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aileron's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Murder, Animal death, Blood, Death, and Suicide
Moderate: Confinement and Stalking
Minor: Alcoholism and Death of parent
coffeekitaab's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
After reading multiple books at the same time, I dedicated yesterday to finishing the second half of this book in one sitting and on reflection, still not sure how I feel about this. Some aspects are brilliantly written, the premise grips you from the blurb/first page and a gradual build up of the case/story has you on edge, the writing in certain parts is brilliant - I love how Blake references true crime in the UK (infamous cases which add to the mystery) Shakespeare within the story, even comparing the Greek God's of Death and Sleep (who are brothers) such a fine line and honestly pure genius. Special mention to that moment where Emily meets Anna after she finally opens her eyes and the nostalgia that ensues with Emily remembering how Anna was as a baby, the eyes being the part of the body that do not change, so even if 4 years have lapsed, that remains the same and all the moments shared over the years *chef's kiss*.
The cons: The punchline hit and missed me, to be honest. That moment where everything unravels and the reader is brought in on the twist... I was so ready for that moment but I guess I was waiting a while so when it eventually happened, the writing left me confused. I was expecting more from the second half in terms of exploration and investigation of the crime, as a reader alot of points where you expect follow through were missed eg the file Ben picks up from Bloom's office was not even looked at until I think 80% of the way through. There was more repetition in the second half which was unnecessary and the words could have been used to boost the storyline which didn't happen. I have told all my friends about the story (because it is brilliant) and yet as the book went on, as a thriller, it failed to deliver for me. I will look out for more from Matthew Blake because I did enjoy this in parts and he is a welcome voice to this genre, I can imagine the next one will be brilliant and there is massive potential based on the idea alone. Thank you @netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest unedited review.
The cons: The punchline hit and missed me, to be honest. That moment where everything unravels and the reader is brought in on the twist... I was so ready for that moment but I guess I was waiting a while so when it eventually happened, the writing left me confused. I was expecting more from the second half in terms of exploration and investigation of the crime, as a reader alot of points where you expect follow through were missed eg the file Ben picks up from Bloom's office was not even looked at until I think 80% of the way through. There was more repetition in the second half which was unnecessary and the words could have been used to boost the storyline which didn't happen. I have told all my friends about the story (because it is brilliant) and yet as the book went on, as a thriller, it failed to deliver for me. I will look out for more from Matthew Blake because I did enjoy this in parts and he is a welcome voice to this genre, I can imagine the next one will be brilliant and there is massive potential based on the idea alone. Thank you @netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest unedited review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Blood, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Death, Suicide, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
heathenbun's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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
1.75
Anna O is about a sleep disorder specialist who has been tasked with waking up a murderer who has been asleep for four years.
This novel has an interesting idea, but the execution was lacking. I felt like there was too much going on and not enough at the same time. Things would just happen and I would have to go back and reread parts just to see if it was explained but NOPE things just jumped around in this book and all the sudden something would be happening without any explanation. It was also hard to tell what was going on with Ben and his POV. He seemed to just speak things into existence. It just felt like a lot of information was missing or not explained.
Sadly, the twist was pretty predictable and towards the end, it seemed to just repeat what Ben was feeling constantly. He had the same thought constantly. I found this to be quite hard to get through and I was left feeling like there was a lot missing from the book in some way or another.
TLDR, an interesting premise with sadly lackluster execution.
This novel has an interesting idea, but the execution was lacking. I felt like there was too much going on and not enough at the same time. Things would just happen and I would have to go back and reread parts just to see if it was explained but NOPE things just jumped around in this book and all the sudden something would be happening without any explanation. It was also hard to tell what was going on with Ben and his POV. He seemed to just speak things into existence. It just felt like a lot of information was missing or not explained.
Sadly, the twist was pretty predictable and towards the end, it seemed to just repeat what Ben was feeling constantly. He had the same thought constantly. I found this to be quite hard to get through and I was left feeling like there was a lot missing from the book in some way or another.
TLDR, an interesting premise with sadly lackluster execution.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
Moderate: Gaslighting
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