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dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Blood, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Car accident, Abortion, Pregnancy, Outing, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Vomit, Death of parent
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is the second book I read from this author and I have some of the same problems with this that I had with The It Girl.
Again, Ware is good at setting up a plot but she gets so wrapped up in making sure there are twists and turns that her details don’t always pan out and her characters don’t seem believable or worse, she makes up new traits or details that she mushes in last minute to fill in the holes but make zero sense with the characters we’re trying to get to know and invest ourselves in.
Speaking of the characters, all of them (sans Tom) are AWFUL. I really stopped caring about what happened to any of them because they were all just the worst.
Her writing of Flo also felt mean spirited and fatphobic. Like we get it. She’s wearing clothes that would only look good on apparent waif goddess Clare. You don’t need to keep talking about Flo’s “rolls” or “excess skin.”
Nora as a POV character was frustrating because she really wasn’t sympathetic. Yes, getting pregnant and having an abortion and being dumped all at once as a teenager but must suck but the author (I guess in an attempt to seem more progressive on her handling of abortion which I can’t fault her for, it IS a healthy attitude) kept insisting to us that the pregnancy and abortion weren’t a big deal, she was happy with her choice and had zero regrets about it so then why still fixate on a stupid teenage boy who did a stupid and cruel thing that teenage boys frequently do? For TEN years!? Like I could understand that level of trauma over a breakup of James was abusive but up until she believed he dumped her…he was fine? Annoying and a try hard. But fine. Again…just a typical “edgy” teenage boy who seemed to at least treat others very well.
I also don’t buy for even a second that Nora was ever an actress let alone the understudy for the lead role in a play like Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Whether she was up Clare’s ass as a teenager or not, there’s no way someone that shy and awkward and who HATED attention would have even auditioned. This sounds like a petty gripe but I’m pointing it out because it seems like the author liked the idea of Nora and James falling in love while starring in the school play together even if it made ZERO sense for the characters. This is far from the only instance of this but it’s a noticeable one. That’s a problem to me. An author should have a better grasp on characterization.
Another example is that Nora is supposedly a successful crime novelist. Okay, fine. But this is only briefly mentioned once at the beginning of the book (and again if she was so successful, you’d think the other characters would have heard of her or her books), she shows ZERO signs of being able to solve any kind of mystery or be good at reading people (or having really any other kind of skill that you think would make for a successful mystery author) until suddenly at the very end when the explanation for everything is shoe-horned in and the killer is revealed.
The “how” and “why” of the murder at the center of all of this also feel a bit messy. There’s some gaping plot holes in how the killer was able to pull everything off and the reasoning behind it just also feels weirdly childish and doesn’t line up with the character we met (despite the author insisting on it by having characters go “Ah, yes! Of COURSE!” again and again at each reveal).
I know it sounds like I hated this book. I really didn’t. It was entertaining and a breeze to get through. I just am disappointed when I see an author with such potential sort of flounder a bit. I’d say this is a good Beach read or cozy rainy weekend read but I don’t think this book was memorable enough or good enough for me to ever really think of again once I’m done posting this review.
Again, Ware is good at setting up a plot but she gets so wrapped up in making sure there are twists and turns that her details don’t always pan out and her characters don’t seem believable or worse, she makes up new traits or details that she mushes in last minute to fill in the holes but make zero sense with the characters we’re trying to get to know and invest ourselves in.
Speaking of the characters, all of them (sans Tom) are AWFUL. I really stopped caring about what happened to any of them because they were all just the worst.
Her writing of Flo also felt mean spirited and fatphobic. Like we get it. She’s wearing clothes that would only look good on apparent waif goddess Clare. You don’t need to keep talking about Flo’s “rolls” or “excess skin.”
Nora as a POV character was frustrating because she really wasn’t sympathetic. Yes,
I also don’t buy for even a second that Nora was ever an actress let alone the understudy for the lead role in a play like Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Whether she was up Clare’s ass as a teenager or not, there’s no way someone that shy and awkward and who HATED attention would have even auditioned. This sounds like a petty gripe but I’m pointing it out because it seems like the author liked the idea of Nora and James falling in love while starring in the school play together even if it made ZERO sense for the characters. This is far from the only instance of this but it’s a noticeable one. That’s a problem to me. An author should have a better grasp on characterization.
Another example is that Nora is supposedly a successful crime novelist. Okay, fine. But this is only briefly mentioned once at the beginning of the book (and again if she was so successful, you’d think the other characters would have heard of her or her books), she shows ZERO signs of being able to solve any kind of mystery or be good at reading people (or having really any other kind of skill that you think would make for a successful mystery author) until suddenly at the very end when the explanation for everything is shoe-horned in and the killer is revealed.
The “how” and “why” of the murder at the center of all of this also feel a bit messy. There’s some gaping plot holes in how the killer was able to pull everything off and the reasoning behind it just also feels weirdly childish and doesn’t line up with the character we met (despite the author insisting on it by having characters go “Ah, yes! Of COURSE!” again and again at each reveal).
I know it sounds like I hated this book. I really didn’t. It was entertaining and a breeze to get through. I just am disappointed when I see an author with such potential sort of flounder a bit. I’d say this is a good Beach read or cozy rainy weekend read but I don’t think this book was memorable enough or good enough for me to ever really think of again once I’m done posting this review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Murder
Moderate: Gore, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship
Minor: Fatphobia, Abortion, Pregnancy
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I quite enjoyed this book! It kept me on my toes, and the twist paid off well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Murder
Moderate: Suicide, Abortion, Suicide attempt
Minor: Pregnancy
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I've read 2 other books by the author and loved them, but this one wasn't her best. I didn't like any characters, and Nora was not the smartest cookie. It was pretty easy to figure out the who/why of the mystery early on.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Murder, Toxic friendship
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicide, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cursing, Drug use, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Abortion, Pregnancy, Alcohol
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware, we follow a character named Nora who is invited to attend the Hen Night of an old friend. Once she arrives, she comes to find that there may be ulterior motives for her invitation, culminating in a tragic turn of events.
Overall, I thought this was a solid book by Ware, although not one of their strongest. The plot is told in a most non-chronological order, flashing the reader forward and back as Nora's memories unwind. I wouldn't say the ending was a surprise, and I did think that it was quite abrupt considering the pacing of the other parts of the book. Still, it was set up well and I could feel the tension in the final sections. I couldn't stop reading.
Some characters are fairly well-developed, while others only partially so. It was easy to tell who among the 6-7 "main" characters were suspects, because they received the most care and attention. Some side characters, like Nina, were developed more, but there were others who, quite literally, disappeared mid book only to never be discussed again. I found myself wondering why those characters were there at all if their sole purpose was to disappear.
As I mentioned, the ending was not a surprise and it was abrupt compared to the rest of the pacing. I wish that there had been more investigation on behalf of the protagonist, more so than what was in the final chapters of the book. Still, I think that the plot did well at making the reader doubt the protagonist's memory.
Finally, there were several incidents of xenophobic language used by Ware. For example, one person of color in the book is a taxi driver, whose accent is mocked by the main character as being "funny", a detail that was completely unnecessary other than to perpetuate harmful stereotypes. I would recommend the read with the understanding that this type language is used. It's not surprising as books by Ware have contained fatphobic and xenophobic language used.
Overall, I thought this was a solid book by Ware, although not one of their strongest. The plot is told in a most non-chronological order, flashing the reader forward and back as Nora's memories unwind. I wouldn't say the ending was a surprise, and I did think that it was quite abrupt considering the pacing of the other parts of the book. Still, it was set up well and I could feel the tension in the final sections. I couldn't stop reading.
Some characters are fairly well-developed, while others only partially so. It was easy to tell who among the 6-7 "main" characters were suspects, because they received the most care and attention. Some side characters, like Nina, were developed more, but there were others who, quite literally, disappeared mid book only to never be discussed again. I found myself wondering why those characters were there at all if their sole purpose was to disappear.
As I mentioned, the ending was not a surprise and it was abrupt compared to the rest of the pacing. I wish that there had been more investigation on behalf of the protagonist, more so than what was in the final chapters of the book. Still, I think that the plot did well at making the reader doubt the protagonist's memory.
Finally, there were several incidents of xenophobic language used by Ware. For example, one person of color in the book is a taxi driver, whose accent is mocked by the main character as being "funny", a detail that was completely unnecessary other than to perpetuate harmful stereotypes. I would recommend the read with the understanding that this type language is used. It's not surprising as books by Ware have contained fatphobic and xenophobic language used.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abortion, Pregnancy
Minor: Xenophobia
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
okay this book was so damn good. I don’t know why it took me so long to pick it back up again, but i read a majority of it in one sitting - I couldn’t put it down!
reminded me a lot of of gillian flynn’s work.
reminded me a lot of of gillian flynn’s work.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, Murder
Moderate: Vomit, Medical content, Car accident, Abortion, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship
Minor: Drug use, Alcohol
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Suicide, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Blood, Car accident, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Gore, Vomit, Grief, Abortion, Pregnancy
Police questioning
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Grief, Abortion, Pregnancy
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Quick, easy read. Fun, but predictable. The ending seemed a little too easy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Suicide attempt, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Medical content, Car accident, Toxic friendship
Minor: Abortion, Pregnancy
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Violence, Medical content, Car accident, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol
Moderate: Homophobia, Suicide, Vomit, Grief, Lesbophobia, Outing, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Pedophilia, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy