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stindex's review against another edition
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
The author makes me sad. They’ve apparently tried to push all the things they hate into this book and it just makes this feel like a boomer whining about basically everything. For a ”feminist” main character the mc sure spent a lot of time hating on women in a very pick me -girlish style. Body shaming was also very present whenever describing anyone else but the mc or their love interest. The premise was great but the book is an absolute train wreck from the start.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Stalking, Sexual content, Abandonment, Sexism, Misogyny, Death of parent, Infidelity, Fatphobia, Death, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Ableism, Bullying, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Torture, Confinement, Car accident, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Grief, and Terminal illness
ribbenkast's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
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
2.5
This book was really a mixed bag of things that the author did really well and things that went, not so great. If you like Killing Eve and simmilar media this might be a good book for you.
I picked this book up because I couldn't enter a single bookstore here in The Netherlands without this book being on full display front and center (probably because it recently got translated), to that I say it's a bit over-hyped. Given that it's Bella Mackie's first novel I am excited to see how her skills are going to devellop in the future.
I have a lot to say about this book so here we go :)
I want to start off with the things that where great about this book. It's not easy to write a book in a non-chronological timeline, and yet Bella Mackie has pulled that of greatly. The pacing of this book is great, there's never a dull moment. Furthermore, I really like the writing style and the character's voice, every sentence was pure gold. The murders were creative and it was fun watching the plan and the excution (ha!) unfold.
But, the book lost me a bit in the middle. I still struggle to find the writer's intent. The main character Grace, to me at least, is not a likable girlboss anti-hero she was set up to be (by the marketing of this book). Whilst continueing to read, I found her to be a spoiled brat, uninteresting, fake deep and a raging hypocrite and I kind off had to stop rooting for her. It's still unclear to me if this was the author's intent for this character. Are we supposed to root for her and did Bella Mackie fail to make a likable character? Or are we supposed to dislike Grace too? In that case Mackie did an excellent job.
Grace's "feminist" opinions display an incredible lack of intersectionality. All of this could and would be fine, unreliable narrotors you're supposed to disagree with exist for a reason. However, given the paralles between Grace and the author in real live, I fear that some of these opions are not meant as a way to show how self-centered Grace really is. Rather, Mackie seems to use Grace as a mouth piece for her own (white) feminist views. This doesn't work on two levels: 1. The narrator is unreliable, any opion voiced by such a narrator is immeditatly subject to further questioning and 2. The opions are just not good, white feminism. TO BE CLEAR: I'm hoping I misjudged Mackie's character here and that all of these bad opinions are just to display how Grace is not a good person, let alone a feminst, while she pretents to be one. Unfortunatly, the opinions are not insane enough and could've and probably have been published in a Vogue or Vice article. (Publications Mackie writes for)
Either way, this book is a excellent satire of white feminsm and human entitlement. It's unclear to me if the writer is in on the joke herself.
Beyond the midway point though, you can tell that Grace is supposed to be insane and go off the deep end a little. This is where the book picks up the pace again. If you halfway through want to give up on this book (I know I did, but I'm stubborn) don't. If you made it that far, it's worth it to read on.
The (twist) ending was, just like the rest of the book a bit of a mixed bag. The ending was fitting, it wrapped up the story nicely and it could've worked really well. My only problem with it, is that it came out of nowhere. An ending like that could've (should've) been forshadowed in many places earlier in the book. Moments a reader can look back on and go: Ah, now that makes sense! Mackie seemed to have forgotten to go back after her first manuscript to do that which made the ending feel very tacked on. Shame, because other than that, it was a great twist. I liked that Grace's distand attitude, and dismissal of other people's intelect collapsed in on itself. Truly what she deserverd
This book was fun. Pick it up if you want a thriller-comedy and want to be entertained for a few hours.
I picked this book up because I couldn't enter a single bookstore here in The Netherlands without this book being on full display front and center (probably because it recently got translated), to that I say it's a bit over-hyped. Given that it's Bella Mackie's first novel I am excited to see how her skills are going to devellop in the future.
I have a lot to say about this book so here we go :)
I want to start off with the things that where great about this book. It's not easy to write a book in a non-chronological timeline, and yet Bella Mackie has pulled that of greatly. The pacing of this book is great, there's never a dull moment. Furthermore, I really like the writing style and the character's voice, every sentence was pure gold. The murders were creative and it was fun watching the plan and the excution (ha!) unfold.
But, the book lost me a bit in the middle. I still struggle to find the writer's intent. The main character Grace, to me at least, is not a likable girlboss anti-hero she was set up to be (by the marketing of this book). Whilst continueing to read, I found her to be a spoiled brat, uninteresting, fake deep and a raging hypocrite and I kind off had to stop rooting for her. It's still unclear to me if this was the author's intent for this character. Are we supposed to root for her and did Bella Mackie fail to make a likable character? Or are we supposed to dislike Grace too? In that case Mackie did an excellent job.
Grace's "feminist" opinions display an incredible lack of intersectionality. All of this could and would be fine, unreliable narrotors you're supposed to disagree with exist for a reason. However, given the paralles between Grace and the author in real live, I fear that some of these opions are not meant as a way to show how self-centered Grace really is. Rather, Mackie seems to use Grace as a mouth piece for her own (white) feminist views. This doesn't work on two levels: 1. The narrator is unreliable, any opion voiced by such a narrator is immeditatly subject to further questioning and 2. The opions are just not good, white feminism. TO BE CLEAR: I'm hoping I misjudged Mackie's character here and that all of these bad opinions are just to display how Grace is not a good person, let alone a feminst, while she pretents to be one. Unfortunatly, the opinions are not insane enough and could've and probably have been published in a Vogue or Vice article. (Publications Mackie writes for)
Either way, this book is a excellent satire of white feminsm and human entitlement. It's unclear to me if the writer is in on the joke herself.
Beyond the midway point though, you can tell that Grace is supposed to be insane and go off the deep end a little. This is where the book picks up the pace again. If you halfway through want to give up on this book (I know I did, but I'm stubborn) don't. If you made it that far, it's worth it to read on.
The (twist) ending was, just like the rest of the book a bit of a mixed bag. The ending was fitting, it wrapped up the story nicely and it could've worked really well. My only problem with it, is that it came out of nowhere. An ending like that could've (should've) been forshadowed in many places earlier in the book. Moments a reader can look back on and go: Ah, now that makes sense! Mackie seemed to have forgotten to go back after her first manuscript to do that which made the ending feel very tacked on. Shame, because other than that, it was a great twist.
This book was fun. Pick it up if you want a thriller-comedy and want to be entertained for a few hours.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Murder, Alcohol, Forced institutionalization, Classism, Death of parent, Torture, Violence, Death, and Misogyny
Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Cursing, Body shaming, Ableism, Car accident, Drug use, Emotional abuse, and Grief
kllyholt's review against another edition
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
2.25
Maybe it was the rants that screamed “anti-millennial I’m cool not like other girls” that popped up every other page of this book and were very distracting from what was happening, but this book was just… so close to being good and it did not deliver. Especiallyyy the ending.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism
bunv's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Easily the worst book I've read this year. With a main character that is equal parts dull and entirely unlikeable, there's just no reason to stay engaged when the entire book is written in her perspective. I bought this book because the premise seemed promising but the amount of unnecessary self-righteous rants about how much Grace hates everything and everyone got unbearable pretty much immediately. After I had to endure 50 pages about frogs I was about ready to tap out, had I not invested a significant amount of energy into getting to this point. The poor excuse for a twist towards the end was only a small light at the end of the unbearably long tunnel.
Bonus mention for the 2 times I had to read the words "my sex" followed up by an observation about how much our main character hates other women despite calling herself a feminist.
Bonus mention for the 2 times I had to read the words "my sex" followed up by an observation about how much our main character hates other women despite calling herself a feminist.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Drug use, Death of parent, Alcohol, Vomit, Suicide, Stalking, Classism, Addiction, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Car accident, Misogyny, Homophobia, and Fatphobia
Minor: Cancer, Body shaming, Ableism, and Biphobia
ruthmoog's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
4.75
Grace is so mean!
I enjoyed that the reputation of being a rotter was a family trait that Grace didn't see in herself, and her lack of self-awareness really comes to a head as the story develops.
There weren't many (any) likeable characters in the book, and the subject matter was fairly grim, yet I was very invested - I wanted to find out what happens next.
This book is described as funny; it's told in a chatty sarcastic way as if what the narrator says is funny. But it isn't actually funny. The jokes Grace makes are snarling and mean, and at the expense of others. And that is perfect for her character.
I enjoyed that the reputation of being a rotter was a family trait that Grace didn't see in herself, and her lack of self-awareness really comes to a head as the story develops.
There weren't many (any) likeable characters in the book, and the subject matter was fairly grim, yet I was very invested - I wanted to find out what happens next.
This book is described as funny; it's told in a chatty sarcastic way as if what the narrator says is funny. But it isn't actually funny. The jokes Grace makes are snarling and mean, and at the expense of others. And that is perfect for her character.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism and Murder
Moderate: Confinement, Ableism, Death, Death of parent, Stalking, Body shaming, Car accident, Cursing, Drug use, Misogyny, and Sexual content
Minor: Blood, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Panic attacks/disorders, and Vomit
chronically_theo's review against another edition
dark
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
0.5
This book is good apart from the blatant fatphobia, ableism, homophobia ect.
I initially enjoyed it but paragraphs about the main characters horrible views ruined it. There are other ways than insulting minority groups to get across your point that the main character is a bad person.
It had multiple bits saying how most influencers fake disability or mental illness for views and individuality which is disgusting but sadly something that most people seem to believe.
It also has instances body shaming characters and it wasn't just veiled comments but full out paragraphs about how "disgusting" it was that they enjoyed themselves when they had acne or were fat. (Obviously this isn't true your body fine the way it is.)
And at least one homophobic bit where the main character was saying that another character labeled themselves as pansexual but had only dated men then giving their opinion that they can't have been pansexual because they only have dated men. (This isn't true most people only realise later in life that they like other genders so it's entirely reasonable.)
Conclusion: Read it if you like but understand that the book has many harmful views in it.
I initially enjoyed it but paragraphs about the main characters horrible views ruined it. There are other ways than insulting minority groups to get across your point that the main character is a bad person.
It had multiple bits saying how most influencers fake disability or mental illness for views and individuality which is disgusting but sadly something that most people seem to believe.
It also has instances body shaming characters and it wasn't just veiled comments but full out paragraphs about how "disgusting" it was that they enjoyed themselves when they had acne or were fat. (Obviously this isn't true your body fine the way it is.)
And at least one homophobic bit where the main character was saying that another character labeled themselves as pansexual but had only dated men then giving their opinion that they can't have been pansexual because they only have dated men. (This isn't true most people only realise later in life that they like other genders so it's entirely reasonable.)
Conclusion: Read it if you like but understand that the book has many harmful views in it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Ableism, and Fatphobia
esme_may's review against another edition
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This was loads of fun! The murders were really inventive, and even though it seems a bit controversial from other opinions I've seen, I didn't mind the ending at all. I found Grace a bit frustrating and judgemental at times, and even though there's a reason why she sees the world the way she does, it made my reading experience a bit less enjoyable at times.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Death, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Classism, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Sexual content, Stalking, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, and Infidelity
Minor: Alcohol, Drug use, Eating disorder, Ableism, and Biphobia
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