Reviews with content warning for Addiction - In My Dreams I Hold a Knife

Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

In My Dreams I Hold a Knife by Ashley Winstead

166 reviews

_pauline's review against another edition

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

idk what american colleges are like irl but the characters‘ obsession with sororities, popularity, college events etc seemed so exaggerated to me that I couldn’t take any of it seriously; that + all the relationship drama honestly annoyed me a little; I was waiting for the thriller part to take over but even then I felt like I was reading a romance drama with the occasional mention of murder (I know that some people love the college setting & romance subplot though - so maybe that’s just me)

I barely liked any of the characters but the author obviously wasn’t aiming for likeable characters

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noragoudie's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

When I began reading I was very enthralled with this book and the story that was being woven, but the ending and some of the choices cheapened it for me. It was well written prose wise, and entertaining (I was certainly engaged the whole way through) but I felt that some of the characters didn't make sense together, and that the punches pulled at the ending were somewhat underwhelming. I also found the main character's complexes uninteresting, and I wasn't rooting for her throughout.

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j_emerson18's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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dilani's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

what a let down. i loved the cover and title of this book, but unfortunately felt the complete opposite for everything else.

i absolutely l o a t h e d the characters. damn near no redeeming qualities for any of them. i only saw people who were immature, whiny, and way too secretive at their big age. Caroline is the only one who had some sense towards the end. and why did this whole group even bother staying friends with Court if she was a major bitch??? 😤

most of the “twists” were not twisting. they fell flat and by the end i didn’t care much about who killed Heather. in fact, i didn’t even really know who Heather was as a character because she wasn’t developed like the rest, yet i’m supposed to care about her death???

i’m giving this book two stars instead of one because of Jessica’s explanation towards the very end. i can honestly say i wasn’t expecting it.

this is also the second book i’ve read and disliked from the same author. maybe Ashley Winstead is just not for me…

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helenlivesslow's review against another edition

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challenging dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Sometimes there are characters you love to hate, in this book they were all just horrible people, except maybe for Coop.
Also feel like I was miss sold on this one being dark academia, sure they were at a university but that was merely the setting, not particularly part of the whole vibe.
Also feel like this one needs *all* the trigger warnings

Content Warnings

kirstenpod_'s review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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logsbooklog's review against another edition

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dark emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

a pretty by-the-numbers, tropey whodunnit with overwraught writing and a cast of stock characters with very few interesting inversions. despite these problems, the books pace does pick up quick from a rough beginning, and it kept my attention even as i groaned at a lot of the twists and cliches.

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