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emory's review
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Suicide, Child death, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Murder, Misogyny, and Car accident
Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Domestic abuse and Mass/school shootings
braxtond08's review
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Blood, Suicide, Animal cruelty, Car accident, Gun violence, Grief, Addiction, Murder, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Stalking
Minor: Infertility
zosiablue's review
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Parts of this were so clever and fascinating and I tore through it. The author played with tricky perspectives in a way that gave the whole thing a dreamy feel and it had a ton of heart.
It was odd at first - the plot revolves around a caricatured red-pilled neckbeard type who goes after a reader who gave his published book one star.
But some of the complaints the fictional reader had were complaints I had about the real author's previous books, namely about writing women badly and exploitive violence. So at first, I was like đŹ WHOOPS IS THIS GUY GONNA COME KILL ME?! (The author's note assures us all he won't.)
But because of this, it was difficult to tell if he was satirizing his own criticism or not seeing himself in it.
REGARDLESS, it was imperfect but action-packed and tightly plotted with about five (well done) false endings and I had a great time. And oh yeah: the dog is OK!
It was odd at first - the plot revolves around a caricatured red-pilled neckbeard type who goes after a reader who gave his published book one star.
But some of the complaints the fictional reader had were complaints I had about the real author's previous books, namely about writing women badly and exploitive violence. So at first, I was like đŹ WHOOPS IS THIS GUY GONNA COME KILL ME?! (The author's note assures us all he won't.)
But because of this, it was difficult to tell if he was satirizing his own criticism or not seeing himself in it.
REGARDLESS, it was imperfect but action-packed and tightly plotted with about five (well done) false endings and I had a great time. And oh yeah: the dog is OK!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Grief, Murder, Infertility, Stalking, Car accident, and Child death
rafiniert's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Body horror, Vomit, Gore, Gun violence, Blood, Murder, Torture, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Infertility, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Child death and Sexism
Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Grief, and Mass/school shootings
alexisgarcia's review
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
i am so disappointed by this⌠and before i explain why, the irony of writing a negative review on a book thats plot centers around an author hunting down a reader for leaving a bad review, is not lost on me.
i absolutely loved No Exit by this author so i thought this had to be good. i think the premise is super interesting and different, but it fell short. while this was definitely tense and action-packed, it was almost too much. there was an absurd amount of twists and turns that werenât executed well. it felt like the authors gun ran out of bullets so they just started throwing rocks. these twists were predictable while also feeling so unnecessary and overdone. also the ending??? what kind of hallmark/lifetime movie did this turn into at the end?
*slight spoiler****
also, if youâre an author and youâre writing a mystery or thriller and it is based around one of the main âvillainsâ having a mental illness, just donât???? this heavily perpetuates mental health stereotypes and stigmas, which simply arenât true. this is so played out and just downright harmful and inaccurate.
i absolutely loved No Exit by this author so i thought this had to be good. i think the premise is super interesting and different, but it fell short. while this was definitely tense and action-packed, it was almost too much. there was an absurd amount of twists and turns that werenât executed well. it felt like the authors gun ran out of bullets so they just started throwing rocks. these twists were predictable while also feeling so unnecessary and overdone. also the ending??? what kind of hallmark/lifetime movie did this turn into at the end?
*slight spoiler****
also, if youâre an author and youâre writing a mystery or thriller and it is based around one of the main âvillainsâ having a mental illness, just donât???? this heavily perpetuates mental health stereotypes and stigmas, which simply arenât true. this is so played out and just downright harmful and inaccurate.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Murder, Alcoholism, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Blood, Child death, Grief, Miscarriage, Infertility, Misogyny, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Mental illness, Sexism, and Suicidal thoughts
savvyrosereads's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Rating: 4/5 stars
Emma gets more than she expects when she leaves a one-star review of a bookâŚonly to begin being stalked by the author.
Thus concludes my mini Taylor Adams marathon! This was probably the one I was most excited to get to because the premise sounded so interesting, and it ended up being the scariest of the bunchâseriously, Iâm not even sure why, but it freaked me out SO much I had to only read during the daytime.
That said, I did find most of the twists predictable and felt like, while this one was engaging, it moved along more slowly than the previous Adams books I read. I definitely wouldnât say I disliked this one (seriously, I wouldnât, and neither would you if you read what an angry author might do!) (kidding, I think) but it was not my favorite either.
Overall, though, I had a good time and Iâm glad I read this. Itâs a pretty solid thriller with some creative moments, and a great choice if youâre not ready to let go of spooky season just yet!
Recommended to anyone, but especially if you like: isolated settings; grief recovery mixed with thrillers; books about books
CW: Suicide; death/murder; child death; animal harm; gore/blood/violence/gun violence; infertility
Emma gets more than she expects when she leaves a one-star review of a bookâŚonly to begin being stalked by the author.
Thus concludes my mini Taylor Adams marathon! This was probably the one I was most excited to get to because the premise sounded so interesting, and it ended up being the scariest of the bunchâseriously, Iâm not even sure why, but it freaked me out SO much I had to only read during the daytime.
That said, I did find most of the twists predictable and felt like, while this one was engaging, it moved along more slowly than the previous Adams books I read. I definitely wouldnât say I disliked this one (seriously, I wouldnât, and neither would you if you read what an angry author might do!) (kidding, I think) but it was not my favorite either.
Overall, though, I had a good time and Iâm glad I read this. Itâs a pretty solid thriller with some creative moments, and a great choice if youâre not ready to let go of spooky season just yet!
Recommended to anyone, but especially if you like: isolated settings; grief recovery mixed with thrillers; books about books
CW: Suicide; death/murder; child death; animal harm; gore/blood/violence/gun violence; infertility
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Gun violence, Animal cruelty, Gore, Stalking, Child death, Death, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Infertility, Murder, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
likeagilmoregirl's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
The concept of this book: an author becomes so infuriated by a one star review that he tracks down the review to murder her, sounded too fun to pass up. And thankfully, I enjoyed this book a lot.
The first 50% of this book was incredible. I was thoroughly creeped out and was having a great time coming up with theories about what the twists would be. And even when many of my theories were proven right, they were done in such a way that left me invested in the story and frequently wanting to throw my e-reader across the room.
The weak points for me were after the halfway mark. While the book was engaging all the way through, it sometimes became frustrating to see what was happening way before some of the characters did. The main twist involving the heroineâs past also made it difficult to sympathize with her the way I would have like to as a reader. And there was also a very very brief, seemingly last-minute decision to include an explanation/excuse of mental illness concerning the killer that left a bad taste in my mouth. These things brought this down from a 4 to a 3.5 for me.
Overall, I enjoyed this book a lot. I couldnât put it down and I was a little sad when it was over. Love the premise, mostly love the story. Going to sleep with my lights on now!
The first 50% of this book was incredible. I was thoroughly creeped out and was having a great time coming up with theories about what the twists would be. And even when many of my theories were proven right, they were done in such a way that left me invested in the story and frequently wanting to throw my e-reader across the room.
The weak points for me were after the halfway mark. While the book was engaging all the way through, it sometimes became frustrating to see what was happening way before some of the characters did. The main twist involving the heroineâs past also made it difficult to sympathize with her the way I would have like to as a reader. And there was also a very very brief, seemingly last-minute decision to include an explanation/excuse of mental illness concerning the killer that left a bad taste in my mouth. These things brought this down from a 4 to a 3.5 for me.
Overall, I enjoyed this book a lot. I couldnât put it down and I was a little sad when it was over. Love the premise, mostly love the story. Going to sleep with my lights on now!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Stalking, Gun violence, Murder, Suicide attempt, Animal cruelty, Blood, Car accident, Child death, Death, Grief, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Cursing, Addiction, and Mass/school shootings
Minor: Mental illness and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
kat_rowlen's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- 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
The twists just kept coming and coming. The ending was a little drawn out. Taylor Adams artfully included several thriller tropes without making them into cliches.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Gun violence, Dementia, Body horror, Alcoholism, Blood, Child death, Grief, Murder, and Suicidal thoughts
lauren_shilling's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This book was incredible! It was exactly what I was looking for in a thriller when I picked it up, and it has definitely put me in the mood to read more thrillers! It was so creepy and there are a lot of aspects of it that are genuinely horrifying! I do want to say about the dog in the story (and this is a bit of a spoiler, but for readers like me it was important to know before getting too deep into this book) the dog does not die in!! Though she is in direct danger at multiple points, she never dies and never sustains lasting injuries . This book was so fast paced, it was practically just non stop action! I have very little complaints and I am very excited to have found another thriller that I love so much! I've been having some trouble finding some recently, and I am so glad that i found this one! I loved following Emma as a character! She was absolutely incredible, and the strength and resilience that she showed throughout the story was nothing short of admirable. I loved her so much, and she was the perfect character for this story! The only reason I did not give this the full five stars was because of the ending. I did love the ending, but something about it felt a little off to me. I guess I kind of wished we had cleared that part of the story and gotten that particular plot twist earlier, because it kind of comes after most of the action and main plot has already taken place. I don't know why, because usually that kind of thing really works for me where there's one last surprise when you think it's all over, but for some reason it felt a bit over the top in this book. That being said, I loved the twist itself and I loved how it ended up unraveling, and in the long run, it made sense that it came at that point in the story, so I can't fault it that much. Check content warnings too because this book was a bit heavier than I expected! I felt as if the topics were all handled super well, and they made sense for the story, but check to make sure none of the topics in the book are triggering for you!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Gun violence, Blood, Child death, Death, Grief, and Violence
Moderate: Car accident, Gore, and Infertility
Minor: Stalking and Domestic abuse
bookswithvicky's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
Entertaining. Is like to watch a Sunday thriller movie.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
Moderate: Grief