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carefulfearanddeaddevotion's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
These little assholes were sooo annoying omg. God, I get you're Shakespeare acting students but damnnn I could really have done without every other line of dialogue being a Shakespeare quote. Same goes for the author. This is my only complaint about the writing, but it's a very large complaint. And, ok, I get it "Rebecca, you picked up a book about Shakespeare students, what did you expect?" but I am still allowed to complain. And complain I will. I rolled my eyes so much I feared they would get stuck like that. Otherwise, I think the characters and their relationships had a lot of potential, but I just wished the author would go deeper. Like yea there's this homoerotic best friendship between James and Oliver , but you're telling me more than showing me. Same with Meredith and Oliver , like I didn't really buy that. And also that whole "Oliver, you're so good" thing, sure he wasn't a terrible person, but I couldn't really see what they were talking about. Like, yes, we come into this group 4 years into their friendship, so I get that there's history, but it's the author's job to convey that and it fell a bit short.
I guessed the killer immediately. Clocked that shit right away."I'm not drinking tonight" *throwing up in the bathroom 3 hours later* "yea I just drank too much" am I some sort of idiot??? James, my darling, I do hope you're still alive but c'mon. Also, fuck! how tragic. Bro, if I was Oliver and I went to jail to save my friend and then he killed himself because the guilt was too much, I'd jump off a cliff fr.
IMO, this book had a fair bit of overall unrealized potential, even though it was enjoyable.
Hm. I think I don't rate books harshly enough.
I guessed the killer immediately. Clocked that shit right away.
IMO, this book had a fair bit of overall unrealized potential, even though it was enjoyable.
Hm. I think I don't rate books harshly enough.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gore, Grief, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Murder, Death, Physical abuse, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Eating disorder and Addiction
Minor: Homophobia and Vomit
anni_o's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-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
3.5
I liked it! I am not a Shakespear Fan and I did not know beforehand that this book was so committed to the bit. I did start to wonder if there were actual real life people who spoke like this...
Anyway! Overall the story was very compelling, and towards the end I was truly glued to the page. I do enjoy a good murder mystery! I also liked the resolution, though;
I would have liked to actually know what made Richard like, freak out like that so much. I would have loved to find out what made him escalate. Can't just have been Shakespear or smth. That boy needed therapy badly. I did like that it was a tragedy through and through. You saw it coming and until the end you have a hopeful lil spark going 'I'm sure they'll all be fine'. V nicely played.
One star taken because the citations were really getting on my nerves by the end and I guess I'm really not enough of a theatre nerd for this. I did enjoy myself though.
Anyway! Overall the story was very compelling, and towards the end I was truly glued to the page. I do enjoy a good murder mystery! I also liked the resolution, though;
One star taken because the citations were really getting on my nerves by the end and I guess I'm really not enough of a theatre nerd for this. I did enjoy myself though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Physical abuse, Addiction, Toxic friendship, and Violence
Moderate: Mental illness, Self harm, Confinement, Gore, Suicide, Murder, Grief, and Vomit
A lot of Shakespear. Like a lot. Only read if you like, really love Shakespear. I'm serious.lizzym126's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Addiction, Alcohol, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Bullying, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Suicide, Murder, Toxic friendship, Violence, Emotional abuse, and Death
Moderate: Vomit, Sexual content, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail
kat_figs's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I had mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, I thought the first 100 pages were excellently plotted and paced, and I loved the complicated relationship between Oliver and James. I completely related to Oliver’s yearning and repression of his sexuality, and thought it was well-handled. On the other hand, I feel the book lacks strong characterization of Richard as well as some of the main group of friends. He came across as such a cartoon villain—I found it hard to believe that he hadn’t acted at all in this way over the 4 years, that it was such a heel turn. He felt cartoonishly evil at times, to the point where the characters’ actions seem less shocking. I also think this book falls apart in Acts 3-5 and becomes a bit messy and drawn out. I would’ve loved more focus on Oliver and James, less on the day to day minutiae of the school and the other characters.
I’ve seen this book compared to The Secret History, and it is similar structurally. But I think where The Secret History succeeds more is by latching into the moral ambiguity of the characters, the senselessness of their murder, and by keeping the tight pacing in the second half.
I also have one final thought which is that the way Meredith is described is really dehumanizing. I understand that it’s part of her character’s struggle to be constantly objectified and feel like people only value her for her looks. But I didn’t like how that was constantly reinforced by Oliver salivating over her every two pages. I couldn’t tell if it was intentional on the part of the author to show that his feelings for her weren’t deep, or to show that his real affection was with James, and I wish it had been clearer if that’s the angle she was going for.
I’ve seen this book compared to The Secret History, and it is similar structurally. But I think where The Secret History succeeds more is by latching into the moral ambiguity of the characters, the senselessness of their murder, and by keeping the tight pacing in the second half.
I also have one final thought which is that the way Meredith is described is really dehumanizing. I understand that it’s part of her character’s struggle to be constantly objectified and feel like people only value her for her looks. But I didn’t like how that was constantly reinforced by Oliver salivating over her every two pages. I couldn’t tell if it was intentional on the part of the author to show that his feelings for her weren’t deep, or to show that his real affection was with James, and I wish it had been clearer if that’s the angle she was going for.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Murder, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Physical abuse
mimpart's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
My favorite book of the year so far. Incredible suspense, fantastic characters, really amazing plot development and twists in the pacing, love the ending. I kept getting mad at myself for not finishing the story to see how it ends. A must-read for the poetic at heart, the Bard enthusiasts and the dark academics
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Addiction, Alcohol, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Murder, Blood, Cursing, Death, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Grief, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Confinement, Gore, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
koneku's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Bullying, Murder, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Addiction, Suicide, and Sexual content
Minor: Homophobia and Eating disorder
fireforferrets's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Violence
Moderate: Physical abuse and Drug abuse
Minor: Eating disorder
mausoleum's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Suicide and Physical abuse
withlivjones's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Holy hell this book destroyed me. The story had me absolutely hooked and I loved how the complex relationships between such strong and ambitious characters were written. I can’t think of many other books that have made me happy to feel so much dread and sadness while reading. Believe the hype, people.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Mental illness, and Suicide
a_libraryghost's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
So to start with, I'm not very familiar with Shakespeare. While I've heard of most of the plays mentioned in the book, I don't know the story of them and didn’t always understand the Shakespearean language, which there is a lot of. Most of it made sense though.
What I love in this book is the characters-except for Meredith-and the college. Each of the 7 main characters are unique and have some depth to them (though some more than others). I even liked Richard at first and then he became genuinely scary, I like when the presence of a character immediately makes me nervous. It is also definitely allifned with the tragedy theme, this book actually made me cry.
On the other hand it is. Too. Damn. Slow. I don't know if this is in keeping with the pace of a Shakespeare play but despite enjoying the story and wanting answers there were times I really had to push myself to keep reading. The mini subplot with his family seemed completely unnecessary and at times the story just started to feel drawn out.
I also hate Meredith. I don't know if my hatred for her is fair but she really got on my nerves. Part of me hates her cuz she kept getting in the way of Oliver and James but she was also just manipulative and i hated how enamoured Oliver was with her.
What I love in this book is the characters-except for Meredith-and the college. Each of the 7 main characters are unique and have some depth to them (though some more than others). I even liked Richard at first and then he became genuinely scary, I like when the presence of a character immediately makes me nervous. It is also definitely allifned with the tragedy theme, this book actually made me cry.
On the other hand it is. Too. Damn. Slow. I don't know if this is in keeping with the pace of a Shakespeare play but despite enjoying the story and wanting answers there were times I really had to push myself to keep reading. The mini subplot with his family seemed completely unnecessary and at times the story just started to feel drawn out.
I also hate Meredith. I don't know if my hatred for her is fair but she really got on my nerves. Part of me hates her cuz she kept getting in the way of Oliver and James but she was also just manipulative and i hated how enamoured Oliver was with her.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Murder and Eating disorder