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nicolamb's review against another edition
2.0
What in the plot-holey hell was this? Other than an exercise into why the author should put the similes down, dammit! And also why the reader (hi!) shouldn't buy 3 books at full price by the same author in a single day without ever having read their work before. Please send help for the next two books I own and will occasionally glare at when I see them on my shelf and otherwise pretend they don't exist.
Honestly though, I counted 3 similes in a single paragraph and read them to my partner in the kitchen. We both laughed like dawn-speckled hyenas who had found the blown carcass of a recent kill that would see us through the aching desperation of another day on a god-forsaken prairie, whilst my partner stirred soup that simmered with the anguished cries and bubbles of despair apparent only in those who are lost and forgotten.
There is also a LOT wrong in this book with the depictions of trauma, which I won't say anymore about but please do be careful with that.
Please Mr. LaRocca, sometimes simpler is better. It honestly wasn't all bad though, after navigating the numerous plot holes (I can't even speak about the ending) and the over-stretched prose, the second-half did pick up & I was genuinely interested for at least 20 pages :/
Honestly though, I counted 3 similes in a single paragraph and read them to my partner in the kitchen. We both laughed like dawn-speckled hyenas who had found the blown carcass of a recent kill that would see us through the aching desperation of another day on a god-forsaken prairie, whilst my partner stirred soup that simmered with the anguished cries and bubbles of despair apparent only in those who are lost and forgotten.
There is also a LOT wrong in this book with the depictions of trauma, which I won't say anymore about but please do be careful with that.
Please Mr. LaRocca, sometimes simpler is better. It honestly wasn't all bad though, after navigating the numerous plot holes (I can't even speak about the ending) and the over-stretched prose, the second-half did pick up & I was genuinely interested for at least 20 pages :/
hippietilley's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
This book was pretty intense.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Sexual assault, and Torture
jenn_the_unicorn's review against another edition
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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
hotj1llypepper's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
I have a very low tolerance for what I call the "Netflix original side character" effect where a show will shoe-horn as many tokenized minorities into a story as possible without giving any of their characters room to breathe or be genuine, as if ticking them off a checklist. Very much got that vibe from this book. Had the potential to explore the interconnectedness of people considered "othered" by society who often fall through the cracks (queer ppl, muslims, disabled ppl, single parents, elderly) but it fell short.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
saminfineprint's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
cristinarivas88's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- 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? N/A
4.0
cindylchap's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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
1.5
daniobsessivelyreads's review against another edition
2.0
I'm not sure I would qualify this as "horror". I would definitely qualify it as "misery corn." However, it did hold my attention.
I wasn't invested in the characters. Everyone was mostly dark or evil. If they weren't dark or evil then terrible things were happening to them. (Check alllll the triggers.)
I wasn't "horrified". I have see much worse, and unfortunately read much worse. Things that happened in this book happen in real life. If you're dealing with that sort of trauma this book might be for you.
This book wasn't for me.
I wasn't invested in the characters. Everyone was mostly dark or evil. If they weren't dark or evil then terrible things were happening to them. (Check alllll the triggers.)
I wasn't "horrified". I have see much worse, and unfortunately read much worse. Things that happened in this book happen in real life. If you're dealing with that sort of trauma this book might be for you.
This book wasn't for me.