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annamariesreads's review
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Wow... I wouldn't usually bother with a review on a book I hated but I couldn't believe how much I hated this novel.
Every character lacked believability, mostly because they were horrendously one note. Characters don't have to be likeable (I actually love to hate characters) but they do need to compel you into following their story.
The writing is heavy handed. I don't need the narrator to tell me when something is ironic!
Also the fatphobia and body image comments really drove me up the wall.
The beauty of interpretation is that you could possibly chalk this down to the anti-heroine (if you can call such a flat character this) being repulsive. But it shouldn't feel like the reader is being hit over the head with a mallet.
I did actually have a chuckle at some astute observations of British people, so this gained the book one star. However, these observations were not just comments, they went on way too long (sometimes for paragraphs) and we would lose the plot a bit. They would go from a funny gag to another snide comment real quick.
I hesitated from dnfing because I wanted to see if there would be a raison d'être for this novel. It all seemed rather pointless.It was clear she wouldn't stay in prison for long on such tenuous charges. and somehow the ending was even worse. I did read Bella Mackie's interview where she justified the ending by saying (paraphrasing here) that women get shit on by men all the time and therefore it was the appropriate ending. This made me laugh because this comment is just as heavy handed as the clunky writing I had just witnessed.
I wouldn't waste your time with this one. This will be the last time I read a "most popular" listed book.
Every character lacked believability, mostly because they were horrendously one note. Characters don't have to be likeable (I actually love to hate characters) but they do need to compel you into following their story.
The writing is heavy handed. I don't need the narrator to tell me when something is ironic!
Also the fatphobia and body image comments really drove me up the wall.
The beauty of interpretation is that you could possibly chalk this down to the anti-heroine (if you can call such a flat character this) being repulsive. But it shouldn't feel like the reader is being hit over the head with a mallet.
I did actually have a chuckle at some astute observations of British people, so this gained the book one star. However, these observations were not just comments, they went on way too long (sometimes for paragraphs) and we would lose the plot a bit. They would go from a funny gag to another snide comment real quick.
I hesitated from dnfing because I wanted to see if there would be a raison d'être for this novel. It all seemed rather pointless.
I wouldn't waste your time with this one. This will be the last time I read a "most popular" listed book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Murder, Body horror, Death of parent, and Fatphobia
danni_spanni's review
dark
funny
tense
fast-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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Classism, Violence, and Fatphobia
junglejelly's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
The beginning and end of the book are great but I found the middle to be formulaic with the same structure this is how I killed X member of the family . I enjoyed the start and finale immensely with the writing being so captivating and entertaining.
The ending is definitely a satisfying one and one I will remember for a while.
The ending is definitely a satisfying one and one I will remember for a while.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Blood, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Terminal illness
Minor: Sexism, Fatphobia, Bullying, Drug use, and Infidelity
atomicbritt's review against another edition
challenging
dark
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? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Murder, Torture, Violence, Body shaming, Classism, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Misogyny, and Toxic relationship
introverted_reads's review
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Infidelity, Homophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Fatphobia, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Murder, Death, Cursing, Car accident, Cancer, Body shaming, Abandonment, Death of parent, Violence, Terminal illness, Stalking, Misogyny, Mental illness, Classism, and Child death
builtoutofbooks's review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-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
2.25
If I hadn’t been listening to the audio book I doubt I would’ve finished this. I found Grace incredibly annoying and narcissistic, bordering on sociopathic. The book was branded as funny but I couldn’t find any humour in it, it was mostly cruel jibes towards fat people and those with eating disorders. Heavy content warning for fatphobia and body shaming. I don’t usually pick up popular contemporary novels but it was May’s choice for book club.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Abandonment, Alcohol, Classism, Eating disorder, Body shaming, Fatphobia, and Car accident
Minor: Grief
m4rtt4's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
The premise was very promising, and I was quite hooked on the story despite it not being as funny as it was said to be. Yes, it was funny at times, but oftentimes the 'humour' relied on (internalized) misogyny and/or fatphobia and/or belittling mental health issues and eating disorders — this is also why I found the book's feminist takes to be quite hypocritical. I hated Grace as a character, she was so insufferable, annoying, petty and too bitter over the smallest of things, but I stuck up with her because — well — you can't quite love a serial killer anyways. I liked the ending, it was justified and fit perfectly with my dislike on Grace, though I also must say that such a plot twist should have been foreshadowed better. A murder mystery is no fun if it doesn't make you feel dumb for not realising the answer earlier; it shouldn't come so out of the blue (as in this case) that it feels literally impossible.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Confinement, Grief, Murder, Death of parent, and Stalking
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Car accident
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Eating disorder, Misogyny, Violence, Fatphobia, Terminal illness, Domestic abuse, and Mental illness
bunv's review
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Easily the worst book I've read this year. With a main character that is equal parts dull and entirely unlikeable, there's just no reason to stay engaged when the entire book is written in her perspective. I bought this book because the premise seemed promising but the amount of unnecessary self-righteous rants about how much Grace hates everything and everyone got unbearable pretty much immediately. After I had to endure 50 pages about frogs I was about ready to tap out, had I not invested a significant amount of energy into getting to this point. The poor excuse for a twist towards the end was only a small light at the end of the unbearably long tunnel.
Bonus mention for the 2 times I had to read the words "my sex" followed up by an observation about how much our main character hates other women despite calling herself a feminist.
Bonus mention for the 2 times I had to read the words "my sex" followed up by an observation about how much our main character hates other women despite calling herself a feminist.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Drug use, Death of parent, Alcohol, Vomit, Suicide, Stalking, Classism, Addiction, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Car accident, Misogyny, Homophobia, and Fatphobia
Minor: Cancer, Body shaming, Ableism, and Biphobia
annaliubych's review
dark
funny
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death of parent, Sexual content, Stalking, Fatphobia, and Death
leoniekross's review
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
If I was being generous, I would describe this book as unintentionally funny. And that is unfortunately the only thing it has going for it.
We follow Grace, the protagonist, as she narrates how she successfully killed several members of her family over the course of, I would say, about a year or two but was imprisoned for a murder she claims she did not commit.
The plot, while based on an exciting premise reminiscent of the tv series Revenge (if you haven't seen it, I can recommend it far more than this book), was sorely lacking in consistency in tension-building as well as planning and follow-through of the murders. The non-chronological storytelling definitely didn't do it any favours either.
From an editing perspective, I found the present-day prison chapters added nothing to the story and should have been omitted entirely. Would have been the same story but snappier if we had followed along as the crimes unfolded. That would even have given the chance for some insight into impulsive feelings and frantic thoughts that could have humanized the protagonist/narrator a lot.
Instead we got detached, brain-rottingly sarcastic misanthropy and fatphobic pick-me girl behaviour. After 200 pages she still keeps it up; we get it, you like nothing and nobody. Can we please. move. on. now. Sure, the author succeeded in creating an unlikable character but not in writing one I'd actually want to listen to.
All that is made worse by Grace thinking she's the smartest person in any room while behaving so dumb it hurts. She plans to murder her whole family but calling it a plan is a definitive overstatement.She more so lucks into chance encounters and opportunities (even saying herself that she doesn't have a clue how to go about the murders beyond a vague idea) all while putting herself in immediate danger - driving headfirst towards another car on a cliff at full speed? Big brain energy right there. And then she takes keepsake trophies off her first few victims - a habit that is neither explained nor continued after a while nor has any consequences. It's not even mentioned after I believe the second death. Not even when she thinks about the police raiding her apartment.
Also, and this is definitely a petty one, she refuses to use the word whom. Sure, it's a nitpick but when a character is so convinced they are better and smarter than all the peasants around her, missed details like that only serve to make her look pathetic. Grace's stupidity is unfortunately what made me the most invested in this story.
The ending felt completely out of left field too. I was convinced for the longest time thatKelly, Grace's cellmate, was an undercover PI hired by Simon Artemis (who had faked his own death) to dig up anything connecting Grace to the murders of his family. But no, instead we get the surprise long lost sibling arc within the established long lost daughter arc. Some long-winded explanation of family ties written by a self-righteous, kinda sexist asshole that makes Grace look even more naive and careless. A cliffhanger so bad you want to jump over the edge right alongside the characters.
It's not cozy, not intelligent, not suspenseful, and definitely not a good set-up for the sequel that the ending seems to lead into. Can't recommend it to anyone, really.
We follow Grace, the protagonist, as she narrates how she successfully killed several members of her family over the course of, I would say, about a year or two but was imprisoned for a murder she claims she did not commit.
The plot, while based on an exciting premise reminiscent of the tv series Revenge (if you haven't seen it, I can recommend it far more than this book), was sorely lacking in consistency in tension-building as well as planning and follow-through of the murders. The non-chronological storytelling definitely didn't do it any favours either.
From an editing perspective, I found the present-day prison chapters added nothing to the story and should have been omitted entirely. Would have been the same story but snappier if we had followed along as the crimes unfolded. That would even have given the chance for some insight into impulsive feelings and frantic thoughts that could have humanized the protagonist/narrator a lot.
Instead we got detached, brain-rottingly sarcastic misanthropy and fatphobic pick-me girl behaviour. After 200 pages she still keeps it up; we get it, you like nothing and nobody. Can we please. move. on. now. Sure, the author succeeded in creating an unlikable character but not in writing one I'd actually want to listen to.
All that is made worse by Grace thinking she's the smartest person in any room while behaving so dumb it hurts. She plans to murder her whole family but calling it a plan is a definitive overstatement.
Also, and this is definitely a petty one, she refuses to use the word whom. Sure, it's a nitpick but when a character is so convinced they are better and smarter than all the peasants around her, missed details like that only serve to make her look pathetic. Grace's stupidity is unfortunately what made me the most invested in this story.
The ending felt completely out of left field too. I was convinced for the longest time that
It's not cozy, not intelligent, not suspenseful, and definitely not a good set-up for the sequel that the ending seems to lead into. Can't recommend it to anyone, really.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Murder, Misogyny, Stalking, Grief, Torture, and Car accident
Minor: Sexism, Toxic relationship, and Fatphobia