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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
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*I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review*
Struggling actress Kira auditions for a Chicago theatre company run by Joanna Cuyler and Malcom Mercer. Malcom is the director and lead actor in every show who has the reputation of using brutal tactics to push his cast to their limits until they ultimately break. When Kira is cast for the other lead role in their upcoming play Temper, she believes she can handle anything Malcom throws her way.
Honestly, the less you know going into this book, the better. If I had to find a way to explain this book I would just say the entire time reading it I was basically the Charlie Day conspiracy meme from Always Sunny in Philadelphia... Right from the first page I was sucked into the story and these characters. The story is told through dual perspectives between Kira and Joanna, each with a very distinct voice. I usually find that with multiple perspectives, I find myself liking one of them the most. With Temper, I was equally enthralled with both narrators. I wanted to know more about each of them and how everyone was somehow connected to one another. I loved the power struggle between Kira and Malcom both on and off the stage, there was so much tension between the two of them you knew someone would have to snap eventually. I also really enjoyed the secondary characters in this book, especially Kira's roommate and bestfriend, Spence. Malcom was an excellent villain and you couldn't help loving him, even though he is absolutely terrible.
The slow burn of this book and the small unveils were so well done they had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I loved finding little tidbits of information that seemed like throw away comments but were actually major plot points later on in the book.
This definitely did not feel like a debut novel and I will 100% be checking out more of this author's work when they are released. I would definitely recommend checking this one out!
*I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review*
Struggling actress Kira auditions for a Chicago theatre company run by Joanna Cuyler and Malcom Mercer. Malcom is the director and lead actor in every show who has the reputation of using brutal tactics to push his cast to their limits until they ultimately break. When Kira is cast for the other lead role in their upcoming play Temper, she believes she can handle anything Malcom throws her way.
Honestly, the less you know going into this book, the better. If I had to find a way to explain this book I would just say the entire time reading it I was basically the Charlie Day conspiracy meme from Always Sunny in Philadelphia... Right from the first page I was sucked into the story and these characters. The story is told through dual perspectives between Kira and Joanna, each with a very distinct voice. I usually find that with multiple perspectives, I find myself liking one of them the most. With Temper, I was equally enthralled with both narrators. I wanted to know more about each of them and how everyone was somehow connected to one another. I loved the power struggle between Kira and Malcom both on and off the stage, there was so much tension between the two of them you knew someone would have to snap eventually. I also really enjoyed the secondary characters in this book, especially Kira's roommate and bestfriend, Spence. Malcom was an excellent villain and you couldn't help loving him, even though he is absolutely terrible.
The slow burn of this book and the small unveils were so well done they had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I loved finding little tidbits of information that seemed like throw away comments but were actually major plot points later on in the book.
This definitely did not feel like a debut novel and I will 100% be checking out more of this author's work when they are released. I would definitely recommend checking this one out!
I’m rating this book exclusively off of the terrible lingering feeling it gave me. The last time I felt like this was when I read Sharp Objects for the first time. Even with being able to guess what the major plot points were going to be, I still felt out of breath at the end. Marvelous.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
After reading Fargo's They Never Learn, I decided to backtrack and read this one. I knew next to nothing about it besides that it's about two women, both with their own history. And about a man who they revolve around, for better or worse. It really was a great read for me! I'm glad that I'm getting back into thrillers, especially ones that are full of complex queer women. Everyone was flawed and I never exactly expected the ending, yet it was the only ending that worked for it once I got to it. I can't wait to see what she does next!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship
Minor: Biphobia, Sexual violence
After thinking on this one overnight, I do believe the less I say here the better for you, future reader. I would recommend throwing caution to the wind and just diving in when you're in need of a dark and gritty psychological thriller. At times, the plot gave off a similar vibe to JP Delaney's Believe Me, yet I feel that this novel focuses more on the drama and slow building disintegration of the character's relationships, which gave a feeling of creeping dread until the explosive final page. I'll end here, but if you are interested in a suspenseful novel that isn't hinged on solving a mystery, put this on your summer TBR.
*Thanks to the publisher for providing my review copy via NetGalley.
*Thanks to the publisher for providing my review copy via NetGalley.
This story was intriguing, but I'm pretty sure I hated every single character in it.
actress who is working a day job she hates while trying to land the part that will change things for her. When she lands a role in the upcoming “Temper” play it could be the role of her lifetime, if she can deal with the mercurial director Malcolm Mercer.
Joanna is the manager of the theater company that gives Kira the role, but she isn’t a fan of the ambitious actress that Malcolm chooses. Instead, she sees Kira as a threat in more ways than one.
The story progresses from both points of view with Malcolm in the middle pushing buttons with both women. It’s a small driven plot but Layne Fargo managed to get under my skin and ramp up the tension with every page that I read.
As I hurtled towards the conclusion even though I could see what was coming I didn’t believe it until I read it with my own eyes. Everything slots together so well that I had to stop and go for a run after I finished the book just to process everything that I’d just read.
Kira is utterly understandable on every page. I empathized with her as she dealt with Malcolm’s increasing issues on and off the stage, as he manipulated her into giving him the performance he demanded. What’s better though is at the point where everything goes off the rails I still understood it. Better I saw it precisely as Kira would have which is a testament to the voice that screams out of every chapter.
It wasn’t that I didn’t understand Joanna either. She seemed as real and as complex as Kira. Again the voice that Layne brought to each and every character made them feel genuine. Joanna’s anger at her relationship with Malcolm, her hidden aspirations, the choices she has made all screamed with realism.
Temper is a story-driven by these two women and their relationships with Malcolm. He’s as important as they are, in a manner of speaking. That’s because what happens at the climax never would have occurred if not for him. But I’m not gonna spoil what happens or why. You deserve to experience it for yourself.
The one thing I will say is that it took me a little bit to really get all the way into the story. I’m tempted to think it’s because I’ve been on a serious horror kick lately, but I’m more willing to say that it’s so stressful that I needed time to digest each chapter properly.
In any case, Temper is an excellent ride through a distorted Chicago theater scene. It’s a story of thwarted ambition and women reclaiming themselves and what happens when you lose your Temper. If you like a good real-world thriller without multi-country espionage or dozens of murders, this is one 2019 debut that should not be missed.
Joanna is the manager of the theater company that gives Kira the role, but she isn’t a fan of the ambitious actress that Malcolm chooses. Instead, she sees Kira as a threat in more ways than one.
The story progresses from both points of view with Malcolm in the middle pushing buttons with both women. It’s a small driven plot but Layne Fargo managed to get under my skin and ramp up the tension with every page that I read.
As I hurtled towards the conclusion even though I could see what was coming I didn’t believe it until I read it with my own eyes. Everything slots together so well that I had to stop and go for a run after I finished the book just to process everything that I’d just read.
Kira is utterly understandable on every page. I empathized with her as she dealt with Malcolm’s increasing issues on and off the stage, as he manipulated her into giving him the performance he demanded. What’s better though is at the point where everything goes off the rails I still understood it. Better I saw it precisely as Kira would have which is a testament to the voice that screams out of every chapter.
It wasn’t that I didn’t understand Joanna either. She seemed as real and as complex as Kira. Again the voice that Layne brought to each and every character made them feel genuine. Joanna’s anger at her relationship with Malcolm, her hidden aspirations, the choices she has made all screamed with realism.
Temper is a story-driven by these two women and their relationships with Malcolm. He’s as important as they are, in a manner of speaking. That’s because what happens at the climax never would have occurred if not for him. But I’m not gonna spoil what happens or why. You deserve to experience it for yourself.
The one thing I will say is that it took me a little bit to really get all the way into the story. I’m tempted to think it’s because I’ve been on a serious horror kick lately, but I’m more willing to say that it’s so stressful that I needed time to digest each chapter properly.
In any case, Temper is an excellent ride through a distorted Chicago theater scene. It’s a story of thwarted ambition and women reclaiming themselves and what happens when you lose your Temper. If you like a good real-world thriller without multi-country espionage or dozens of murders, this is one 2019 debut that should not be missed.
Since my degrees are in theatre, and since there are a dearth of psychological thrillers set in that milieu, I was very eager to read this debut novel. And for the first 2/3s or so, I thought it was fairly good and set out to do what it intended. But the further I got into it, the less enchanted I was, and by the denouement I just wanted it to end ASAP and put itself out of its misery.
Several things exasperated me: 1. this is set in the sprawling metropolis of Chicago, that has literally hundreds of thousands of people working in the theatrical community... but of the dozen people depicted, they all line up with 'surprise' interconnections that seemed forced and false. 2. Yes, the theatre tends to attract people whose sexuality is ...shall we say ...fluid? Yet almost every single character is either gay or bisexual, which is expedient for the plot rather than realistic. 3 The most intriguing and mysterious character is that of the manipulative director Malcolm Mercer - yet we never really get a handle on what makes him tick - he remains a cipher even as the book ends. 4. The alternating chapters between two unreliable female narrators seems hackneyed and done to death. 5. In several places, one gets confused due to the author not having full control of her material - most egregiously in the scenes of Joanna coming across Malcolm en flagrante delicto... we never find out the reality of what she sees. 6. The ending is predictable from about halfway in...
Not entirely sorry I read it, as it moved swiftly and wasn't a total dud - just a mite disappointing considering its potential to be really great.
Several things exasperated me: 1. this is set in the sprawling metropolis of Chicago, that has literally hundreds of thousands of people working in the theatrical community... but of the dozen people depicted, they all line up with 'surprise' interconnections that seemed forced and false. 2. Yes, the theatre tends to attract people whose sexuality is ...shall we say ...fluid? Yet almost every single character is either gay or bisexual, which is expedient for the plot rather than realistic. 3 The most intriguing and mysterious character is that of the manipulative director Malcolm Mercer - yet we never really get a handle on what makes him tick - he remains a cipher even as the book ends. 4. The alternating chapters between two unreliable female narrators seems hackneyed and done to death. 5. In several places, one gets confused due to the author not having full control of her material - most egregiously in the scenes of Joanna coming across Malcolm en flagrante delicto... we never find out the reality of what she sees. 6. The ending is predictable from about halfway in...
Not entirely sorry I read it, as it moved swiftly and wasn't a total dud - just a mite disappointing considering its potential to be really great.
Good news, everyone is bi. Bad news, everyone is the same overdone horny, promiscuous bisexual trope
DNF'd at 73%. I just couldn't get myself to finish it.
The plot is nothing, it's not thrilling, it's not intriguing. The characters aren't likeable or enjoyably unlikeable. Just read If We Were Villains. Bisexuals deserve more than this and I'm tired of this being the only way they're ever depicted
DNF'd at 73%. I just couldn't get myself to finish it.
The plot is nothing, it's not thrilling, it's not intriguing. The characters aren't likeable or enjoyably unlikeable. Just read If We Were Villains. Bisexuals deserve more than this and I'm tired of this being the only way they're ever depicted
*Unless a prevalence of bisexual characters makes a book an LGBTQ book, then this is not one. The issues are not particularly LGBTQ issues, but some fine, fine issues they are.
I didn't really know what to expect from this book, but was intrigued by Jessica's description. (Thanks, Jessica!) Additionally, I have some Chicago theater friends who would likely appreciate the underlying portrait of the city's storefront theater scene. That said, this is a suspense-filled rollercoaster of a book that doesn't really twist (a welcome fucking change) so much as journey to an unexpected locale or two with glimpses at familiar places along the way. People will be thrilled and shocked and amused and angry by turns by the ending, and I thought the plot construction was brilliant and the characters multi-dimensional and interesting in their unlikeability. Compelling is the word for 339 pages finished in one day, and while the book is as least as manipulative as it's antagonist (?) Fargo's writing style makes the trip worth taking.
I didn't really know what to expect from this book, but was intrigued by Jessica's description. (Thanks, Jessica!) Additionally, I have some Chicago theater friends who would likely appreciate the underlying portrait of the city's storefront theater scene. That said, this is a suspense-filled rollercoaster of a book that doesn't really twist (a welcome fucking change) so much as journey to an unexpected locale or two with glimpses at familiar places along the way. People will be thrilled and shocked and amused and angry by turns by the ending, and I thought the plot construction was brilliant and the characters multi-dimensional and interesting in their unlikeability. Compelling is the word for 339 pages finished in one day, and while the book is as least as manipulative as it's antagonist (?) Fargo's writing style makes the trip worth taking.