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cmboyke's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Cancer, Classism, Religious bigotry, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Bullying, Colonisation, Sexism, Violence, Gore, Homophobia, Medical content, Misogyny, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Lesbophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Gun violence, Sexual harassment, Death, Car accident, Murder, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Self harm, Ableism, Drug use, Kidnapping, Abortion, Biphobia, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Racism, Stalking, and Toxic friendship
eliya's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
It took me about a month to read this pretty short book lol. 13 hours of reading time.
Loved the “weird” nature of the book, combining two loved genres, the snide remarks the characters make about each other. There are some good quotes from this book that I’ll be listing below. I don’t think you’re supposed to like any character and I definitely didn’t lol. Loved the physical descriptions the author used to describe feelings.
Did not love the writing style. The author focused a lot on scene dressing and filled most of the book with painful, needless details and empty attempts to develop internal dialogue between the different characters.
In the author’s note, the author talks about how it took courage to write this “weird” book, but it truly was not weird enough.
I had a lot of hopes for this book, but all in all, it was: boring, boring, cringy and unbelievable, funny, boring, until 80% through, then it was really exciting!! Where was that the whole rest of the book?
Favorite quotes out of context -
“For Alexa, the knife in my heart”
“But that was the point, wasn’t it? To be reminded.”
“Some pretzel bags are prettier than others…”
"But she's trying to stop searching for herself in the eyes of others"
"Standing over her like a gangly teenager about to ask his mom for lunch money"
"He tasted minty and yet somehow still disgusting, like Altoids that had been scraped off of the floor of the car."
"She imagines what it would be like to have a brain unburdened by intelligence--and then Vanessa's..."
"Casey didn't finish; she wasn't expecting to"
"It seems like the sort of place where you could actually just live life, instead of researching the best way to live your life on the internet."
"Nothing but silence and sky. It feels like the end of the world."
"...barely notice it at first, is a fresh human head, detached from a body that is nowhere to be found. Her hair tied in a ponytail, her expression frozen in shock, a layer of blood caking on pale skin. 'Hi, Amanda,' Renee says, looking down at the head. Amanda doesn't speak back, because she's a disembodied head. Alas, poor Amanda."
Indefatigable - Persisting tirelessly.
Eponymous -
- (of a person) giving their name to something.
- "the eponymous hero of the novel"
- (of a thing) named after a particular person.
- "Roseanne's eponymous hit TV series"
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Blood, Death, Violence, Murder, and Gore
Moderate: Alcoholism, Religious bigotry, Gun violence, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Terminal illness, Homophobia, Cancer, and Abortion
Minor: Racism, Fatphobia, and Grief
amonkman's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Gore, Body horror, Car accident, Violence, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death, Religious bigotry, Body shaming, Homophobia, Alcoholism, Vomit, Cancer, Addiction, Alcohol, and Suicidal thoughts
itsheyfay's review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Blood, Gore, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Lesbophobia, Biphobia, Animal death, Misogyny, Gun violence, and Car accident
Minor: Abortion, Child abuse, Cancer, and Racism
stardustdreamer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Murder, Toxic relationship, Violence, Body horror, Car accident, Death, Toxic friendship, Blood, and Bullying
Moderate: Cancer and Terminal illness
apestforwrens's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Blood, Alcohol, Homophobia, Body horror, Addiction, Car accident, Death, Gore, Alcoholism, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Abortion, Cancer, and Domestic abuse
kelly_e's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Author: Samantha Allen
Genre: Horror
Rating: 1.50
Pub Date: June 28, 2022
T H R E E • W O R D S
Unique • Absurd • Gruesome
📖 S Y N O P S I S
On this season of The Catch, contestants must compete for love. And their lives.
When the final four women in competition for an aloof, somewhat sleazy bachelor’s heart arrive on a mysterious island in the Pacific Northwest, they prepare themselves for another week of extreme sleep deprivation, invasive interviews, and, of course, the salacious drama eager viewers nationwide tune in to devour. Each woman came on The Catch for her own reasons—brand sponsorships, followers, and, yes, even love—and they’ve all got their eyes steadfastly trained on their respective prizes. Enter Patricia, a temperamental and woefully misunderstood local living alone in the dark, verdant woods, and desperate for connection. Through twists as unexpected as they are wildly entertaining, the self-absorbed cast and jaded crew each make her acquaintance atop the island’s tallest and most desolate peak, finding themselves at the center of an action-packed thriller that is far from scripted—and only a few will make the final cut.
💭 T H O U G H T S
How did this bizarre, satirical, completely outside my comfort zone, novel fall into my hands? Well that's the beauty of online book club events. This is nothing I would have ever picked up on my own accord, but peer pressure is real even in adulthood.
Writing this review is difficult because I don't even know what I read. I was expecting one thing and got something completely different - so I definitely think there was poor marketing of what this book is. The build up through the first half was slow, yet the second half was packed with senseless violence and trying to cover too many different storyline.
I understand Patricia Wants to Cuddle is Samantha Allen's attempt at social commentary through the reality show trope. However, when I finally made it to the end, I was confused because nothing was resolved. It was was one of those books that left me with that 'what the heck' feeling. I am not really sure what I read. One thing I am sure about is I am not the intended audience for this book. While it's hard for me to see myself recommending this to anyone, if you're book club is looking for something that is guaranteed to spark discussion than this would definitely fit the bill.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• fans of the reality TV trope
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"By the way, Maggie, quick news flash from the future: we don’t wear socks with Birkenstocks anymore."
"Imagine a world so small that your ego can fill all of it."
Graphic: Blood, Religious bigotry, Misogyny, Gore, Violence, Murder, Gun violence, Death, Lesbophobia, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, and Homophobia
Moderate: Mental illness, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Car accident, Racism, and Alcoholism
Minor: Cancer, Animal death, Abortion, Sexual content, and Sexism
the_vegan_bookworm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
The build up is extremely slow with the action not happening until the last 20%. The parody reality show and it's contestants are interesting, but they are not strong enough to make up the entirety of the book's focus.
The queerness is fairly understated and not as prominent as I thought it would be. That is completely fine in general, but I went into this expecting it to be a lot more significant.
I just felt like the book went from endless content about the reality show, to senseless and overly graphic violence, to an abrupt ending. No questions were answered for me. I have no idea why anything happened in the story or what triggered the plot or even what the connections are between the remaining characters. For some books, the unexplained ending is done in a way to keep you thinking. For this book, given the absence of answers about anything else, it just left me feeling lost and disinterested.
Graphic: Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Blood, Animal death, Cursing, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Car accident
Moderate: Homophobia, Sexual content, Biphobia, and Vomit
Minor: Cancer and Racism
megj23's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Murder, Gore, and Blood
Minor: Vomit and Cancer
moonyreadsbystarlight's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.25
Graphic: Blood and Death
Moderate: Racism and Misogyny
Minor: Cancer and Abortion