Reviews tagging 'Car accident'

My Dearest Darkest by Kayla Cottingham

26 reviews

kaiiyo's review against another edition

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dark lighthearted mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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cobwebshelves's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

"<...>how easily they walk into a trap, a voice whispered softly in her mind. humans are but animals, i suppose. and all animals can be lured with the right bait."

so you've just died and come back to life, got into your dream academy, and during your first week you do wandering in the tunnels under the campus, only to encounter a strange being who promises to bring you gifs out of the kindness of her heart. perhaps with a small payment attached. what could possibly go wrong?

i had a lot of fun with this one! in "my dearest darkest", cottingham has brought solid eeriness to their private school setting, doing a pretty solid job balancing the supernatural and the mundane. finch and selena's POVs are both distinct, painting a clear contrast and helping build up the relationship. both the bisexual and lesbian rep was lovely – having one character who's out and comfortable and another who's just starting to figure things out made for a good contrast, and i also commend cottingham for speaking about how traumatic being outed can be. i'm not a big horror reader, so this had just the right amount of that for me. there were some rather gory moments that made me a little queasy but someone who's more used to the genre probably wouldn't find to be that much.

the only real downside was the pacing and how it affected the character development. certain scenes felt fast-forwarded, making the timeline seem disorienting. i had thought several months had passed at one point, only for the story to drop a halloween mention. this led to conversations and relationship building being skipped over with short paragraphs of "for the next week, finch did this" or "the following two weeks, selena did that". the cult storyline felt lost in the time skips too and i felt like victor was underutilised for the storytelling. i certainly expected him to play a bigger role in the final act.

despite it, i found myself immersed in "my dearest darkest" and kind of wishing i had a story like this when i was 18-19 and hungry for spooky academia.

initially received this book as an arc from netgalley and sourcebooks fire.
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brandon_the_beldam2993's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional inspiring fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The beats of this book feel very familiar to most supernatural books in the YA genre, but the characters are well rounded and likable enough and the writing is very fast paced to where it never drags. 
With a flavor of Stranger things meets Dark Academia, My Dearest Darkest is for anyone looking for a solid read on a lazy afternoon. 
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czoltak's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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imandubose's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

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amethyst15's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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carsonbailey's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This book was so good!! I read it in one sitting and am obsessed with the vibes. The characters where dynamic and vibrant and the plot was well done. The pacing of the book was great and I just overall loved the style and aesthetic of the book. I highly recommend to people who love horror, dark academia, and a diverse cast of characters. 
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kolanya's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

it’s a pretty good book—i found myself invested in the plot and what was going to happen next. i wasn’t super attached to all of the characters, but i cared about enough that it wasn’t a chore to get through or anything. there are lots of modern-day pop culture references, which are often a hit or miss in general. the writing style could use some polishing and the main character was a little plain, nothing special, but i did enjoy the wlw rep :)
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marleywrites's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This book was so gross. I loved it. It’s nasty parts were disgusting and I could picture the visuals so clearly. It was awesome. 

I was rooting for Finch and Selena from their very first meeting. I loved the supporting characters of Sumera, Simon, Amber, and Risa. 

Kyra was the perfect villain and pawn for Nerosi.


The spookiest part for me was when Simon and Selena saw the Echo of Margo. For some reason that really freaked me out. But in the best way. 

Overall I liked the writing style and humor of the book. I liked the characters. 

I wish Sumera could have been seen as more multi-dimensional rather than always being upset with Finch or Selena. I also wish we had slightly more build up towards the beginning of the story.
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l_e_lavalle's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.25

Would recommend! It's a perfect rainy day read as well as a single day read.  I couldn't put it down from start to finish.
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