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kfquarium's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Sexual assault, and Alcohol
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Bullying, Medical content, Rape, Sexual content, Murder, Pregnancy, and Alcoholism
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
liseyp's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Thank you to the author, publishers Harper Collins and NetGalley UK for access to this as an advance reader’s ebook. This is an honest and voluntary review.
To be honest I was a little bit worried before I started this book. There’s a trope of secrets from the past leading to death and drama during a weekend reunion of old friends (normally women) in an isolated location, that I’ve read a lot of versions of, most of them disappointing. This book certainly leans heavily on that premise. Old friends and new, plus her future sister-in-law join bride-to-be Lexi on a hen weekend in a cliff top villa on a beautiful Greek island.
There’s the charismatic, but acerbic best friend, the one with the drinking problem, the new mother feeling guilty for leaving her baby for the first time, the incomer who may have more of a history with the group than they think, the one who doesn’t feel they fit in and the one who can’t let go of how they were as teens. All of these characters are ones I’ve seen before in very similar circumstances.
But, Lucy Clarke manages to takes this very familiar premise and create an engaging thriller that manages to surprise and hit home emotionally. One of the things which really sets it apart from the pack is the well-roundedness of the characters. Yes, there’s the hurt feelings and snippy comments that are often a feature of people whose lives have grown apart trying to pretend they’re still the same friends they were as teens, but if a character lashes out we understand why. That’s much better than many of the books of this type I’ve read where the popular and charismatic yet uncaringly cruel character remains so fundamentally unlikeable throughout that it seems impossible any of the others would ever want to spend time on her company let alone go on a weekend break together.
A really enjoyable, fast-paced thriller.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Grief, and Rape
honeyreads1066's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-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
This book is a deep dive into sisterhood and friendship.
Set against the landscape of a Greek island, this book follows a group of friends at a hen party, which first starts as a time to relax and escape but as the hen continues, secrets and tension seem to build until it all comes to an unfortunate conclusion.
The characters were easily the best part of this book. Each had something that they were hiding it feeling and for some, I couldn't guess exactly what that was until it became apparent. I did feel that some characters were written better than others, I assumed that they were all supposed to be the same level of likeable but they very much weren't. The only character I wanted to live throughout this hen sorry was Robyn, Elenor and Ana. The others I did not feel too strongly about.
I liked the way that the plot unwound itself though the little snippets between chapters did annoy me, I just felt they weren't needed. But the plot did have me guessing until the end and the reveal seemed shocking but in a way where it wasn't inconceivable which I appreciate.
Overall I did enjoy this, while I don't feel particularly strong about it, I feel as though it's a good beach read if you're into that sort of thing.
Set against the landscape of a Greek island, this book follows a group of friends at a hen party, which first starts as a time to relax and escape but as the hen continues, secrets and tension seem to build until it all comes to an unfortunate conclusion.
The characters were easily the best part of this book. Each had something that they were hiding it feeling and for some, I couldn't guess exactly what that was until it became apparent. I did feel that some characters were written better than others, I assumed that they were all supposed to be the same level of likeable but they very much weren't. The only character I wanted to live throughout this hen sorry was Robyn, Elenor and Ana. The others I did not feel too strongly about.
I liked the way that the plot unwound itself though the little snippets between chapters did annoy me, I just felt they weren't needed. But the plot did have me guessing until the end and the reveal seemed shocking but in a way where it wasn't inconceivable which I appreciate.
Overall I did enjoy this, while I don't feel particularly strong about it, I feel as though it's a good beach read if you're into that sort of thing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death, Toxic friendship, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Physical abuse, Murder, Medical trauma, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, and Violence
Minor: Murder and Infidelity
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