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christine_d's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
this is a quick, snappy read with an engaging writing style that is easy to read. i zipped through it in one night and it really gripped me. the horror elements, shall we say, really had me tense. i particularly liked the concept of these “airheaded” dating reality show contestants behind the scenes, and the conversations that both they and the producers/filmmakers had on the side too.
the negatives:
for me, this book missed in a couple of key ways. for one, it does feel quite short to read, and over the course of the book, i don’t have any true feeling of any of the characters developing in any material sense, or finding a satisfying plot resolution. i was interested in all of the main characters - both the contestants, producers, and jeremy - and wanted to better understand their motivations, but they fall a bit flat.
i wish that there was a bit more development of the characters - i would have liked to see how the spat between casey and matt played out. i originally thought the book would end with renee and one of the contestants falling in love and running away to the palm springs resort.
i also would have really liked to see the aftermath of amanda and renee’s kiss. that felt like such a promising moment, especially with jeremy attacking renee about it afterwards. then the horror of renee finding amanda’s body diverts the plot back to sasquatch.
and in some of the final scenes, i was baffled by renee not just refusing to attack sasquatch, but directing sasquatch to kill jeremy? i know she thought he was a stupid fuck (and he was), but he died gruesomely and she did not react at all.
final thoughts:
it’s a quick, “fun”, gripping read about The Bachelor if it was even sleazier, but there were a lot of unresolved plot points that left me a bit baffled and wrong-footed by the end. the final leg of the book is frankly a bit bizarre. while i do like the concept of
Graphic: Violence and Body horror
Minor: Racism and Homophobia
grunbean's review
- 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
5.0
From the reviews I read I was expecting this to be pulpy. I can see that, but is this is pulp then it’s the best pulp I’ve ever read. I want more of this, which is my only complaint.
I don’t feel like I can describe my experience without spoilers. It might not be the weirdest out there, but it will take you for a wild ride. And, for me, the gore is VISCERAL.
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Animal cruelty, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Lesbophobia, Abortion, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Biphobia, and Homophobia
cmboyke's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Cancer, Classism, Religious bigotry, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Bullying, Colonisation, Sexism, Violence, Gore, Homophobia, Medical content, Misogyny, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Lesbophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Gun violence, Sexual harassment, Death, Car accident, Murder, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Self harm, Ableism, Drug use, Kidnapping, Abortion, Biphobia, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Racism, Stalking, and Toxic friendship
averyt121's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
4.0
Graphic: Racism, Murder, Violence, Body horror, Death, Religious bigotry, Homophobia, and Blood
eliya's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
It took me about a month to read this pretty short book lol. 13 hours of reading time.
Loved the “weird” nature of the book, combining two loved genres, the snide remarks the characters make about each other. There are some good quotes from this book that I’ll be listing below. I don’t think you’re supposed to like any character and I definitely didn’t lol. Loved the physical descriptions the author used to describe feelings.
Did not love the writing style. The author focused a lot on scene dressing and filled most of the book with painful, needless details and empty attempts to develop internal dialogue between the different characters.
In the author’s note, the author talks about how it took courage to write this “weird” book, but it truly was not weird enough.
I had a lot of hopes for this book, but all in all, it was: boring, boring, cringy and unbelievable, funny, boring, until 80% through, then it was really exciting!! Where was that the whole rest of the book?
Favorite quotes out of context -
“For Alexa, the knife in my heart”
“But that was the point, wasn’t it? To be reminded.”
“Some pretzel bags are prettier than others…”
"But she's trying to stop searching for herself in the eyes of others"
"Standing over her like a gangly teenager about to ask his mom for lunch money"
"He tasted minty and yet somehow still disgusting, like Altoids that had been scraped off of the floor of the car."
"She imagines what it would be like to have a brain unburdened by intelligence--and then Vanessa's..."
"Casey didn't finish; she wasn't expecting to"
"It seems like the sort of place where you could actually just live life, instead of researching the best way to live your life on the internet."
"Nothing but silence and sky. It feels like the end of the world."
"...barely notice it at first, is a fresh human head, detached from a body that is nowhere to be found. Her hair tied in a ponytail, her expression frozen in shock, a layer of blood caking on pale skin. 'Hi, Amanda,' Renee says, looking down at the head. Amanda doesn't speak back, because she's a disembodied head. Alas, poor Amanda."
Indefatigable - Persisting tirelessly.
Eponymous -
- (of a person) giving their name to something.
- "the eponymous hero of the novel"
- (of a thing) named after a particular person.
- "Roseanne's eponymous hit TV series"
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Blood, Death, Violence, Murder, and Gore
Moderate: Alcoholism, Religious bigotry, Gun violence, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Terminal illness, Homophobia, Cancer, and Abortion
Minor: Racism, Fatphobia, and Grief
_p0ssum_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Murder and Gore
Minor: Abortion, Racism, and Homophobia
e11en's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Violence and Gore
Moderate: Homophobia
ncindc's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Car accident, Cursing, Homophobia, Death, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Alcoholism, Lesbophobia, Abortion, Racism, Murder, Gun violence, Violence, and Blood
amonkman's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Gore, Body horror, Car accident, Violence, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death, Religious bigotry, Body shaming, Homophobia, Alcoholism, Vomit, Cancer, Addiction, Alcohol, and Suicidal thoughts
abaighritz's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Alcoholism and Murder
Moderate: Homophobia