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violetvulptex's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Confinement and Sexual content
Moderate: Death, Blood, Drug use, Alcohol, Murder, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Torture, Toxic friendship, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Misogyny, Antisemitism, Child death, Death of parent, Grief, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Sexism, Transphobia, Bullying, Child abuse, Cultural appropriation, Racism, Religious bigotry, Domestic abuse, Excrement, and Gore
araowl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Death, and Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical trauma, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Vomit, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Racism, Gun violence, Outing, Gaslighting, Excrement, Misogyny, Mental illness, and Child abuse
blackcatkai's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
this was pretty good, especially for a debut, in my opinion. not a huge fan of how some mental illness was handled, especially the use of words like 'psycho' and such, but this was definitely entertaining. a couple twists, one of which I definitely saw coming, complicated characters, weird relationships, drama, and just kept my attention the entire time. I feel the pace was good, and it was well put together. I'd definitely read more from Bartz in the future.
Graphic: Alcohol, Toxic friendship, Confinement, Body horror, Murder, Blood, Gore, Death, Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Violence, and Gun violence
Moderate: Racism, Ableism, Sexism, and Grief
kris386's review
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Blood, Sexual content, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Toxic friendship, Violence, Vomit, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Excrement, and Sexual assault
Minor: Child abuse, Antisemitism, Misogyny, and Sexism
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
thecriticalreader's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Graphic: Murder, Torture, Gun violence, Toxic friendship, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Sexual content, Cursing, Blood, Vomit, Panic attacks/disorders, Gaslighting, Bullying, Sexual assault, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Slavery, Abandonment, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Sexism, Racism, Cultural appropriation, and Confinement