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taleofabibliophile's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Suicide, Terminal illness, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol
Moderate: Cursing, Gun violence, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Blood, Medical content, Car accident, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Ableism, Fatphobia, and Sexual content
bringmybooks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Thank you to Edelweiss, Flatiron Books, & Macmillan for the opportunity to read and review this book before it's publication date! This in no way affected my review, opinions are my own.
✨ 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗚 ✨ B̷O̷R̷R̷O̷W̷ B̷Y̷P̷A̷S̷S̷
So, uh, whoa. Having only read (&really enjoyed!) Rock, Paper, Scissors by this author before, I'm not really sure how Daisy Darker will fare with her die hard fans, nor can I speak to how it compares to her others.
That being said, I was here for it! I guessed the twist pretty early on, but there were enough red herrings throughout that caused me to second guess my guess, which made it more fun for me. (I'm also generally pretty terrible at guessing twists, so for me to get this one felt pretty fun ✨!) Also important to note that while I WAS right on the twist, there were a couple of things I didn't see coming and two legitimate jaw dropping moments, which, let's be real - is the reason we read thrillers.
I enjoyed the format of the book, going back and forth from a present day mystery to reliving stories from the Darker siblings' childhood, showing why they were the way they were, as well as what was giving them the motivations for their current (questionable like whoa) choices.
Ultimately I'm glad I picked this one up on a whim, and I wouldn't be shocked to find more of Alice Feeney's books on my TBR someday!
✨ 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗚 ✨ B̷O̷R̷R̷O̷W̷ B̷Y̷P̷A̷S̷S̷
So, uh, whoa. Having only read (&really enjoyed!) Rock, Paper, Scissors by this author before, I'm not really sure how Daisy Darker will fare with her die hard fans, nor can I speak to how it compares to her others.
That being said, I was here for it! I guessed the twist pretty early on, but there were enough red herrings throughout that caused me to second guess my guess, which made it more fun for me. (I'm also generally pretty terrible at guessing twists, so for me to get this one felt pretty fun ✨!) Also important to note that while I WAS right on the twist, there were a couple of things I didn't see coming and two legitimate jaw dropping moments, which, let's be real - is the reason we read thrillers.
I enjoyed the format of the book, going back and forth from a present day mystery to reliving stories from the Darker siblings' childhood, showing why they were the way they were, as well as what was giving them the motivations for their current (questionable like whoa) choices.
Ultimately I'm glad I picked this one up on a whim, and I wouldn't be shocked to find more of Alice Feeney's books on my TBR someday!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, and Car accident
librariangeorgia's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- 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
Bloody hell. I did not see that twist coming!
I absolutely loved the short chapters - I find it so much easier to stop and start a book when it has short chapters, not that I was doing that for this one. It took a few chapters for me to get into the swing of things with this book, but after that point I was completely roped in.
I will say, it is a AND THEN THERE WERE NONE copycat but then, how many other authors have used the same plot idea? This one just had a more interesting twist.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Murder
glens's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Everyone in the family has been invited to join Beatrice (Nana) Darker celebrate her upcoming 80th birthday, on October 31st. The celebration is to be held at her home on the island. There is time limited access to the island, but her family know this.
Narrated by Daisy Darker herself, she is also the first to arrive at her Nana’s house, closely followed by Frank Darker, Daisy’s father and Beatrice’s only child.
Nancy is no longer married to Daisy’s father, but she is a frequent visitor to the island, more so than Frank.
Daisy has two older sisters – Rose and Lily.
Lily has only has one daughter, Trixie.
Connor grew up around their home and as a result became part of the family.
There are lovely intricates written into the story that just gives depth to the family members, like Beatrice’s collection of 80 clocks, Nancy’s love of flowers and Trixie’s obsession with the colour pink.
For the first few chapters, I thought it was going to be a family story.
Purely by chance, I have just read 2 Alice Feeney books back-to-back. Again, I was convinced I knew the ending of this book (as I thought the last), and just sat back to enjoy her storytelling, but goodness me, I wasn’t even partially on the right path.
The story feels both familiar and unexpected. The events, both past and present gives us moments of pause, then hurtles us into the next one.
I won’t spoil the story for the Ms Feeney’s readers, but needless to say they are in for a great treat.
Alice Feeney has quite easily become one of the top 10 authors to that I will always buy/read all of their works and their back catalogues.
I would also like to thank Stephanie Racine for her wonderful narration. Her acting skills along with the storyline caught my attention from the very start of the novel.
I would like to thank #NetGalley and Macmillan UK Audio for the opportunity of reading this advanced copy of #DaisyDarker in exchange for my own honest review. This book is due for release on August 18, 2022.
Rating 5.0 / 5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism and Car accident
oceanwriter's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Alice Feeney is a master of suspense. I didn't think there would be any topping Rock, Paper, Scissors but Daisy Darker surpassed my expectations (which were high to begin with).
Speaking as someone who comes from her own brand of dysfunctional family, there was something cathartic about this story for me. It's filled with miscommunication, revenge, bitterness, justice, as well as the complicated love that comes along with a toxic family dynamic. The book is told from Daisy's perspective but we get a good glimpse of all of the characters and why they might have a motive to kill.
There's a great mix of suspense, twists, and even a little bit of creepiness. Even while I did predict each part of the ending, I couldn't have imagined it as a whole. I had plenty of suspicions, but it was a situation with so many possible suspects that I didn't want to cling to any one theory for very long.
The narrator for the audiobook did a wonderful job, putting emotion in the right places but never over the top in her delivery. Her voice was a compliment to Daisy.
Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with a free ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Speaking as someone who comes from her own brand of dysfunctional family, there was something cathartic about this story for me. It's filled with miscommunication, revenge, bitterness, justice, as well as the complicated love that comes along with a toxic family dynamic. The book is told from Daisy's perspective but we get a good glimpse of all of the characters and why they might have a motive to kill.
There's a great mix of suspense, twists, and even a little bit of creepiness. Even while I did predict each part of the ending, I couldn't have imagined it as a whole. I had plenty of suspicions, but it was a situation with so many possible suspects that I didn't want to cling to any one theory for very long.
The narrator for the audiobook did a wonderful job, putting emotion in the right places but never over the top in her delivery. Her voice was a compliment to Daisy.
Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with a free ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Blood, and Car accident
abbiewhite's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
in places can be repetitive and cringey, including stereotypical tropes when i don’t think is necessary, feels like it’s been bulked out unnecessarily, could be simpler perhaps??
can be slow at some points, ie the flashbacks, which break the pace a little and disrupt the flow i feel but are obviously relevant, the end definitely picked up pace
it was a tense and at times when i read to relax this is not what i want to read, so had to pick up another book, not that this is a bad thing at all
overall a fab read
—> i will add more to review once published
overall a fab read
—> i will add more to review once published
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Car accident, and Death of parent
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