Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Anna O by Matthew Blake

8 reviews

bknight16's review

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-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

3.25

Okay so I ruined this book for myself by finding out that he studied at Durham because then the references to Milton and Capote became irritating… Milton especially! I’m not sure anyone quotes Milton that much ever?!

I enjoyed the twist. 
I enjoyed the start of the book, I felt the pace and the plot was clear….

By by the end: the plot was SUCH a mess! It was everywhere. 
Also for a man that escaped to the Caribbean he seemed very comfortable to still have a job and endless dates?!

I’m not even sure if the giant twist made sense - it probably did but would V Bloom not have recognised Clara? How did her and Ben meet? 

3 solid stars. I don’t usually love a thriller and this did have me hooked at the start and I genuinely didn’t guess the twist - I thought that Bloom might be Patient X lol…
Maybe that says more about the book (i.e. my lack of understanding) than this review.
I felt like the middle slogged a little and while I’m a fan of short chapters by the end it was just silly!
Yeah not sure I’d read another by Blake because genuinely unsure if I can face all the author references from my undergrad again! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Mental illness and Suicide

lailajm's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

Stunning. So incredible. Perfect for fans of intense psychological thriller. The constant plot twists and surprises were perfect! I read it so fast and couldn’t stop! Hugely recommend for fans of ‘the silent patient’ and other psychological thrillers. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Medical content, Murder, Mental illness, and Suicide

asourceoffiction's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

A great premise that hooked me from the start, a lot of delicious tension and a really fun, twisty plot. There are several character POVs that keep things musterious (speculating about Lola was particularly juicy, though I didn't guess the end). And I loved how the timelines built up a picture that still had some pieces missing by the end.

As for the end, I'm not entirely sure how I felt. It definitely answered all my questions but there were some red herrings that I could tell were misdirecting me, and although I didn't guess the final twist I didn't feel surprised by it. There were a few false endings (where it was clear more was to come) that actually started to drag the story a little for me, and started to lead me towards the twist even if I didn't know what it would be.

A fun read for sure, but didn't feel as punchy in the ending.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Mental illness, and Murder

Moderate: Child death and Death of parent

drybay's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? Yes

3.5

I was hooked! By the end, the book was going towards a dissapointing ending but then it had me pleasantly surprised.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Murder, Death, Forced institutionalization, Child death, Confinement, and Suicide

Moderate: Death of parent, Torture, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Mental illness

Minor: Addiction, Drug use, Misogyny, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, and Bullying

tigerkind's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

Started off a bit weak, picked up pace in the middle and crashed and dragged somewhere before the end. A good read, but a tad convoluted for my taste. 

The MC seems to be a self insert for the author – I don’t see any other reason why everyone (including himself) keeps going on about how handsome he is. 

A big part of the narrative depends on the use of gender-neutral pronouns and assumptions about gender roles.

As soon as Harriet refers to her partner by „they“, things were pretty clear and all the puzzle pieces fell into place as the narrative went on.

It’s a bit silly to expect the reader to be led astray by gendered assumptions in a book where all the leading figures are women. 
(Ben is the MC but to call him leading would be a stretch)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, Gore, Violence, Animal death, Medical content, Body horror, Gaslighting, Murder, Suicide, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Mental illness, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Alcohol, Infidelity, Alcoholism, Drug use, and Torture

Minor: Bullying, Classism, and Misogyny

ris23's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Mental illness, and Murder

Moderate: Drug use and Infidelity

Minor: Stalking, Confinement, and Animal death

carolinefran's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death of parent, Mental illness, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Stalking, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Alcohol, Blood, Animal death, Child death, Death, Infidelity, Grief, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Pregnancy and Drug use

ekilburn529's review against another edition

challenging tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This book was entertaining. It kept me guessing until the end (I figured out one of the twists early on but there are a few smaller ones sprinkled throughout which I like). Lots of very short chapters and a mix of present and past so the story kept moving. The ending wasn’t my favorite but it’s not the kind of book you get a HEA so that’s fine. I like this authors writing style. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Mental illness