Scan barcode
rinnykitty's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Since this is such a strong "go in blind book" that you shouldn't even know anything before reading the first page, time to spoiler tag my entire review.
first off, I really liked the writing style. I like quick reads and the fact there were less words per line made me finish this book in a day. It was easy for me to read, as well, even though some of the metaphors seemed more literal than figurative (I've seen other reviews wonder if Cady explaining her blood wrists were just a metaphor, and honestly, I dont know either).
Other than that, I actually found myself relating to the main character. I'm poor as fuck, never committed a crime, and dont have migraines - but I do have memory loss due to neurological issues that wiped most of my teenage memories completely and made my mother constantly worried about me. I understood when she said she didn't want to be pitied, and then Gat said well why the fuck you saying all this shit about your migraines then. Like, dude, just because she doesn't want to be pitied doesn't mean her migraines poof! become less of her life.
And same with the romance. Sadly I still remember some of my pathetic flings, how as a youngster you think the first love is real and forever and the best thing since Betty White. The romance was a damn mess but didn't we all make bad, cringey, makes us look back and think "oh no girl what are you doing" type relationship choices as teens.
And.. the twist. Goddamnit I picked it up right away.. when Cady realized no one was responding to her emails. Yeah the first thought should be "they're too rich to care about their email account", but with how absent they were my mind went straight to "they're dead aren't they. Oh no you better not". And they were. Even worse, why not throw them in as ghosts and badly explain the whole entire last part of the book. And the whole reveal be a fire. All died in a fire. And became ghosts. What a twist. Yaaaawn. When it comes to rich people drama, The Cousins by Karen McManus came out on top. That's the type of twist I was looking for, not something on the same level as "it was all just a dream!" (But instead, replace dream with ghosts).
Other than that, I actually found myself relating to the main character. I'm poor as fuck, never committed a crime, and dont have migraines - but I do have memory loss due to neurological issues that wiped most of my teenage memories completely and made my mother constantly worried about me. I understood when she said she didn't want to be pitied, and then Gat said well why the fuck you saying all this shit about your migraines then. Like, dude, just because she doesn't want to be pitied doesn't mean her migraines poof! become less of her life.
And same with the romance. Sadly I still remember some of my pathetic flings, how as a youngster you think the first love is real and forever and the best thing since Betty White. The romance was a damn mess but didn't we all make bad, cringey, makes us look back and think "oh no girl what are you doing" type relationship choices as teens.
And.. the twist. Goddamnit I picked it up right away.. when Cady realized no one was responding to her emails. Yeah the first thought should be "they're too rich to care about their email account", but with how absent they were my mind went straight to "they're dead aren't they. Oh no you better not". And they were. Even worse, why not throw them in as ghosts and badly explain the whole entire last part of the book. And the whole reveal be a fire. All died in a fire. And became ghosts. What a twist. Yaaaawn. When it comes to rich people drama, The Cousins by Karen McManus came out on top. That's the type of twist I was looking for, not something on the same level as "it was all just a dream!" (But instead, replace dream with ghosts).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Animal death, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Medical trauma, Cursing, and Death
Moderate: Grief, Dementia, and Blood
Minor: Death of parent and Infidelity
shaunashares's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Addiction, Child death, and Racism
mndy's review against another edition
emotional
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? Yes
3.5
i love the various metaphors throughout the story. the word choice was fitting to the mood and setting. a lot of the sentences really got to the point as well. very beautiful writing in terms of describing pain and grief.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death and Death
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Dementia, Drug use, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, and Xenophobia
brookey8888's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Um I'm crying wtf I didn't think this book would make me cry. Which honestly it's not hard for me to cry, but I just didn't think this book would because it is like a thriller mystery.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Cursing, Death, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Racism, and Religious bigotry
amnda527's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Body horror, and Child death
nxclx's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Honestly, I didn't see that ending coming. I had several predictions, but that wasn't one of them. It got a lot darker than I expected, but I also didn't have much expectations or predictions going into this. I didn't feel connected to any of the characters, and the whole 'perfect rich family' becoming destroyed doesn't appeal to me, especially with the setting of Nantucket island-ish. The ending felt like it came out of left field, but the writing was pretty good and kept me interested.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Medical content, and Racism
Minor: Dementia
A lot of the warnings come at the ending and are a bit of a surprise. The self harm is more of a metaphor, while the suicidal thoughts are continuous throughout the books, but it's never attempted nor planned.
More...