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lucyselim's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Ableism, Blood, Death, Drug abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Gun violence, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Child death, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Infidelity, Fatphobia, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic friendship, and Medical content
dustghosts's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
+ Satisfyingly cyclical, repetitive but full of just the right twists and turns that you want to keep reading to figure out what the exact same scene and setup looks like through a different set of eyes
+ Super exciting exploration and expansion of how to use POV to invoke emotion, tell a thrilling story, and string everything together
+ A very charming cast of absolutely unbearable little bastards; feels like you gain an evolving and empathetic understanding of each character with each new day
- Some really egregious fatphobia that feels uncomfortable and gross to read, especially for a contemporary book. Not really skippable, either— while this character has other values to the narrative, fatness is treated as a debilitating moral failing reflective of character.
- So extremely British—
- Near the end, starts to feel as though things are being wrapped up too quickly, not quite as immersive as the rest of the book.
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Fatphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Suicide attempt, Violence, Animal death, Blood, Gun violence, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Suicide, and Torture
Moderate: Alcohol, Sexual violence, Alcoholism, Body horror, Addiction, Classism, and Sexual assault
Minor: Infidelity, Medical content, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexism, Rape, Vomit, Body shaming, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Fire/Fire injury
monkymarzipan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Fatphobia, Gore, Murder, Child death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism and Addiction
maddox22's review against another edition
- 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
2.5
Graphic: Blood, Body shaming, Child death, Death, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Stalking, and Torture
Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Body horror, Chronic illness, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Self harm, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault
fgmetzger's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
But it’s also extremely fatphobic. There is just zero need for that.
I have a hard time reading men, and this book was just bursting with toxic masculinity.
I finished this one pretty fast, because I had to know what would happen. But I’m just left frustrated.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Body shaming, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, and Violence
davidrb's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Points deducted for being kinda slow to start (took me a few tries before I got into it) and a weird, prolonged section of fatphobia.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body shaming, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Violence
claudiamacpherson's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I could barely keep track of all the characters, let alone the twists and turns of the plot. Everything was a red herring, but also nothing was, because there were so many details and so many awful deeds and characters up to no good. This book reminded me a bit of <i>The Guest List</i> because both books consist of a group of unbearable characters trapped in one place. Both have dark, twisting plots and new details (and crimes), both past and present, are slowly revealed as the story progresses.
I think I’ve mentioned this in other reviews, but I’ll say it again: while it’s not a bad thing to have a male author, it is a red flag for me if I can tell that the author is a man from the writing alone. This was one of those books. I mean seriously, you’re going to have your protagonist jump between eight different bodies and not one of them is going to be a woman? I can’t put my finger on it exactly, but I could also tell from the way Turton described his female characters...so yeah, that rubbed me the wrong way on occasion. There was also some fatphobia in his descriptions of Ravencourt, so if that’s a trigger for you, I’d avoid this book.
Happy ending meter (no specific spoilers, just the vibe of the ending):
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Gore, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Vomit
Minor: Abandonment, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence
readwithde'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? It's complicated
5.0
Though I didn't care much for the meta reasons for the story
As for the actual mystery, as soon as I figured one thing out, another surprised me. Though I didn't agree with all the choices of the characters, they were a consistent welcome within a constant flux of other characters.
If you loved Knives Out or the Poirot books, this book is for you.
Moderate: Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Addiction, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Drug use, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Stalking, and Suicide
plumquin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Death, Child death, Body horror, Torture, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Blood
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Self harm, Infidelity, Grief, Drug use, Drug abuse, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Addiction, and Confinement
anolissa's review
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Blood and Murder
Moderate: Addiction
Minor: Alcoholism and Suicidal thoughts