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kaje's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
mcatsambas's review against another edition
3.0
Cat Person was the best story of this collection. The rest were not particularly memorable, and the supernatural ones weren't very immersive and felt a little forced, from what I remember.
laurenbird's review against another edition
4.0
Short and punchy and dark and pretty fucked up but I was engaged!!
jeremyjfloyd's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
ddillon154's review against another edition
4.0
Very well written and unpredictable. Every character is deeply dysfunctional, which I suppose is the point. Still, one or two of the stories seemed dark for the sake of darkness.
katellison's review against another edition
3.0
idk 3 instead of 4 feels willfully cruel for some reason but very few of these stories stuck the landing to me
loved the setups of many of them (The Good Guy is prime example) but the endings are deflating
a case study in how hard short stories are to write -- roupenian's original premises and strong voice aren't enough to take most of these beyond "interesting" and "fun"
bummer the publisher demanded resting on Cat Person marketing laurels- the original title You Know You Want This is perfect for the collection !
loved the setups of many of them (The Good Guy is prime example) but the endings are deflating
a case study in how hard short stories are to write -- roupenian's original premises and strong voice aren't enough to take most of these beyond "interesting" and "fun"
bummer the publisher demanded resting on Cat Person marketing laurels- the original title You Know You Want This is perfect for the collection !
baliute's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
tmyers3's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.0
tricapra's review against another edition
4.0
I feel like a lot of reviewers trashed this because of things beyond the authors control, like the viral popularity of cat person or the huge advance she secured for this collection because of it.
I will not be doing that.
While none were quite as polished or mirror-image relatable as Cat Person, these stories were all sharp, dark and perverse. I loved the nastiness Roupenian showcased here, and I don't think it's detrimental that she wore her influences so boldly on her sleeve. I loved the Angela Carter inspired fairytale. The other big standouts were 'The Good Guy' and 'Biter', but there were no misses for me in this collection and that's more than I can say for a lot of anthologies by more tempered authors.
I will not be doing that.
While none were quite as polished or mirror-image relatable as Cat Person, these stories were all sharp, dark and perverse. I loved the nastiness Roupenian showcased here, and I don't think it's detrimental that she wore her influences so boldly on her sleeve. I loved the Angela Carter inspired fairytale. The other big standouts were 'The Good Guy' and 'Biter', but there were no misses for me in this collection and that's more than I can say for a lot of anthologies by more tempered authors.
anmif006's review against another edition
dark
funny
fast-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? N/A
4.5