Reviews with content warning for Child abuse - Final Girls

Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

beatsbybecca's review

dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

This a quick and enjoyable read especially for any horror fans - although the horror parts here are more of a backstory than the present day mystery at hand, and I do wish we got more chapters at Pine Cottage. I'm also not sure that the twist ending here is particularly earned (parts are but not the final twist IMO). This was just my second Riley Sager read after The House Across the Lake, so I am gathering out-of-nowhere controversial endings to be kind of his "thing." THATL ending worked for me, this one not as much.

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aseel_reads's review

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challenging dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I thought this was going one way, which had me concerned, but then it went a different way and I was pleasantly (and horrifyingly) surprised. I thought the plot was well done and very suspenseful.

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rockyc5's review

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dark inspiring mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

FUN!!!
I had a great time with this and would recommend to anyone who loves the Final Girl concept or Final Girls.

Interesting that a man wrote it...would love a similar story from a girl's perspective.

I'm not the best predictor but I thought the twist(s) were good.

I'd like it as a movie too!

Kind of unfortunate so much of it had to do with sex and then the whole virginity question, especially because it didn't seemed framed in the fraught context of final girls' sexuality. Still had 'sluts for first' trope but it was nice that the weird kid wasnt a killer. The two explicitly or diagnosed mentally ill charcters were great

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jaymerrick's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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monique1316's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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kelleyedwards_96's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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savvyrosereads's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Quincy was the sole survivor of a massacre at Pine Cottage, placing her in the ranks of the “Final Girls”—women who lived through mass murder attempts—but she has no memory of the events of that night. When the first Final Girl, Lisa, is found dead, Quincy is pushed into a journey that will ultimately lead her to the truth, but may just put her in a murderer’s crosshairs once again.

I’m a big Riley Sager fan and I’ve heard a lot of good things about this one, so I was super excited to get started—especially as the synopsis seemed to promise a great slasher/horror movie vibe. But, as much as I enjoyed the writing, the first 2/3 of the book wasn’t really what I expected, and I felt like the plot dragged a bit. I wasn’t quite bored, but I wasn’t quite as entertained as I wanted to be, either.

That said, the book shifted into an entirely different tone for the final 1/3, and I flew through the ending, which I really enjoyed! Overall, if you want a unique, well-written thriller that is a fairly quick read, this is a good choice! Just make sure you hang in until the end to get the full pay-off of the plot and reveals.

Recommended for anyone, but especially if you like: slasher thriller but make it a slow burn; women finding their power; unlikable/morally gray characters.

CW: Blood/death/murder; mentions of sexual assault/child sexual abuse; mental illness/trauma/self-medication; discussion of suicide.

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elliez's review

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dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

"I'm his creation, forged from blood and pain and the cold steel of a blade.

"I'm a fucking Final Girl."

Damn this was a great book! I did NOT want to put this one down!

This was the third book by Riley Sager that I have read (the others were Home Before Dark and Survive the Night) and this one has become my favorite of his. Great pacing, great storytelling, great misdirection. I kept shifting on who I thought the killer was. Kudos to the author! Amazing work!

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