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stellabyproxy's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I was very hopeful going into this. Having come out of a reading slump I needed a book that could hold my attention and have a compelling story. One that would leave me at the edge of my seat, my breath caught and my eyes glued to the pages.
What I got was a decent book that was well written but didn’t live up to the expectations that all the reviews I’d read had built up. It was, sadly, rather dull and nothing about it made me feel like I knew the characters in any way. Sager managed to write the most tragic of character backstories while making the reader constantly feel like the Jules was just out of reach. There was barely any emotional connection built with the characters and maybe that was intentional, a way of truly depicting Jules’ trust issues. But it didn’t feel like I was observing a story unfold in real-time, but rather like I was hearing it relayed by someone who was neither there, nor knew the characters personally. Like the entire story was neighbourhood gossip.
What I got was a decent book that was well written but didn’t live up to the expectations that all the reviews I’d read had built up. It was, sadly, rather dull and nothing about it made me feel like I knew the characters in any way. Sager managed to write the most tragic of character backstories while making the reader constantly feel like the Jules was just out of reach. There was barely any emotional connection built with the characters and maybe that was intentional, a way of truly depicting Jules’ trust issues. But it didn’t feel like I was observing a story unfold in real-time, but rather like I was hearing it relayed by someone who was neither there, nor knew the characters personally. Like the entire story was neighbourhood gossip.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, and Medical trauma
Minor: Blood, Chronic illness, Infidelity, and Suicide
luminescent's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Trafficking, Medical content, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Suicide
dannybrown59's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I'm just going to put this whole review in a spoiler warning because I have a lot of feelings about it. Wow this book was insane. I was expecting it to be ghosts and then eventually I thought it was a serial killer. All those red flags in the beginning made sense when it was actually a cover for stealing peoples organs. I really thought the main character in this while loveable was just kinda dumb. I know she was desperate but there were hints from the very beginning that something was wrong with that place. The whole stealing organs thing was pretty sad honestly because I can see how people actually feeling that way towards poor or less successful people. Overall this book was good but definitely dragged a little.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Kidnapping, Medical content, and Confinement
_bookishbrina's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
book genre: mystery, thriller, possibly a bit of horror
pace: medium
rating : 3,5/5
storyline: ★★★★
characters: ★★★
character development: none but it's okay
writing: ★★★★ (very fluid and immersive)
attention to detail: ★★★
ending: ★★★★ (unrealistic but satisfying)
originality: ★★★
Will I be reading another book from this author? Probably. It was a very fun read, as dark as it was, I was instantly taken by it. I was invested. And I wanted Jules to win - that says a lot about the author's skills. The culprit was a bit obvious, but not the reasons behind the "bad actions" (trying to avoid spoilers here). A read that requires a bit of an emotional investment, but I thought it was worth it.
pace: medium
rating : 3,5/5
storyline: ★★★★
characters: ★★★
character development: none but it's okay
writing: ★★★★ (very fluid and immersive)
attention to detail: ★★★
ending: ★★★★ (unrealistic but satisfying)
originality: ★★★
Will I be reading another book from this author? Probably. It was a very fun read, as dark as it was, I was instantly taken by it. I was invested. And I wanted Jules to win - that says a lot about the author's skills. The culprit was a bit obvious, but not the reasons behind the "bad actions" (trying to avoid spoilers here). A read that requires a bit of an emotional investment, but I thought it was worth it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Murder, and Trafficking
peppers_books's review
4.5
i'm surprised by how much i enjoyed this!! for me, sager's two previous works were okay (2.5 - 3.5 stars) but not great. they were engaging thrillers but i often found the characters irritating which made it more difficult to enjoy. i feel that he has greatly improved with this novel! not only did the characters have more depth but i also found the prose/writing style to feel more ... complete?? idk how to explain,, but everything seemed to flow more seamlessly.
one of the biggest changes, to me, was how much more depth the overall story/characters had. there was discussion about class, grief, and love that made the story more nuanced and raised the stakes in a way. not only did this include the grief revolving around the death of a loved one, but also having someone you love go missing. overall i think these topics were handled with care.
my enjoyment of the story and the overall feeling of improvement makes this close to a five star read for me!
**some content warnings could be considered as spoilers as an fyi**
one of the biggest changes, to me, was how much more depth the overall story/characters had. there was discussion about class, grief, and love that made the story more nuanced and raised the stakes in a way. not only did this include the grief revolving around the death of a loved one, but also having someone you love go missing. overall i think these topics were handled with care.
my enjoyment of the story and the overall feeling of improvement makes this close to a five star read for me!
**some content warnings could be considered as spoilers as an fyi**
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Suicide, and Terminal illness
lorie336's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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
4.0
I did enjoy this book, but it took a little bit to get going, I almost DNFed it. I do like a slow build, but this took forever and why it took me so long to read. It eventually picked up and I was in the grips of the story wondering what's next or what is this secret history of this building? It was an interesting tale once the secret history of the building was revealed, but this book had no real twist ending like the first two published by this author, which is fine, he did something different, he left me with questions instead.
I do love that there's always two perspectives in his books. I did enjoy that this concept could and might possibly be real or based loosely on that old urban legend.
I do love that there's always two perspectives in his books. I did enjoy that this concept could and might possibly be real or based loosely on that old urban legend.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, and Medical content
Minor: Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, and Trafficking
kathkas's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Cancer, Confinement, Death, Grief, Infertility, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Stalking, Terminal illness, Trafficking, and Violence
Minor: Body horror, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
maddybbooks's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Abandonment, Blood, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Violence, Suicide, Murder, Medical trauma, Kidnapping, and Fire/Fire injury
oraygano's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
twists are easy to predict, but the overall story structure is interesting
Content Warnings
Minor: Self harm and Kidnapping
leahlovesloslibros's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This book was "unputdownable". The story kept me interested the whole time; I flew through it in less than 48 hours. There was one major plot point/character who I figured out as soon as we met them, but that didn't stop me from enjoying seeing how things played out with the story. This has been my favorite of Sager's books so far!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Kidnapping
Minor: Addiction, Cancer, and Drug use