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adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
All the Colors of the Dark is an impressive blend of mystery, thriller, coming-of-age, young love, and found family, all seamlessly woven into one compelling story.
The narrative centers on Patch and Saint, two friends bound by a lifelong connection. When Patch goes missing, Saint refuses to give up, doing whatever it takes to bring him home. After his rescue, Patch becomes consumed with finding Grace, a girl he was held captive with, setting the stage for a poignant and suspenseful journey.
While the book is slow-paced and perhaps a touch longer than necessary, the payoff is undeniably worth it. All the Colors of the Dark is a richly layered tale that will linger with you long after the final page.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Kidnapping, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A good and well written story but about 1/3 too long. Overall though it was just sad and hard to get into because it just kept pulling you down. I don’t regret reading it but I didn’t necessarily enjoy reading it either.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Murder
Minor: Domestic abuse
challenging
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Split rating, rounded up:
Formatting & Storyline Execution: ⭐️
Characterization & development: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Writing style & theme elements: ⭐️⭐️
I have a lot of thoughts about this book. The storyline could have been decent had the execution been delivered accordingly. This did not need to be over 200 mini chapters with varying povs and no sense of a timeline. I was annoyed from the get-go. I feel like this book took me so much longer than it should have just to get through. Honestly could have been summed up in under 80 chapters.
Besides getting to know the characters very well, there's a lot of alluding and plot holes that never get explained-I'm assuming all for the sake of characters being mysterious. Serious plot points are only mentioned incredibly briefly, so if you're not paying attention amongst the monotony, you end up having to go back a lot.
I'm honestly happy that in the end, Patch did not get caught and put back in jail. I was confused for a bit of the book about who and why exactly he was back in jail for because they had alluded to him murdering a zookeeper and I was so confused. And I at least cannot remember a conversation between Patch and Saint about the relationship between Saint and her veterinarian ex-husband, the abusive POS. I was also surprised that Saint took on "raising" Charlotte in Patch's absence. I would have liked to hear more about the relationship between Patch and the correctional officer. It's also quite curious that both Patch and the Doctor ended up at the same jail. And at least for the audiobook, I had a difficult time remembering minor characters and how they were involved in the storyline. At first I didn't even recognize Grace's father's name and how he was connected to the murders and with the doctor. And it goes against the storyline having his conclusion so far away from the storyline conclusion because by the end of it I didn't even remember what had happened to him- was he murdered? Did he go to jail? I don't know , I assume so. But that would have been a good placement near the end chapter for a reminder of what had happened in his case.
Formatting & Storyline Execution: ⭐️
Characterization & development: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Writing style & theme elements: ⭐️⭐️
I have a lot of thoughts about this book. The storyline could have been decent had the execution been delivered accordingly. This did not need to be over 200 mini chapters with varying povs and no sense of a timeline. I was annoyed from the get-go. I feel like this book took me so much longer than it should have just to get through. Honestly could have been summed up in under 80 chapters.
Besides getting to know the characters very well, there's a lot of alluding and plot holes that never get explained-I'm assuming all for the sake of characters being mysterious. Serious plot points are only mentioned incredibly briefly, so if you're not paying attention amongst the monotony, you end up having to go back a lot.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Grief
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Blood
Minor: Homophobia, Abortion, Murder
dark
mysterious
sad
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
4.5 for one of my most anticipated reads this year. This literary saga spans almost a lifetime for our main characters. I enjoyed the writing style and was on the edge of my seat with the thrilling chapters, but the whole story is not overall a thriller, more of a mystery. And even the mystery is kind of a subplot in the story of the characters overall lives.
Strong character development for both the main protagonists and the supporting characters. There were a number of side stories throughout, but I really quite liked them and it felt appropriate for the years that the book spans.
I enjoyed the mystery and overall enjoyed the story. For me, it was a bit long and it felt like maybe it could have benefited from a tiny bit more editing. Overall, I really enjoyed it and would recommend it.
Strong character development for both the main protagonists and the supporting characters. There were a number of side stories throughout, but I really quite liked them and it felt appropriate for the years that the book spans.
I enjoyed the mystery and overall enjoyed the story. For me, it was a bit long and it felt like maybe it could have benefited from a tiny bit more editing. Overall, I really enjoyed it and would recommend it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Murder
Moderate: Abortion
Minor: Incest, Rape
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
highly disappointing. Much preferred We Begin at the End by same author.
this dragged on, was redundant in spots and took forever to resolve. LOTS of editing errors and even geographical ones (palmetto trees do NOt grow in mountains!! they're a seaside tree hahah).
this dragged on, was redundant in spots and took forever to resolve. LOTS of editing errors and even geographical ones (palmetto trees do NOt grow in mountains!! they're a seaside tree hahah).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation
Minor: Abortion
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I feel like all of the reviews for this are 1s or 5s, and I wish I had come to either place so passionately. But at the end, it just feels like I slugged through all these pages to come out cold. Definitely character-driven with some satisfying reveals, but also stretched the limits of my suspension of disbelief near the end. I don't know that I clicked with the author's writing style either--extremely short chapters, fragmented prose, very precocious children (to the point of obnoxiousness, in my opinion). Anyway. There were things I admired, but overall, I'm not sure there is much I loved or even liked about this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse
Moderate: Abortion
adventurous
challenging
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
I don’t usually go for thrillers but this was a solid recommendation and so much more complicated than I expected. The writing was poetic and hooked me from page one, and holy cats the twists and turns. It was so much more epic than I was expecting!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Kidnapping, Murder
Moderate: Abortion
Minor: Domestic abuse
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
"Saint wanted to ask what it was like, to lose the thing that defined you. But perhaps she knew: it left you someone else. A stranger you had no choice but to tolerate, and see each day and feel and fear."
As is to be expected of Chris Whitaker, this was masterfully written. Tragic and traumatic and beautiful and raw. So deeply complex. This story is engaging on so many levels. A serial killer mystery layered over complicated small-town relationships that span decades that will have you devouring chapters. While the mystery is the driving force of the novel, and will have you as completely obsessed with solving it as the main characters, the artfully crafted, intricately connected stories around the mystery are what truly bring this novel to life. Be prepared to cycle through a broad range of emotions.
As is to be expected of Chris Whitaker, this was masterfully written. Tragic and traumatic and beautiful and raw. So deeply complex. This story is engaging on so many levels. A serial killer mystery layered over complicated small-town relationships that span decades that will have you devouring chapters. While the mystery is the driving force of the novel, and will have you as completely obsessed with solving it as the main characters, the artfully crafted, intricately connected stories around the mystery are what truly bring this novel to life. Be prepared to cycle through a broad range of emotions.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse
Minor: Abortion
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
I don’t know that I can fully explain the emotional wringer this book put me through. You just want everyone to have their happy ending, but it feels impossible. Saint is just so good and it killed me to watch her make choices that were not right for her. Patch as well was hard to read about despite how much Whitaker makes the reader care about him.
The way every little plot point ties together is so satisfying. I think it could seem entirely too coincidental for some, but I loved seeing everything come together. The writing felt choppy at times, the dialogue could be confusing. But I felt like the writing style only contributed to the tone of the book and matched the fruitlessness of Patch’s search for Grace.
This is not an easy book to read. It talks about child abductions, sexual assault, and abortion just to name a few trigger topics. It’s also just long. The first third of the book dragged a bit for me, but the middle and ending were so compelling that I couldn’t put it down. Despite the length and the content, I loved this book. I love these characters. And my heart breaks for every single missing girl out there.
The way every little plot point ties together is so satisfying. I think it could seem entirely too coincidental for some, but I loved seeing everything come together. The writing felt choppy at times, the dialogue could be confusing. But I felt like the writing style only contributed to the tone of the book and matched the fruitlessness of Patch’s search for Grace.
This is not an easy book to read. It talks about child abductions, sexual assault, and abortion just to name a few trigger topics. It’s also just long. The first third of the book dragged a bit for me, but the middle and ending were so compelling that I couldn’t put it down. Despite the length and the content, I loved this book. I love these characters. And my heart breaks for every single missing girl out there.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Abortion
Minor: Incest, Sexual assault