in this audiobook is impressive.
The first 10% had some excellent social commentary; it touched on the toxic true crime community, parasocial relationships, and weird fandom behaviour. I liked that the book tried to show the exploitative nature of true crime media. I was once an avid consumer of true crime podcasts, shows, books, etc. You name it, I was consuming it. But during the pandemic, when I started struggling with my mental health, I had to take a step back from consuming true crime media for my mental well-being. A little while later, I began to hear more and more about the negative side of the true crime community. These true crime shows and influencers had been exploiting the victims' stories and the victims' families' pain for money and clout for years. I hoped this book would dive into the true crime community's toxicity because it needs to be addressed.
I was fascinated by Violet's story, her character, her disappearance, and all the creepy coincidences were exciting. It was all so mysterious, and at this point, I couldn't remember what the genre tags of this book were, which I was kind of glad about because I had no idea whether I should believe this was a thriller/mystery story, a paranormal story, or just lit-fic. I had no idea what to expect, which definitely added to the intrigue (and oh boy, I can tell you I was not expecting the actual "conclusion" to Violet's disappearance).
We also got to know Sasha more, and TBH, even after her excellent scathing email to Cameron taking shots at the true crime podcast community at the beginning of the book, my patience for her evaporated very quickly. Her outlook on therapy was not a vibe… Therapy actually works, but Sasha acted like a pick-me girl, saying that therapy wouldn't work for her because she's special or something. She also told her new therapist that she thought people who go to therapy are "clueless" and "self-absorbed." Like, give me a break Sasha! And when she noticed her therapist's "sensible" shoes, Sasha thought to herself, "I don't trust women who wear trendy uncomfortable shoes." My eyes rolled so far back into my head that I swear I could see my brain going up in smoke from the sound of her bullshit.
By around the 30% mark, I was getting bored and needed something interesting to happen. There'd been a lot of exposition into the past, which was cool, but I was growing tired of it; something needed to happen in the present. And then it happened! There was a potential Violet sighting, and I was instantly excited to keep reading the book. So many different theories were going around in my mind, and the strange occurrences happening to Sasha kept me questioning things. Was she going crazy, or was something more happening?
Things were going well, but once I reached the 60% mark, things started going downhill fast... The book was getting really weird and only got more bizarre as it went on. We were introduced to the characters Antoinette and Checkmate, who brought in some wild theories. From multiple dimensions to MK Ultra and government conspiracies, I was not expecting any of this when I went into this book, and those types of topics aren't my cup of tea, so I was very disappointed.
And when I finally finished the book, I was still disappointed... The second half of this book was so weird, and there were a lot of red herrings. Nothing about the multiple dimension stuff made sense to me, nor did I think it was explained enough. The ending was rushed, and things felt unfinished and many questions still needed to be answered. When Violet finally did show up at the end, the reason why she left was sort of explained but not in a satisfying way; I needed more info. The ending definitely could have been better. It was like eating cotton candy; it's sweet but has no substance.
The characters also weren't that likeable. Sasha was an annoying martyr, and Violet was selfish and cruel at times. Quinn also rubbed me the wrong way; she was too nosey, and it annoyed me. Kids aren't entitled to all of their parent's secrets. I would never pry into my parents' secrets like Quinn did to her mom, just out of respect for my parents as my elders. They're your parent, not your friend. But, I don't know, maybe it's different in white American families? I did like Gabriel, though. He was supportive and loyal to his family, even though I didn't appreciate how he used Violet's image/look for the salon when he knew it would trigger Sasha. However, I do get that you sometimes have to do uncomfortable things for the financial well-being of your family.
Overall, there were some good moments in this book, and the author had a really cool premise, but there were also so many times when the book fell short. The ending was so unsatisfying that it dulled all the good moments from the book's first half.
After much thought, I decided to give this book 3 stars. Without the excellent audiobook with the cast of exceptional narrators and different sound effects, it probably would have been a 2-star book at most.
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual harassment, Blood, and Death of parent
talypollywaly's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
3.2 rounded up.
I took a chance on this book even with the mediocre reviews. Unfortunately, the reviews were right. I can't say a lot without spoiling. But if you don't care about that: the ridiculous explanation for Violets powers felt like cheating after the author spent all this time trying to convince the audience that Violet was a hardworker who earned her spot at the top. Being born with supernatural gifts hardly constitutes grounds for becoming a "glass ceiling shatterer." It just felt plain dumb to explain everything as being supernatural. The "government source" reveal was also ridiculously dumb and veered into wanna-be Stranger Things territory. Most of the rating is for the amazing audiobook production.
I took a chance on this book even with the mediocre reviews. Unfortunately, the reviews were right. I can't say a lot without spoiling.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Child abuse
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