Reviews with content warning for Death - The Centre

I was really excited by this read, but it was honestly disappointing. Very well written by all means, but it fell flat, often lacked stakes, and overall just didn't give me the scare I was hoping for. Definitely an interesting story, just a bit meh.

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crgrace's review

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challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-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? It's complicated

4.5

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raisinreads's review

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.0

I genuinely don't know how this isn't rated way higher. I can't wait to read more of her work. The plot was incredible, and I enjoyed the writing style and the commentary immensely. Everything about this was so interesting. I did want more from the ending and I do think some of the content could've have definitely used a sensitivity reader.

I think the critiques of the main character in some reviews lack an understanding of what a character has to be.. like characters do not have to be perfect ppl that always do what you want? They can exist to serve a stories purpose, further add to the commentary and idk have flaws like ppl do

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sangsmiles's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious medium-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? Yes

4.0

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brooketreads's review against another edition

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dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.0

Cozy horror?

I am so conflicted on my overall feelings on this book. I really like the concept, but the reason for learning a new language felt so low stakes and uninteresting. The idea of the Centre though I loved, but I needed more. We got so much more of time not spent at the Centre. There was a surprising revelation that made me scream (around 76%). The pacing felt really off though. Some things feeling slow and then others feeling rushed. All the Adam stuff felt very irrelevant, other than the fact that he told our MC Anisa about the Centre. The characters felt underdeveloped. I needed more getting to know Anisa, her job, likes, dislikes. I didn’t like that Anisa seemed and implied having feelings for Sheva (spelling? listened on audio) but then made out with Sheva’s dad. It just felt icky to me. I did like the ending. It wasn’t a traditional ending. It felt like there should have been more or there can be more in the future, but there doesn’t have to be.

This story touched on some very important topics of race, racism, privilege, consent, misogyny, and familial and gender expectations. Although I will say, I felt at times some of these topics were discussed in a way that may be seen as insensitive.

Content Warnings: withholding of information not allowing for informed consent, topic of sex, discussion of explicit sexual acts, cannibalism, and death.

Content Warnings