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itsheyfay's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Graphic: Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Blood, Death, Kidnapping, Murder, Alcohol, Outing, Drug use, Sexual content, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic friendship, and Violence
Moderate: Homophobia, Abandonment, Confinement, Biphobia, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Suicide, Vomit, Racism, Torture, Religious bigotry, and Pedophilia
amris's review
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gaslighting, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Stalking, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Bullying, Excrement, Sexual content, Drug use, Gore, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Suicide, Genocide, Body horror, Cannibalism, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Cancer, Fire/Fire injury, Terminal illness, Vomit, and War
savvyrosereads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Alex is struggling in her personal and professional life when she receives a once-in-a-lifetime invitation to attend an exclusive writing retreat hosted by her favorite author...but the invitation may not be all that it seems.
This book has an exceptional premise, and the vibes (winter locked room thriller with an And Then There Were None type plot) were outstanding. I’ve heard so many good things and went into this read extremely excited—especially because it was a BOTM pick and I usually have great luck with their choices.
Unfortunately, this one ultimately fell a *little* flat for me. It wasn’t bad (as evidenced by my 3.5 stars) but I found the plot a bit too unbelievable, and felt like the ending was very out-of-character/didn’t fit with the rest of the story. I also wanted more of a twist or reveal—everything seemed pretty predictable the whole way through.
All of that said, I do want to emphasize that I’ve seen some amazing reviews of this one and you might like it a lot more than I did! And, the writing is generally good and engaging—I’ll definitely still be giving this author a future try for whatever she writes next.
Recommended if you like: locked door mysteries; women’s wrongs; books about books
CW: Kidnapping/confinement; blood/death/violence; toxic friendship/emotional abuse/gaslighting; sexual encounters involving questionable consent
Graphic: Confinement, Kidnapping, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Blood, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Gun violence, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Vomit
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Racism, Domestic abuse, Excrement, and Suicide
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Cultural appropriation, and Slavery