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greenbrace's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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
3.75
Ending kinda sucked :( but overall the story was amazing
snikelfritz's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
nikkiethereader's review against another edition
4.0
Alice has one mission in life and one mission only. She just wants to live and forget about the horrid past. She wants to forget that she was almost murdered by two obsessed fans of a graphic novel written by her father. She learns that she can't always run away from the dark past. Sometimes it lingers.
I really enjoyed the story. It was intense. It was provoking. It was thrilling. It's amazing how somebody can go through so much in their life and still find the will to keep on living. Find the will to fight through the panic attacks and just keep on journeying forth. I found the realistic touches around all of the ordeals in the book amazing! I was even a bit uplifted and inspiring.
I have to be honest though, I didn't care for the first part of the book. I felt it was very sloppy and not written out well. It's hard to connect with anything in the first part of the book. I was in love with the idea of the story though and I decided to keep reading it. Even though I wanted to put it down several times. I am glad I resisted. I'm glad I kept reading.
I do recommend reading this book. It's very intense and thrilling. You'll be guessing until the very end. I feel like this book could use a bit of a polish and connection in many places. But all in all, it's a terrific book. Definitely worth the read for thriller and horror fans. I guess I should say it's great for mystery lovers as well!
I really enjoyed the story. It was intense. It was provoking. It was thrilling. It's amazing how somebody can go through so much in their life and still find the will to keep on living. Find the will to fight through the panic attacks and just keep on journeying forth. I found the realistic touches around all of the ordeals in the book amazing! I was even a bit uplifted and inspiring.
I have to be honest though, I didn't care for the first part of the book. I felt it was very sloppy and not written out well. It's hard to connect with anything in the first part of the book. I was in love with the idea of the story though and I decided to keep reading it. Even though I wanted to put it down several times. I am glad I resisted. I'm glad I kept reading.
I do recommend reading this book. It's very intense and thrilling. You'll be guessing until the very end. I feel like this book could use a bit of a polish and connection in many places. But all in all, it's a terrific book. Definitely worth the read for thriller and horror fans. I guess I should say it's great for mystery lovers as well!
love3v07's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Grief, Murder, and Panic attacks/disorders
pippinthepuffin's review against another edition
4.0
Obligatory Statement: I received an e-arc of this from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Wow. That was a roller coaster of a novel.
I had read an excerpt of this novel on BookishFirst and I was just hooked. I really wanted to know how this book character inspired the stabbing of Alice. The best part of this story since of course, it was a thriller, was how the main antagonist related to Alice which I am not going to spoil but I will say that I definitely did not see it coming.
Alice as the main character was interesting and knew what she wanted in life. And that was to live a quite normal life with her coffee shop and to have no one ask her about Mister Tender. But hey we can't always get what we want. Now, one issue that I did have with Alice was her nonchalant way of dealing with a characters death. I understand that we all have different coping methods but I was expecting a bit more humanity. Her mother was a bit overbearing at some points, but I mean Alice was almost killed once and then Alice's father was also killed so it makes sense. Now Alice's brother, Thomas, was spunky and I do feel bad for him because he is ill and his mother does not let him do a lot on his own.
Now for the one character that never speaks, Mister Tender does play a large role in the book as he is somewhat of an antagonist. I do also wish that there were excerpts of the comics that were included in the book. This visual imagery would have been nice to get a visual idea of what the Alice and the author characters are looking at and it makes the story feel more tangible. However, I did read an ARC so maybe in the finished book, there will be the comic panels.
I am sorry that this review seems a bit sparse but I don't want to spoil anything because it would take away from the thriller aspect of the book. But if you would like to discuss the book with me you can always connect with me on social media or if you think that it is not too spoilery, leave a comment below.
Thank you again to the publisher for providing me a copy to review.
Wow. That was a roller coaster of a novel.
I had read an excerpt of this novel on BookishFirst and I was just hooked. I really wanted to know how this book character inspired the stabbing of Alice. The best part of this story since of course, it was a thriller, was how the main antagonist related to Alice which I am not going to spoil but I will say that I definitely did not see it coming.
Alice as the main character was interesting and knew what she wanted in life. And that was to live a quite normal life with her coffee shop and to have no one ask her about Mister Tender. But hey we can't always get what we want. Now, one issue that I did have with Alice was her nonchalant way of dealing with a characters death. I understand that we all have different coping methods but I was expecting a bit more humanity. Her mother was a bit overbearing at some points, but I mean Alice was almost killed once and then Alice's father was also killed so it makes sense. Now Alice's brother, Thomas, was spunky and I do feel bad for him because he is ill and his mother does not let him do a lot on his own.
Now for the one character that never speaks, Mister Tender does play a large role in the book as he is somewhat of an antagonist. I do also wish that there were excerpts of the comics that were included in the book. This visual imagery would have been nice to get a visual idea of what the Alice and the author characters are looking at and it makes the story feel more tangible. However, I did read an ARC so maybe in the finished book, there will be the comic panels.
I am sorry that this review seems a bit sparse but I don't want to spoil anything because it would take away from the thriller aspect of the book. But if you would like to discuss the book with me you can always connect with me on social media or if you think that it is not too spoilery, leave a comment below.
Thank you again to the publisher for providing me a copy to review.
modknight's review against another edition
4.0
Holy page turner, Batman. So many plot twists and turns. The suspense had me staying up late so I could read more, especially once I got to the third part of the book. It makes you wonder what one would do in a similar situation. I was so worried when Alice went to visit the twins. Jack was so creepy, he made me shudder with disgust. Did not see what happened with Brenda coming. Hope Richard turned out to be a good guy and her brother Thomas is able to turn things around. Would love to see a sequel. I feel invested in these characters at this point. I look forward to reading other books by this same author. Thanks Bookishfirst for the free copy to review, just hate that my dog spilled tea on my copy.
harshibar's review against another edition
4.0
(3.5 stars) I had a lot of fun with this one! It's a fast-paced thriller with some very, very messed up characters and lots of twist. Alice is such an easy character to root for as she tries to hold onto the present as ghosts of her past haunt her and her struggle to open up and create relationships with others add a special layer to all the interactions in the book. I definitely would have finished this in like two days if life didn't get in the way, quick and easy read!
jascazares94's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Suspense all throughout.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Murder
kirahtianga's review against another edition
3.0
While the majority of the plot I found to be quite interesting, the ending fell flat for me. I appreciate ambiguity and leaving room for interpretation, but I genuinely don’t know what to make of what happened. Assuming what I assume about it, which is that Alice left Richard to die, and then died herself, it doesn’t quite fit.
Alice, is a new favorite female protagonist of mine. Where many female main characters in thrillers can often be helpless and a damsel in distress type, Wilson wrote a woman with realistic abilities and realistic fears. Despite being scared, she was actually able to defend herself with feasible self-defense, knowing what points on the body to hit while simultaneously being on the brink of being overpowered due to her smaller size. Both elements being included really bumped up this book.
Mister Tender and Thomas are particularly interesting to me, although neither are explored further enough for me to give this book anything more than three out five stars. Thomas was so different in Part I than Part III, and the inconsistency threw me off. He went from someone with murderous abilities and a detached demeanor to a completely drugged up and out of it man-child. He was much more capable in the beginning, and without much time passage, the change in him at the end didn’t make sense. On the other hand, Mister Tender is such a fascinating character, and I would actually love to read a graphic novel on him.
Another thing that didn’t make sense was Alice going to Brenda’s at the end. She was weary of EVERYONE, except for Brenda? No, because right before sending Richard her location, she was speaking about Brenda as if she had sussed her out all along…girl you’re already in her house…
Some inconsistencies made for a three out of five, but a book I was happy to have read nonetheless.
Alice, is a new favorite female protagonist of mine. Where many female main characters in thrillers can often be helpless and a damsel in distress type, Wilson wrote a woman with realistic abilities and realistic fears. Despite being scared, she was actually able to defend herself with feasible self-defense, knowing what points on the body to hit while simultaneously being on the brink of being overpowered due to her smaller size. Both elements being included really bumped up this book.
Mister Tender and Thomas are particularly interesting to me, although neither are explored further enough for me to give this book anything more than three out five stars. Thomas was so different in Part I than Part III, and the inconsistency threw me off. He went from someone with murderous abilities and a detached demeanor to a completely drugged up and out of it man-child. He was much more capable in the beginning, and without much time passage, the change in him at the end didn’t make sense. On the other hand, Mister Tender is such a fascinating character, and I would actually love to read a graphic novel on him.
Another thing that didn’t make sense was Alice going to Brenda’s at the end. She was weary of EVERYONE, except for Brenda? No, because right before sending Richard her location, she was speaking about Brenda as if she had sussed her out all along…girl you’re already in her house…
Some inconsistencies made for a three out of five, but a book I was happy to have read nonetheless.